• Post marathon thoughts: definitely harder than I had anticipated, even though I knew it was going to be a grueling 26.2 miles. The feeling can never be explained quite as well as actually running it.
• What I’ve been doing: swimming, biking, basketball and some running.
• What I want to do: improve my swimming technique and endurance to attempt my first triathlon.
• What I will most likely do: coming to the realization that I do NOT swim anything remotely close to a fish, I may have to abandon the tri, for now. But I still have a 10K, trail race, and at least 2 half marathons to look forward to, so I’m not too sad about that.

On the bright side, swimming after my runs has been a great way to cross train. Even though I took a longer than expected break after my marathon, I am still in good shape to race (I hope). I went to my first triathlon last week and for some reason I expected a small turnout, but I have never see so many bikes parked in one location before. Both the 500m and 1000m distances for the swim looked ridiculously long. I think the distance I was doing in my pool was 10, 20 meters max?

My next race is actually this weekend, what should be a fun 4^th of July 10K. I ran this race last year too and when I ran it, I thought it was a pretty slow time. But looking back now, I don’t think I will be able to even break that time. But who knows, you’d think having one year of base training would help, right?

The first few days after my marathon, when I was telling my coworkers about it, I gave the same response, ‘it was hot, hard and got very tired during the 2^nd half’. But they were all very impressed with the results and said I should be proud, which I am. I didn’t know what to say when asked if I would do another one because I wasn’t sure if I want to put my body through so much pain again? But I definitely learned a lot from my first one and I’m sure if I make a few changes to my race strategy, I could at least improve a little and feel better running it. I haven’t really looked for another one yet, I might do the LA Marathon just because I could visit my parents the weekend of. But that is in March 2011, not sure if I will be doing one before that.

This summer will probably be a hot one so I might go back to morning runs even though waking up early is definitely not something I’m good at or enjoy. But I love having more time to do stuff after work. This will also give me more time to do other cross training including swimming and possibly some in-home workouts as well. Oh, and I also want to find more trails to run on, with lots of hills! I love the fact that there is so much there is to do and I’m excited and looking forward to it all. It should be a fun, eventful summer.

Love looking at these cool graphs from DailyMile!

April
Total Miles: 154.46
Time Spent Running: ~20:18:00
Average Pace: 7:53
Total Calories: 18,510
Average HR: 152
Avg Max HR: 172

Total Pushups: 1,791

Total Races: 2 (Carlsbad 5000 5K, La Jolla Half Marathon)

The previous week was probably my most successful week in running since I started training for my marathon. After missing some workouts the past couple of weeks, I was able to get in a full week of running, with the most miles I’ve ran, I think, ever!

April 26 – May 2
Total Miles: 44.51
Time Spent Running: 5:58:48
Average Pace: 8:04
Total Calories: 5,428
Avg HR: 148
Avg Peak HR: 170

4 Quality 8-9 mile runs that varied from easy to comfortable/hard. One of those workouts included 2 sub-6:30 mile intervals, which I rocked: 6:28 & 6:10. Saturday, I did an easy run on my old college campus loop, which I finally got to measure (3.99 miles). Sunday, I was home for my sister’s birthday in LA and had the opportunity to run my high school trail (~9 miles, inc 6:18 last mile) and got to measure that with my Garmin as well. I ran cross country and track for 3+ years and was never sure the exact distances of the markers were. Now I know..

Marathon Training

My first full marathon training program has been ironed out (technically, today was day 1: rest/cross-train: run for 20 min, basketball for the evening). This came directly from my internet-running-coach and fellow runner, Caleb Masland [Twitter, DailyMile, Blog]. I hope he doesn’t mind, but if you ever need running tips or advice, he’s definitely the one to go to. I have provided a screenshot of the program below. The weekly miles are going to be more than I have run consistently for quite some time. And assuming I still run on the days I have for rest/cross-training, then it will a lot more! I still have a 5K and half marathon planned for next month, so I’ll do my best to make sure I can still get an equivalent workout in for the day.

Run on the Trail

I came back from a weekend in LA and hit up the local high school trail that I ran when I was in cross country. It was roughly an 8 mile run and hit just over an hour. Although I wasn’t able to measure the mile markers accurately, I did keep track of the splits for each checkpoint and was pleased to run negative splits. As to not confuse you with actual street names, I’ve labeled them with just letters. One thing I noticed was that after the run, my body felt very drained. It was probably a combination of the heat (Spring has arrived!) and the distance. I had to drop my sister off at the airport which was only a 30 minute drive, but I was still nervous about falling asleep at the wheel. I survived that trip, but was definitely dreading the 2 hour drive back to San Diego. Fortunately, I was able to get a power nap (although not very successful) and had an energy drink to help keep me up.

Splits:

A-B: 8:22
B-C: 7:55
C-D: 9:21
D-E-D: 5:10
D-C: 9:00
C-B: 7:06
B-A: 6:39

100 Pushups Program

I completed the first week of the 100 pushups program. Technically it was the 3^rd week since the program tells you to move ahead if you can do more than a certain amount during the initial test. It’s only 3 times a week, but pretty tough none-the-less. The first day was harder than I expected, but by the 3^rd day, I was surprised at how much more pushups I was able to do. Only 3 more weeks and I’m supposed to be able to do 100 straight pushups, sounds hard right? I think the same thing. What you’re supposed to do after the 6^th week is do the final 100 pushups test. But if you’re not able to do it, it tells you to go back a week or two and try again. I have a feeling that is going to happen for a couple of weeks, but who knows. I definitely feel stronger after each day and I’m hoping that it’ll pay off come race day!

So the trail I found is called the Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve, which has (at least) two main entrances to the trail. You actually have to pay ($3) to park at the lot by the entrances, but there is a park just down the road that is free to park in. I didn’t want to pull a muscle while running the trails, so…I chose to park down the road and ‘warm up’ to the entrance (good excuse, right?). What I learned at the end of the run is that there is actually a path to get to the same point from the park! Anyways, once I got to started, I noticed that the trail is very wide, which accommodates walkers/runners, bikers as well as equestrians. Because of the rains, there were not many people on the trails that morning, which was OK since there weren’t really any forks in the main road that would potentially get me lost all alone. There were a lot of side trails that led to to what looked like steeper, funner, hilly trails. But again, the rain had caused these paths to temporarily close; definitely piqued my interest though. The only problem with veering off to these trails is I have NO idea where it’ll lead me. The main path is supposed to be about 5 miles East to West and about 3 miles West is supposed to be a fun stop at a waterfall.

It was nice being able to run to a destination as opposed to just doing one big loop. However, when I got to said destination, I was a little disappointed (only a little because I read other people’s account of this majestic waterfall and they were not too impressed either). It looked more like a rapid flowing river with lots of rocks surrounding than a Niagara Falls-esque waterfall. What was cool was if you wanted to cross the ‘river’ to get to the trail on the other end, you had to very carefully walk across the rocks that were laid across. That would have been quite an adventure (if I did it)! Check out the photos below as well as the secret bridge/path to the park that I took back to my car. I’m hoping to take another stab at this trail in the future, and if I’m daring enough to follow “the road less traveled”

Why you should join DailyMile

It has been a while since I wrote a running update. The reason for that is because I haven’t had any breakthrough runs since my race over 3 weeks ago. My typical routine after a race is to take a couple of days off to rest and recover, then just continue running so that I don’t get too out of shape when it comes time to start a new training program. It’s strange because weeks prior to my half marathon, I was not really running very fast times, but I ended up running my fastest half ever. That trend has continued after my half, and I’m pretty sure it’s because I’m running in the mornings. It has become apparent that I am not a morning person. I never want to get out of bed in the mornings and am tired throughout most of the run. I don’t eat breakfast before my runs, so I think if I woke up a little bit earlier, the time I spent eating breakfast would help me wake up. But waking up earlier would involve sleeping less (technically), which I hate. I know people who wake up at 4 AM to run or have to endure ridiculously horrible running conditions (i.e. snow), so I don’t really have much to complain about.

Immediately after my half, I got the urge to run as many more races as possible. I have a 7K trail run in March, a 5K and half in April and my first full marathon in June. I don’t expect to PR in the half, because: it’s a hilly course and the last half I ran was most likely a once-in-a-lifetime race (I don’t expect to run that fast unless I really dedicate more time to running and training). But in preparation for the half, I have decided to start trail running (with hills!) and the 7K trail run will be a good training day for hills. But to make sure I am able to complete the 7K, I plan to run on a few trails on the weekends. I’ve found a couple nearby that sound fun. The thing I’m afraid of most of is getting lost/dying. But if I am prepared and careful, I’m sure I’ll be fine. I’m actually really excited to start trail running and finally live up to the name of the blog J

I’ve also started doing speed workouts, sort of… My old coworker had asked me many times in the past to play basketball with him, but I always declined. I wanted to try and get back into it so I started going out. I was super sore the first couple of times, which made it hard to run the next morning, but I think I am getting used to it now. Playing basketball (if you actually run back and forth across the court often enough) is like doing very short sprints. I’m hoping this can help me build up speed, in addition to my base training runs as well as hill training on the trails. It sounds like a very well rounded training regime if you ask me!

“Brooks I.D. stands for Inspire Daily. These two simple words guide the principles of the program. Brooks I.D. is made up of over 2,000 members who are active in their running communities and share a passion for the Brooks brand. They are runners who are winners in their own right: Winning their age divisions, accomplishing their personal goals, pushing their own limits, and, by extension, encouraging others to do the same. They are coaches, mentors, and leaders.”

I am very honored and humbled to be accepted into such a great running program. I applied to the Brooks I.D. program more of on a whim (heard people talking about it on DailyMile and Twitter). I had just started racing again after a 5+ year hiatus from running in high school. But it was also at this time when I had gotten really enthusiastic about running too. I worked my way up to running every day, started blogging more consistently and talking to other runners on DailyMile and Twitter. I’m hoping that my inclusion into the Brooks I.D. program will keep me as passionate about running as I have been recently.

Aside from inspiring others to run and advocating the Brooks brand, there are some other great benefits to the program, including: 40% off Brooks shoes and apparel, membership to the Brooks running community and an opportunity to test new Brooks products. One thing that is required upon acceptance into the program is to always wear Brooks gear when training and racing. What I like most about it is that when I’m racing, others will see me decked out in Brooks gear, which I think will make me feel even more like a professional runner. I’ll be one step closer to have running as my career!

Each week, as my first ever half marathon comes closer and closer to reality, it seems as if I’m having better and better workouts. On days I need to go hard, I’m able to hit the pace that I’m hoping for and on days where it’s easy or off, I may not have the best workout which I’m OK with. The only thing I’m afraid of now is if I am pushing myself too hard and will peak too early. Back in high school cross country, our coach planned our hard workouts for the entire season in hopes of us peaking at the very optimal moment (league finals for some, and CIF prelims/finals for Varsity). I do feel like the half marathon training program that I was recommended is geared toward peaking exactly when I actually run the half, but I may be pushing the pace too much that I begin to burn out toward the end of the program. I’m happy to say that nothing of that nature has happened yet, but who knows whether or not that will happen next week or the week after. So now I am in a position where I can either do really well and actually hit sub-1:30 for my first half (based off Sunday’s long run) or I will push it too hard to the point where I can’t even finish the race, which would be a huge disappointment. This is something that I have to keep in the front of my mind as I am completing this program.

So as far as runs for the past week, I’m going to try and keep it as short as possible. Tuesday’s intervals was successful, 6×1000m @ 6:40 pace (4:10). Results: 3:49, 3:50, 3:44, 3:41, 3:34, 3:22. It’s weird that this program never asks for mile repeats but I did them ALL the time in high school to train for 3 mile races..Oh well. Friday was a 6 mile tempo run at moderate pace (7:00), which I was a little worried about. But I was able to run it pretty well, splits were a little off though: 6:27, 6:50, 6:39, 6:39, 6:29, 6:09. Sunday was probably one of the best workouts I’ve had so far, it was supposed to be 12 miles, easy. I never ran that many miles before, so I just wanted to go at a pace where I would be able to finish the whole thing in one piece. So I started off pretty slow, but I felt pretty good and my breathing was under control so I started picking up the pace as each mile passed. I ended up running at a pretty quick pace for an easy run and was surprised at the finishing time: 1:26. I just thought to myself, “I know I could run 1.1 more miles, I’m ready to race!” So now that I know I should be able to complete the half, I need to focus on how fast I want to run it. I still don’t want to start off too fast and then die half way through, so I think I should consider the strategy I accidentally did today, which is go out thinking it’s an easy run and just gradually pick up the pace. I know it’s going to be easier said than done since come race day, I’m going to want to hang with all the others out front, but I need to use self control and know that I will catch up later on.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Intervals 6×1000m @ 6:40 min/mile  3.75 mi 00:22 05:51 pace

What better way to start off the running week than with intervals? Was looking forward to these, probably the hardest one to date since it was a lot of intervals at a longer distance. Ran them pretty well and was able to run progressively faster after each interval. Results: 3:49, 3:50, 3:44, 3:41, 3:34, 3:22.

175/187

Wednesday, October 7, 2009
The Loop – 5 mi

Post interval run, nothing special. Took it really easy and felt relaxed.

140/151

Thursday, October 8, 2009
4 miles, easy

Friday, October 9, 2009
6 Mile Tempo Run  6 mi 39:16 06:32 pace

Tempo run for the week, 6 miles at moderate tempo pace (7:00) with mile warmup and cooldown. I was a little nervous about this run since it’s a good amount of miles at a decent pace. Like always, I started off too fast, but toned it down the very next mile to run the next couple of miles very comfortably. Had enough energy at the end to hit a pretty fast last mile. Felt pretty tired after the run, which is expected, might have to take tomorrow off instead of the usual easy/recovery run. Splits: 6:27, 6:50, 6:39, 6:39, 6:29, 6:09

176/193

Saturday, October 10, 2009
Easy 25 min run around UCSD campus

Sunday, October 11, 2009
Fastest Long Run to Date  12 mi 01:26 07:10 pace

12 miles is the most I have ever ran so I wasn’t planning on going too hard, just easy enough to actually complete the workout. So I started off pretty slow (8:01) and would have been more than happy running the whole workout at that pace. But I ran the next mile faster and then the next and so on. My breathing was under control the whole time and it was actually cold out so heat was not an issue. It was quite a workout, and I still can’t believe I did it and did it well! I know that I would have been able to run 1.1 miles more, I’m so ready to run my half marathon already!! Too bad I’m only half way through my training! Patience..

Here are the splits, the loop I ran isn’t exactly 5 miles, so each mile within the loop is probably different. But if you compare the splits from loop 1 to loop 2, you can see that they are definitely progressives, nice!

Loop #1: 8:01, 7:43, 7:26, 7:21, 7:12,
Loop #2: 7:21, 7:18, 7:07, 6:46, 6:36,
1st mi of loop: 6:58,
Back: 6:42

161/185

Got some great feedback from that run: http://www.dailymile.com/people/SDrunner/entries/497603

Intervals
My three core workouts turned out pretty well. The intervals didn’t really feel that much like intervals since they were such long distances: 2 miles at 10k pace(6:40), 2×1 miles at 5k pace (6:25) and 2×800m at slightly faster than 5k pace. I thought to myself, ‘the 2 miles should be easy since it’s the beginning of the run and the pace is not that demanding’ but the miles might be harder because I’ll be a little tired from the 2 miles. 800 should be easy because it’s shorter and at the end of the workout which I just want to get over with. Results: 2 miles: 12:38 (6:00, 6:38); miles: 5:57, 6:07; 800m: 2:59, 2:44. I know for a fact that I should not have ran that first mile that fast, but I’m terrible with pace and I’d rather be faster than slower. I’m surprised that I hit the two miles that fast though, but because it asked for a faster pace than the 2 miles, I wanted to make sure I hit it. I am happy with the workout overall, but as always still questioning whether or not I’m shooting myself in the foot by not actually running the set paces..

Tempo Run
I hate doing tempo runs on Thursday because I still have work to worry about the next day, but this is the Ryan Hall half marathon training program, can’t question it! The workout asked for 25 min at hard tempo pace (6:45). Like always, I thought to myself because I have run this distance at this or a faster pace before, I know I can do it. I was really happy to find out I hit a fairly consistent pace: 6:28, 6:41, 6:36, 6:29. That never happens!

Long Run
My long run for the week may be my hardest workout because of the distance. The last time I had to do this workout, I was supposed to run 6 easy and 3 at half goal pace + 20-30 sec. I focused too hard to trying to hit those 6 at a reasonable ‘easy’ pace (7:45-8:25) that I was too tired to actually run the rest of the 3 miles at my half goal pace. I think the heat also made the workout nearly impossible to do. I went all out this time: I went to bed early so that I could wake up early and avoid the sun, I didn’t even look at my watch during the easy 6 miles and just focused on the 4 miles I had to run at half goal pace. I remember the first half mile was good but then I started thinking about other stuff and had to get my brain back into the run. I ended up running these 4 miles at a pretty good pace all at or below the pace I was supposed to hit: 7:31, 6:56, 6:39, 7:20. I was really happy with the workout. I also had a Clif bar 5 miles in, so that might have helped give an energy boost too. I will be getting some Gu in the mail, so I will be able to test those out on a future workout so I don’t have to risk using it during a race and possible ruin my first half ever.

On another note, I have noticed the left 2nd toe getting darker recently and it actually hurts whenever I touch it. I looked it up and I guess that nail’s gonna be falling off soon? Not cool. I keep reading about how it seems to happen to everybody and it’s not even a big deal! Some of the posts I read even has pictures! I’m not really a big fan of my nails falling off, but I guess I can’t really stop this one. A lot of people say that it may be from my shoes. I never got fitted for my New Balance 768’s but I think the toebox has been good for my foot structure. And I just found out that I have hit over 550 miles and ran over 6 months in these shoes. I will probably visit a Road Runner Sports this weekend, get fitted and find shoes that are actually made for my feet, which should be fun!

Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Intervals? / Speed Workout  5 mi 30:25 06:05 pace

Workout: 2 miles @ 10k pace (6:40), 2×1 mile @ 5K pace (6:25), 2×800m @ slightly faster than 5K pace.
Results: 2 miles: 12:38 (6:00, 6:38); miles: 5:57, 6:07; 800m: 2:59, 2:44

I have never done a workout like this before. On paper it didn’t seem too bad: a two mile run, 2 one miles and finish off with 2 800 meters. It felt weird starting off that 2 mile, I felt myself running a lot faster than I usually do on that route. And it showed: 6:00 first mile!! I got a 5 min rest after the two mile, which really helped. But my legs were really feeling it on the beginning of the mile interval, but I was still able to run it very well. Slowed a little on the 2nd one, but still ran it well below the pace. The 800’s weren’t too bad since I knew it was that last ones and it was a shorter distance.

I’m happy that I hit below the goal pace, but worried that it was too fast? I am really exhausted from that run, definitely one of the harder ones that I have ran in a long time. Need more sleep!!

177/188

Thursday, October 1, 2009
25 Min Tempo Run  4 mi 26:15 06:33 pace

Took yesterday off to nap instead of an easy/recovery run. I think it helped today. I was able to run the tempo run pretty comfortably. It was supposed to be 25 minutes at fast tempo pace (6:45). I didn’t start off too fast and was able to run pretty consistently: 6:28, 6:41, 6:36, 6:29.

180/191

Friday, October 2, 2009
Easy Run  3.85 mi

Easy day, decided to take random route just to change things up. However, body was weak and needed nourishment, cut the run short, oh well.

Saturday, October 3, 2009
Long Run (6 Miles Easy, 4 Race Pace + 20/30 sec)  10 mi 01:17 07:42 pace

This workout turned out much better than last time I did this workout. I think I was supposed to do 6 and 3, but I got too tired after those 6. This time I didn’t even look at how fast I ran the 6 and just went easy. HR was really low throughout and was able to run the last 4 miles at a pretty fast pace, at or below my half goal pace +20 sec (7:30). Splits: 7:31, 6:56, 6:39, 7:20. Now I can enjoy the weekend!!

180/193

Sunday, October 4, 2009
Easy Run  4 mi

Easy Sunday run just to get loose. Every time the alarm went off (after I snoozed), I looked out the window to see the trees swaying a lot from the wind. I thought to myself, ‘that’s how it’ll be all the time when winter comes’ It was a nice and breezy run and was able to just relax and enjoy.

147/166

My tempo run was a lot better paced and I was able to hit around the goal pace or below for all 5 miles. Splits: 6:55, 7:05, 6:39, 6:46, 6:20. My Sunday long run I ran on the trail at home in LA again (need to post pictures of the trail soon!) I took a Clif bar with me to eat around halfway through the run with some water. I can’t really tell if the Clif bar helped since I stopped for water and rested too. But when I started running after eating the Clif bar, I felt really rested, not sure how energized. I really want to try some Gu things though, maybe I’ll use it during the half marathon. I heard that it’s important to eat them with water and actually heard of some people that had a negative reaction to them.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

7×800 m Intervals (6:30 min/mile = 3:15) 3.5 mi 20:35 05:52 pace

Most # of intervals to date, wasn’t scared though. Felt really good and was able to focus on my posture and really stand tall while running a few of those. Results: 3:05, 3:01, 2:57, 3:00, 2:56, 2:52, 2:44. Broke 20 for the final 100m last week, tried again and hit 17.19!!

HR: 172/180

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Easy Recovery Run 4 mi 33:20 08:20 pace

Easy run for the day after yesterday’s 7×800 m intervals. Wasn’t too focused on pace, but hit pretty consistent splits.

HR: 150/165

Thursday, September 24, 2009

The Loop 4 mi 32:57 08:14 pace

Easy run, but forgot my daily peanut butter sandwich before leaving work today. Felt weak, but still finished the run as planned. 5 mile tempo run tomorrow, should be fun!

HR: 150/164

Friday, September 25, 2009

Tempo Run 5 mi 33:46 06:45 pace

5 mile tempo run at 7:00 pace, wasn’t that bad. Started off at around pace, which was good. 3rd mile, I think I pushed it a little too hard but was still able to finish very strong. Happy with the workout, overall! Splits: 6:55, 7:05, 6:39, 6:46, 6:20

HR: 175/193

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Easy Run 4 mi

Ran on campus, it was actually a little over 4 miles, but ran it pretty slow anyways..

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Long Run on the Trail 10 mi 01:16 07:35 pace

Long run for the week, back in LA so got to run on my old high school trail. Pretty fun, heat wasn’t too bad and was happy I was able to run that much (longest to day actually). Got one of those awesome sock tans though!

HR: 163/177

This is the 2nd week of half marathon training and it feels like it’s working. Last week, I did a pretty good job on the intervals and tempo run and ran a pretty good distance in the long run. This week, the interval distance increased, the pace for the tempo run increased, but was shorter and the distance for the long run only went up by one mile. None of the workouts really seemed impossible and should have been pretty manageable.

Intervals

This week’s intervals was supposed to be 5×1000 at 6:40 pace which was supposed to be 4:10 and to get even more specific, :25 per 100 meters. The main reason why I’m keeping track of every 100 meters is because I am terrible at pacing myself. When I ran in high school, I always ran with a teammate who was able to run at the correct pace. And whenever I had to do intervals on my own, I would always be off pace. What would happen is that I would run the beginning of the interval a little slower so I would pick it up (faster than the actual pace) to even up the pace. That just isn’t very consistent. I was able to run each 100 meters at around 21 to 22 seconds feeling pretty comfortable. The last interval or two, I was able to increase some of those to 20-21, and wanted to break 20 for the last 100 m and did it at 19.01! Great run overall, next week’s intervals will be tough too, 7×800 m.

Tempo Run

My Thursday tempo run didn’t really seem that hard, only 20 minutes at the hard tempo pace: 6:45. Last week was supposed to be at moderate pace 7:00 but for 4 miles, which I did and actually hit at the hard tempo pace. But the splits were all over the place, including the first mile which was way too fast, 6:19! So today, I made a conscious effort to not go too fast and run the warmup at an actual warmup pace, not 7:00 which I hit last week. So I did the warmup and the first mile and actually was right on pace, which was very surprising. Second mile was a little slower, but still on pace. Because I actually ran what I was supposed to run, I had a lot more energy throughout the run and had a lot more at the end to finish strong. My last mile today was a 6:19, the same time as the first mile of my tempo run last week, which killed me for the rest of the run. Overall good tempo run.

Long Run

Saturday’s long run did not turn out like I had hoped. The plan was 6 miles easy and then 3 miles at goal race pace plus 20-30 seconds. I woke up a little later than I had hoped that morning, but still got out and actually hit those first 6 miles at a reasonable 8:15-8:20 easy pace. However, by the time I got to the 7th mile (1st mile of the goal race pace), it had gotten super hot and I didn’t get any water or fuel to run any faster. The first mile was pretty much the same pace as the easy 6 I had just ran and the 2nd mile slowed to a jog. I too out of energy and just decided to just call it a day after that. I’m still happy with the miles, but I missed out on the most important part of the workout. This was the first of this type of workout and will be more like it in the next couple of weeks. But I have definitely learned how much the heat can affect someone who runs 5 days out of the week at night, which kind of freaks me out since the half marathon will not be at night. But thinking about it, it will probably start in the early morning so the sun shouldn’t be a big factor. I will just have to get up a little bit earlier next time I have to run this workout.

This is what the car said right when I got into the car, it dropped to 80ish, but still..WTH!!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Intervals: 5×1000 meters

Was very eager to run intervals again. Last week’s was pretty successful and I was able to run faster than my goal pace. Today’s intervals were a little bit harder: 5×1000 meters at 6:40 pace = 4:10. I was able to run faster again today, although I was more tired than last week, which is understandable. I still felt comfortable for most of the intervals, I’m very happy about that. 5×1000m: 3:50, 3:53, 3:44, 3:39, 3:31.

Last interval 100 meter splits:
20.8, 22, 22, 21.6, 21.6, 21.4, 20.9, 21.1, 20.4, 19.01 (broke 20!)

Wednesday, September 16, 2009
The Loop  3 mi

Slow, felt weak. Should have eaten a snack before the run. Glad I didn’t run hard today since today was post-interval day and tomorrow will be tempo run.

Thursday, September 17, 2009
Short Tempo Run  3 mi 19:56, 6:38 pace

I sort of ran on pace today, what a surprise! I felt a lot more comfortable than I did last week and didn’t start off too fast, which made the rest of the run a lot easier. Bc of the smarter running, I was able to run the same last mile (6:19) that I ran on the first mile of last week’s tempo run, which got me too tired. Splits: 6:43, 6:52, 6:19

Friday, September 18, 2009
Easy Bike Ride 56:00

Another calf cramp while sleeping last night, wth! Easy bike ride today, didn’t even feel like an hour, it was nice. Biking downhill: exhilarating..not wearing a helmet: dangerous! Long run tomorrow morning, 6 easy, 3 race pace. Should be an interesting run.

Saturday, September 19, 2009
Long Run 8 mi

This long run was supposed to be 6 easy and then 3 at goal half marathon pace (+ 20-30 seconds). However, the forecast said it was going to be 90 degrees this weekend! I was able to run the first 6 miles and a very reasonable easy pace (8:15-8:20ish), but once I started those last three miles, I was all out of gas. No water or fuel to help and the sun was just scorching! First mile of the 3 was around the same pace as the easy pace and just jogged out the 2nd mile and called it a day. This is what happens when you run at night 5 days a week and then try and run in the heat..