VT Dad’s fight vs. inertia & flab

Today was probably the last day of a week with stellar running conditions.  It was 59F,15C, as I lined up for the start of a local 5K race.  There were nearly as many middle schoolers as adults in this race, which was set up as a fund raiser for the 8th grade field trip at a local middle school.  Last year’s race was a little shorter than 5K, so the added a little squiggle at the start of the race to try and give it the right distance this year.  When the race started, the middle schoolers swarmed to the lead, and many of them I didn’t see for the rest of the lead.  This race was on an extremely fast course.  There weren’t any hills.  I sped to a 7:29 first mile.  I faltered some in the second mile, clocking an 8:05.  I ran hard from the 2 mile point to the finish.  It felt wonderful, and I felt as if a PR should be within my grasp.  I crossed the finish line in 23:42, 26 seconds faster than my previous 5K PR…. but I’m not convinced that the course length measured up.  In 19 days I have my next 5K, on the same course that I ran a 24:47, 2 week ago.

Again we had another ideal afternoon for a run.  It was 58F,14 C, cloudy and calm when I set out for my run.  Today I was only doing a recovery run, and I chose for my route one where 2/3 was on the bike path, and 1/3 was on a running trail.  On the running trail I ran alone.  The bike path was full of people taking advantage of the glorious afternoon.  There were other runners, bicyclists, and people walking their dogs, But a sure sign that winter is just around the corner I encountered more people exercising on roller skis, than any other type of exercise.  I ran for about 1/2 an hour.  I am feeling relaxed and refreshed for my 5K race tomorrow.

I just returned from an awesome nighttime run.  The weather conditions were ideal for running 54F,12C.  My scheduled run was intervals.  14X30 second of hard running with 30 seconds recovery in between.  I was dreading this run.  I didn’t like Tuesday’s interval run, so I entered this run with low expectations.  Tonight it just felt good running.  I wore shorts, a hat and gloves.  The core of my body felt comfortable, my arms and legs felt cool.  When I began my intervals, I seemed to fly as I pumped my arms.  1, 2, 3…. one after another the fast paced intervals fell, and I felt strong. 12, 13, 14 I still felt strong all the way to the end.   I enjoyed my 2 mile cool down, and am now relaxing for a little while before calling it a night.

We had another amazing afternoon for a run 64F,18C, calm and clear.  Today, my daughter had a 1/2 day of school, so I took the afternoon off to be with her.  She became my running partner today, cruising along beside me on her bicycle, while I ran.  I ran 4 neighborhood loops, totalling ~6.5 miles.  It was fun running alongside my daughter, but throughout my  run my stride felt off, and I was unable to make any effective adjustments.

Today was my first interval day.  I dread interval day.  It’s an opportunity to find out how slow I really am.  It was a picture perfect day for a run 59F, 15 C clear and calm.  Again I ran with my son, but today we only started out together.  He loped our first warmup mile in 9:00, I wasn’t that far behind, but my stride was all messed up.  I wasn’t going that fast or that fluid, I was all herky-jerky.  Our first interval sprint was the last place where we were together.  He ran his first interval in ~1:23, mine was in 1:43.  My goal time was sub 1:52, but soon I had ballooned over that.  Today’s session was supposed to be 10 repeats.  Although my intervals were soon above the goal time, I decided to grind on until one of my intervals was >2:00.  I finished 7 satisfactory intervals, before a slow 8th interval told me it was time to quit.  I trudged through my cool down, before calling it a night.

I hope everyone voted today.

Just Moments Ago I Registered for the May 2th Vermont City Marathon.

This past week was a recovery week for me.  I ran 4/7 days and did ab workouts 3/7.  The highlight of my week were 2 runs with my son.  The first of which I ran a PR for that particular loop, the second of which he smoked me, but I was still 4:51 faster than I was for that  same run 3 weeks ago.  I totaled 22.6 miles for the week.

My Schedule for the coming week is as follows:
Monday:  6.5 miles at base pace.   Drills: High Knees & Bounding 2×20 seconds each.
Tuesday: 400m intervals @3K pace (7:32mile, 1:52 400m) 1.5 mile warmup and cool down.  10×400m intervals with 3 minute active recovery
Wednesday: OFF (I’ll be up late night Tuesday watching election returns)
Thursday: 30-30 Intervals, 2 miles warm-up and cool down.  14X30 seconds @ 5K pace goal pace (7:01 miles), 30 second active recovery
Friday: Recovery run: 2-6 miles @ recovery pace
Saturday: 5K
Sunday: Marathon Pace run, 2 miles warmup and cool down 6 miles @ marathon goal pace (7:57)

Today is the start of daylight losing time.  It is the start of my seasonal depression from lack of sunlight.  But now when I am running in the early morning, it is light earlier, and better conditions for running.  The sun was already up at 7:00AM when I set out on my run with my 16 year old son.  It was a fabulous morning for a run, 26F, -3F.  We felt comfortable in a layer of tights, and a few layers of tops.  Today was my long run.  Since this was a rest week, I only ran 7.6 miles.  

We set out on a brisk, but comfortable pace.  Our mile pace, and 15 minute distance far eclipsed anything I had done previously on this route.  On the first uphill, ~6/10 mile, my son shredded me, reaching the top about 20 seconds ahead of me.  He relaxed on the subsequent downhill, and I caught him.  We ran together to the turn around point, reaching the turnaround ~3:12 faster than I had done on that same run 3 weeks ago.

Again, one of my objectives was for the return leg to be about as long the outward leg.  It was obvious early, that this was not to be the case.  During the first 8/10 of a mile I was 20 seconds off that same split from the outbound leg.  During, the next stretch, the most severe uphill, my son stretched out a 30 second advantage over me.  He looped back to pick me up, but on the ensuing downhill he ran away from me.  I urged him to run on, and I had to refocus on my run.  As my son became just a speck on the horizon, I continued home.  He was able to run both splits, at ~the same pace, but for me my return pace was ~45 seconds slower per mile.  Still, I was 4:51 faster than 3 weeks ago.