Arie's Running Blog

Before lunch run. Did a little extra above the usual toute. Was an easy relaxrd run in a totally empty camous.

0:41:08

Was traveling to SF on Friday and didn't mannage to run so I moved it to today. Ran from my hotel to the water front and ran under bay bridge and to the ATT park and then back with some more water front running. Was feeling VERY well during the run and did a very fast pace of just a little over 7 minutes per mile. I wish it was a race day :)

0:37:00

Before noon run. Amazing day in San Francisco! 54F sunny and totally clear. I ran to the water front and then continued south near all the piers till I reached Marina drive from which I had an amzing view of the golden bridge. So Beautiful. Then I ran back. It was totally crowded and there were many parts where I had to weave my way between the people walking.

1:00:59

Did a similar run to yesterday but today San Francisco was cold 46F and cloudy and foggy and there was a drizzle. BUT I enjoyed my run a lot. It was much less crowded and I had a chance to see the golden gate bridge and also Alkatraz (I sort of missed it yesterday).

0:48:59

I have a red-eye flight to the east coast tonight, I am not looking forward to it. I hope I'll be able to run tomorrow.

3:30PM 45F light drizzle. I came last night from SF on the red-eye flight to NY and then a morning flight to NC. For years I used to not be able to sleep on the plane but I guess getting older has some benefits too. I fell asleep before take off awoke up when the pilot turned on the lights in the main cabin. I had a window seat so i could see NYC in the sunrise. Beautiful.

So being not that tired I went for a 6.4 miles did a good pace of 7:53 which felt quite good. Tomorrow i am teaching but afte that I will be heading to the tracks for 5mile tempo.

0:50:26

Speed work on my regular route. Went for about half a mile easy and then did a stretch of about 5 miles speed. and finished easy. The speed part was in about 7:20 pace which is a bit slower than what I would have liked it to be. In my defence I should say that the route is not as flat as the tracks are and that there was quite strong wind at times.

0:48:03

3:30 PM west coast time, 40F very windy. I am in Vancouver Canada. It's sunny but very windy and I went to a nice medium run in from my hotel to Stenley park. I didn't do all the water front loop but did big part of it. Beautiful. It was all clear and the mountains look amazing. One of the most amazing runs I had. The pace was slow but I was facing crazy winds.

1:02:22

4 boring miles in the gym in my hotel. Nothing special to report. Just a maintanance run.

0:31:11

2PM chilly but not windy. I missed my long run on Sunday. I came back from a second flight to the west coast (this time to Vancouver) and I was just way too tired to even think about a long run. I really needed an extra day of rest. The run went well I kept a more or less constant pace. The average was 7:46. I felt excellent after it and could have kept going in needed.

1:33:08

1:30PM went for a run on my usual long route between the campuses. Did a nice pace of 7:34 which felt quite well. I think a 7:30 for half a marathon (or the 20K I hope to do next month) is at hand.

0:48:26

1PM, 40F sunny. Went to Duke tracks for speed work. Did one mile warm up and then 4 times one mile repeats with 0.5 mile cooldown inbetween. My pace for the four repeats were 6:43,6:42,6:49,6:48. The last two are a bit slower than the forst two but I have done a 12 mile on monday and 6.5 miles yesterday and both in good pace. So I am quite happy about my speed work today. I am also trying to increase my sleeping time which is good.

0:59:01

P.S. I was not blogging for a while. I will fill in the missing reports now. The important thing is that I was running.

3:45PM, 38F but sunny and no wind. I ran an extension of a  route I often run. It was a nice run as the sun was gradually setting down. Pace was OK 7:44.

0:41:25

4PM, 25F sunny and no wind. Wow! That was cold! I might be spoiled or privileged but 25F is VERY cold in my books. I felt under dressed. I need to think better what I'm going to wear on Sunday morning for my 13 mile long run.

0:42:49

9AM, 36F, cloudy and no wind. I went for a long run. It was cold but after a couple of miles I felt much better. I kept a constant pace that was on average 7:46. There was a point around mile 11 that I started to feel tired but then I pulled myself up and finished strong. I was happy about this run.

1:40:59

Nice 7 miles in the late afternoon. It was cold (35F) but I enjoyed the run. Did 7:46 average pace which seemed OK.

0:53:56

4PM, 35F, sunny, no wind. Another 7 miles. I could not run yesterday and also had bad night sleep an decided just to go for a regular easy run. I will do my tempo run tomorrow.

0:53:53

4PM. Did a tempo run today. It was 45F and just a bit windy. I was suppose to do 5M tempo so I went to a place were there is 1.65M loop and did it 3 times (=4.95M which is close enough to 5M). The loop times were 11:49, 11:47, 11:50 which are all about 7:10 pace which is exactly what I wanted it to be. Did a little over 1 mile warm up before and the same distance as cool down.

0:52:20

Ran from my office to the trail and back and then added some short piece to get to my car. I was a bit tired but did an OK pace 7:43.

0:47:53

8 AM 30F cloudy and light breeze. I did the exact same run I did last week but I felt tired and it took me about 2 more minutes to finish this run compared to last week. Over all it wasn't too bad 7:54 pace is fine. The last 2-3 miles were a bit hard.

1:42:46

My usual run between the two campuses and then 2 loops on the east campus. Was feeling tired after the long run yesterday. It's a cut back week so I wasn't pushing myself.

0:49:50

Six miles on the treadmill. Within each mile I did a 0.2 mile on a 3-3.5% slope. It was a nice workout.

0:46:28

4 PM a storm. It was a light rain when I started but about 3-4 minutes into the run all hell broke loose. It was pouring so hard it felt like nail are been shot into my face. The wind was very strong. I did a U turn and barely returned to campus. As I approached the campus things got more bareable. So what I did was to loop around the main quad which is 0.5 mile loop. I did 4 of these in what seems to be a tempo speed but felt quite easy. I was completely wet so I was running through puddles without even bothering to try and pass in the shallow part. I got lots of weird looks. I cut the run short but it's my cut back week and I didn't want to get sick.

0:24:51

Noon., sunny, 47F, light breeze. Went on an easy run and spent the time thinking about all sort of things. It was quite enjoyable.

0:54:26

11:45 46F sunny and windy.I have a slight cold so I was rather slow today (8:00 average). It was a pleasant run and the weather was nice. I'm glad I did it. Need to rest well before my weekend long run.

0:42:51

7:15 AM it was 30F and the sun was starting to shine. I was doing 3 loops on the trail (each is 2.9M). Did them in more or less even pace 23:01, 22:53, 23:04. This is the end of the cut back week. Next week back to build up again.

1:08:58

Noon, 60F and sunny, light wind. REally nice outside and I ran in shorts and a t shirt - something I didn't do for a very long time. Ifelt great and did a 7:38 pace and it wasn't a walk in the park but it felt OK. Will do another 7 tomorrow but we are expecting much cooler temperature tomorrow.

0:53:28

Nice noon run. Whent to the trail and did two loops of 3.7 each. The first in 29:02 and the last in 28:56.

0:57:58

Went for a tempo run today. Wasn't the best day for it, it's cold and VERY windy. But I thought I need to face the elements.

I planned to do 7.5 miles out of which 6 miles tempo at 7:10 pace. I started way too fast. First of all my warm up 0.75 mile was in 7:33 pace, Then the first mile was in 6:46 pace which is way too fast (it's sort of my 5K pace!) Then the pace fell down gradually 7:04, 7:17, 7:16, 7:27 then after the 5th mile I just had nothing left in me and slowed down to cool down 1.75 miles in average pace of 8:10. In the last 2-3 miles of the tempo part I was facing really strong head wind. There were moments I felt like I wasn't moving.

It wasn't the best tempo run but it was a hard workout and I feel I gave what I could. Learned some lessons from it too. I think I would do MUCH better in better conditions. The over all average pace on the 7.5 miles was 7:26 and if I can keep something like that on the HM at the end of March, I will be all set for a nice PR.

3:30 cold and cloudy. Did easy 6.4 on my usual route. Legs were tired after the tempo yesterday.

0:49:32

noon, nice and sunny. Did easy 6.4 on the usual route. I think I'm doing my easy runs too fast. In fact I know I'm doing them too fast. I tried to slow down today but still did a 7:51 pace instead of 8:30.

0:50:16

7:30 AM, 42F and warming up. Went to the American Tobacco Trail. Did two times back and forth til mark 3.5M. Here are my splits:

7:48, 7:59, 7:58, 7:54, 7:45, 7:57,7:51,7:39, 7:50, 7:51,7:50,7:35,7:50,7:43.

So they were all over the place.

1:49:32

Went for an easy run afternoon. Really enjoyed the slow pace (8:06 average) and felt great afterwards.

0:56:43

Flew to Austin TX this afternoon. Got to the hotel, unpacked and went for a run on the trail along the Colorado river. It was warm and humid. Where else can you run shirtless in the middle of February? Only in Texas.

1:00:47

Got to the hotel late from dinner and a whole day of meetings and giving a lecture. I rested a bit and then head down to the hotel's gym for an easy 7 mile run on the treadmill. It's the farthest I ran on a treadmill. Did negative splits.

0:57:23

Came back from Austin and was quite exhausted. I ran from my office to home adding some extra loop to make it a 6 mile run. My left leg and my left knee hurt.

0:48:15

I postponed the speed work to Friday becasue I was traveling all week. I went to the trail around the east campus which is 1.65 mile loop. I ran 0.65 easy and then 1 mile hard. My 1 mile times were: 7:02. 7:01, 7:05, 7:05, 7:05. The recovery times between (those easy 0.65 mile parts) got slower and slower. I don't know if this is really what I'm suppose to do in spead work or is this cheating.

Anyway, I think the 1 Mile repeats are too taxing for me, bot physically but also mentaly. Someone with my "speed" should probably do the 800m repeats.

1:14:56

7:20AM, 38F rising to 42F. Went to the American Tobacco Trail for my long run. I did a speed work on Friday and rested on Saturday but I didn't feel completely fresh. The first 3-4 miles were a bit hard and so were the last two. I ran two loops of 7 miles and here are the mile splits:

1M: 7:47      8M: 7:45
2M: 7:55      9M: 7:43
3M: 7:59    10M: 7:59
4M: 7:53    11M: 7:49
5M: 7:49    12M: 7:38
6M: 7:59    13M: 7:53
7M: 8:00    14M: 7:50

miles 3 and 10 were up hill and 5 and 12 were down hill the rest were a mix. I'm happy with this run.

4:30 PM, easy run 8:10 average pace. Still a bit tired after yesterday's long run. It was a fun run and I could think about lots of things. I am giving my students an exam on Friday and I was thinking about questions for that midterm.

1:05:45

10:30PM cold and windy. I'm in DC for work. Had meetings all day and got time to run only at night. I did a nice loop from Georgetown to Dupont Circle and up on Connecticut Ave. to that neighborhood when the National Zoo is and back west to Georgetown. Lots of hills.

0:42:18

11:45AM sunny and windy (sometimes very windy). Tempo run. Went from myoffice to the trail on the east campus. After that 1.5 miles warm up, did 3 loops on the east campus and then an additional fast 0.8 miles on the way back to a total of 5.75 miles tempo. This si close enough to the 6 miles I was planning to do. I finished with 0.8 miles cool down back to my office. The pace for the tempo was just a tad slower than what I was hoping it to be. The time on the loops was 12:07 (7:20 pace), 12:08 (7:21 pace) and 12:00 (7:16) and the 0.8M part was 5:54 (7:23). I was hoping to be closer to 7:10 but given the fact that it's a trail with rolling hills and it was windy, I'm happy with the pace.

1:01:02

7:15 AM, 42F with some wind and occasional drizzle. Did 15 miles on the American Tobacco Trail in an average pace of 7:48. The per mile pace ranged from 7:37 to 7:58. I felt good all the way apart from maybe the last mile and a half where I felt a bit tired. I still did the last mile in 7:50 pace. Here are my mile splits:

7:47
7:50
7:53
7:55
7:46
7:37
7:49
7:39
7:41
7:54
7:49
7:45
7:58
7:50

1:56:56

4PM, nice 50+ F. I had a dentist appointment earlier but felt good and decided to run. Went for a slow run and felt OK. Did 8:07 pace which felt very comfortable.

0:56:46

4:30PM cloudy and some wind. I'm very tired. My legs feel heavy. Was telling myself the last 7 miles in a marathon would feel even less great so I must toughen up and finish it. Did 8:04 which suppose to feel comfortable but wasn't.

0:56:25

4PM. Still very tired. I think I figured out why I'm under performing. I am taking anti-biotics (dental related). These 6.4 miles were really hard. Was trying to keep a reasonable pace (8:05).

0:51:42

4PM. Another lousy run. Luckily it;s my cut back week so it doesn't matter. Pace fell to 8:12 and still feels hard. I'm taking anti-biotics and it really drains my energy.

0:52:31

Noon, 55F nice and sunny. I figured out that running early might help and it did. I ran my usual course and also stopped for some hill repeats (did just 3). Pace was slightly better (8:00) and it felt slightly better.

0:51:09

7:20 AM, 35F light freezing rain most of the way. This was one of the worst long runs I had in a very long time. Luckily it's my cut back week and I had only 8 miles to do today. The anti-biotics I'm taking it is really killing me. It will be over tomorrow. Pace per mile was: 7:52, 7:54, 8:02, 8:04, 8:07, 8:10,8:23, 8:25. Horrible pacing. I felt really bad at the end. My half marathon is just 4 weeks ahead and I'm freeking out.

1:06:38

Noon. 32F snow on the ground and on the trees everywhere. Beautiful. Some sun and light wind. I was feeling slightly better today. Pace was still not my usual 8:05 but it felt less of an effort. I am finishing my anti-biotics today and hope to see an improvement in my energy levels soon.

1:05:05

Late afternoon run. Legs are still very tired. I don't know what's happening with me but I lost all my speed the 8:09 pace felt really hard.

0:57:03

Late afternooon run. My left leg hurts a lot. The tendon connecting the hip and the knee is probably inflamed. Couldn't do more than the 5.8 and even those were hard. I'm going to take a day off tomorrow. I'm very worried. I'm regressing.

0:46:37

Went to see a sports medicine doctor this morning. He confirmed I have rectus femoris tendonitis. Contrary to what one would think, the treatmen is actually to heat the place and not ice it. Having some kind of resolution is actually comforting altough the pain lingers on.

Went for a run and it was still painful but the doctor said I can't make it worse if I just go slow and easy. I actually did a good pace and maybe that was a bad idea. Actually it was 7:57 which felt way harder than it should have.

0:55:40

We took the kids and went to Myrtle Beach for a weekend vacation. The best thing about it is that they have hot jacuzzis in the hotel. I am giving hot massages to my sore muscles and tendons and I am already feeling the improvement.

I went for a long run on the beach. It was a painful one but I mannaged to do the distance. Pace was poor: 8:23 but I contribute it in part to the fact that I ran on sand and that it was quite windy. Nevertheless, this was hard and I am very worried about what will happen in 3 weeks when I'm going to do this half marathon. I'm not sure how come I suddenly lost all my speed.

1:47:31

Eureka!!!! I know what's going on. Yes I do have sore mucles and perhaps some tendonitis but this is not it. Well if you read my blog, last week I had a small procedure in my teath. I happen to bleed a lot and I also kept bleeding for a few good days after, even for a week. So I was complaining last night to my wife that I am getting slow and tired and I don't know what's happening to me. So she lifted her eyes from her laptop and quietly said: you lost a lot of blood, you have low iron. And at that moment I had an epiphany. The reason why I'm so tired and that each run is such a huge effort is low iron! God bless my wife (who is a pharmacist). I'm now taking iron suplements and hoping for good.

I went for a run of 4 loops around the east campus. I entered 8 time 100 meter fast segments to see if I still have any speed left in me what so ever. I do. The run was a great workout. It can't be that the iron suplement is already working but I'm feeling better. The over all pace was reasonable 7:59.

0:52:39

Went to Duke's tracks this afternoon with an intention to do a quality workout. Wasn't sure what exactlu but when I went on the track I knew I was going to do a tempo. I did 1 mile warm up in which the muscles were sore and then 5 miles tempo and a mile cool down. Here are my splits: 7:54 (warm up), 7:36, 7:38, 7:39, 7:29, 7:22, 8:51 (cool down). Wow! look at the last two miles of that tempo! I'm so happy. I am going to give my wife a kiss (look at my blog from yesterday for the story why).

0:54:29

In pain today after yesterday's workout.

Lousy run on the treadmill in the hotel's gym.

0:42:00

Ran from my office home through the golf course trail. The pain usually lasts for the first 3-4 miles and then it gets better. I didn't measure time but the second half of the run was in good pace.

My left leg is still bothering me quite a bit. Strangely after 3-4 miles the pain almost goes away and I can get into nice pace and form. I don't think I should do such a long warm up before a half. I hope that the sound of the gun and the crowds will carry me in the first few miles and the pain will prevent me from starting too hard and then after these first miles I will be able to speed up and get into a good pace. Also I have 2 weeks till the race so things can change (for good hopefully).

So today I went for a 12 miles run in 40F, rain and wind at 7:30AM. Not your optimal conditions.I did 4 miles slow then 4 miles fast at about HM pace and then 4 more miles slow. Here are my splits:

first 4 miles: 8:22,8:21,8:18,8:15

middle 4 miles: 7:50, 7:38, 7:48, 7:44

last 4 miles: 8:21, 8:09, 8:25, 8:03

Noon, 46F overcast. Went for an easy run. I was in pain. I think it is time to realize that I am really injured and stop denying it. If I want to do well on the HM in two weeks I need a lot of rest. i think I will switch to cross training for a few days and then re-evaluate my situation.

0:52:26

6 miles on the bike at the gym and then some weights and a lot of stretching. I hate being injured and not able to run.

6 miles on the bike at the gym and them some weights and stretching. I still don't feel any improvement and I'm afraid I will not be able to stay off running for long. The half marathon is in 10 days and I am panicing.

Did bikes and weights in the morning and in the afternoon went to the tracks and tried to run some. Was able to do 2 miles in an OK pace (8:22 average). I'm starting to have serous doubts about the upcoming HM.

Went to the gym for some speed work after 3 days of rest. Ran 15 minutes warm up at 8:35 and then 3 times (5min at 6:49 + 2min at 9:05) and then 10 minutes cool down. It felt good to run fast again.

Long run on a cold rainy Sunday morning. I was in some pain but was able to finish this run. My splits were: 8:19, 8:04, 8:03, 7:58, 7:51, 7:52, 8:10, 7:55, 8:06, 8:02, 8:12, 7:53.

Sore after yesterday. Went to the gym and did 6.5 miles on the bike and then some core and weights and a lot of stretching.

Went to the gym for last speed work on the treadmill. Left leg hurts but I decided to run through it. My run included, 15 minutes warm up at 8:35 pace, then 3 times (5 minutes @6:49 pace + 2 minutes @9:05 pace)  and then 12 minutes at 8:45 cool down.

First of all, you guys have been a great inspiration and I have enjoyed reading the posts here and learned a lot from them. Thank you! Here is my RR:

Before: I set on the task to break my old HM PR last November. The last month was quite horrible in terms of training as I was injured. My monthly mileage dropped form the upper 40s to the lower 20s. But after so much preparation and after running something like 700 miles, I decided to bite the bullet and do this HM.

Race: Woke up at 6AM, ate light breakfast and took some ibuprophen and two Hershey kisses. Weather was 60F cloudy and 90% humidity. About 2000 runners lined up for the HM race. The gun went off couple of minutes after 8AM. The first 3 miles were a loop in downtown Raleigh. I obviously went out too fast. The next 4 miles were a gradual climb up a street which is on the border of NC State University’s campus. Then we turned and after another mile we entered a nice paved trail that goes behind some art museum. This trail included 3 major hills but also nice down hills. I was alternating between cursing the race director and then blessing him. Then at mile 10 we joined the same road we came up on but now it was mostly a down hill. The HM finished in downtown Raleigh again with a very nice ½ mile stretch to the finish. I was kicking hard and zooming past a guy who dared to pass me half a mile before.

Time: 1:37:50 (unofficial) which means 7:28 on average.Here are the mile splits:
01  6:50 (shoot! this is too fast! it's not a 5K!!!)
02  7:05 (it's not a 10K either! slow down!)
03  7:20 (leaving downtown Raleigh)
04  7:30 (starting a moderate climb)
05  7:33 (still climbing...)
06  7:33 (I'm finding my pace but also starting to have doubts)
07  7:41 (having more negative thoughts and trying to ditch them)
08  7:17 (crazy down hill, I love the race director)
09  7:48 (two crazy up hills, I hate the race director)
10  7:50 (third hill and then flattening + gatorade stop)
11  7:35  (feeling good but a bit tired)
12  7:34 (seeing Raleigh's downtown approaching)
13.1 8:14 (7:29 pace including a nice kick at the end)

After: Just a bit sore and only one blister but very happy about crashing my old PR (1:44:26) by more than six and a half minutes.

Thoughts: 1) I’m wondering how my race would have looked liked if I wasn’t injured for the last month. 2) How to solve the 'starting too fast' problem and is it really a problem?  3) how to better mentally train such that I will not have so many negative thoughts.

Recovery run after my HM race.

Still recovering from the race. Did 4.75 at 8:43 pace.

Some trail running. slow pace 8:32. Felt good.

More quiet trail running. Keeping the pace slow.

0:47:01

Medium long run on the trail. Early in the morning, still chily.

1:08:08

Run between campuses. Slightly faster pace 8:10.

0:43:41

Went to the gym for speed work routine. Warm up 12 minutes at 8:35 pace and then four times 5 minutes at 6:49 pace and 2 minutes at 9:05 pace, after these 4 repeats did 10 minutes in 9:05 pace.

3.3 slow miles after the speed work.

0:28:49

Run between campuses. I stopped for 3 short hill repeats after about a mile.

0:44:57

Went back to a route I didn't run for quite a long time. Did mostly easy miles but went faster in the middle three miles on the American Tobacco Trail.

1:22:09

Recovery slow miles squeezed between meetings.

0:28:16

Run between campuses plus two loops around east campus. I was fast and it felt really good.

0:51:17

Went to the gym for a tempo run on the treadmill. Did the following:
1 mile  at 8:40 pace
2 miles at 7:19 pace
2 miles at 7:13 pace
1 mile at 8:40 pace

0:46:27

Rand from my office to the trail. Medium pace and it felt OK.

0:45:22

Went to a really short and slow run with my son. It was so much fun.

Long run through the streets of Durham and some trails. It was quite a speedy one. The middle 3 miles were on 7:45 pace.

1:35:34

Very speedy short run.

0:36:53

Slower pace run between the campuses.

0:44:07

Went to the tracks for speed work. Did 5 miles over all with 4 times 800m repeats with 400m recovery jogs. The 800sw were (3:11, 3:12,3:13, 3:18).

0:38:48

Really slow run between the campuses.

0:41:07

Run from home to the trail and two loops on the trail.

0:49:52

Long run through Durham roads and trails. Did speedy 3 miles in the middle.

1:34:59

Run from the office to the trail. It was hot and humid but otherwise nice weather.

Today is the memorial day for the soldiers who gave their life for the establishment, security and prosperity of the state of Israel. Throught its 61 short but long years of independence the Jewish people living in Israel sacrified many fine sons, daughters, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters and other great people for peace and security. Let their memory live with us forever. May god send their relatives cure and peace. Amen. Today's run is dedicated to all those brave and dear people.

0:46:32

got up really early and went for a run before sunrise. It wasn't dark, just the beginning of daylight. Did two loops around the trail and with the before and after it all summed up to 6.2 miles. I hope this will become a habit (the early runs). Pace was about 8:10.

0:50:29

Nice run between the campuses with two loops on the east campus. it was getting hot but stil nto too bad at 9AM.

0:52:49

Somewhat fast run (7:55 pace) on this familiar course.

A nice run from my office to the trail. Again a bit too fast for an easy run.

0:44:53

Long run in the early morning. It was chilli but not too bad. Pace was quite good for this one mostly because I incorporated a bit faster pace in the middle 4 miles.

1:44:12

Felt a bit tired and took it easy today. 8:23 pace

0:44:49

Some more trail run at easy pace of 8:19

0:46:32

Speed work on Duke tracks. Did 1 mile warm up at 8:10 and then 4 miles tempo at 7:10, 7:11, 7:10, 7:04 and then 1 mile cool down at 8:30

0:45:14

Nothing special. Again a bit too fast for an easy run.

0:42:34

I'm in Evanston IL for a conference. Did a nice run by the lake and to the Bahai temple.

0:52:06

From my hotel through Evanston, go by the lake down to Chicago and back in more or less the same way.

1:28:40

Feeling a little bit under the weather. Did an easy run.

0:51:23

Feeling really sick. I hope it's not the swine flu I got in Chicago. Shortened my run and slowed my pace.

0:39:48

Feeling a bit better today. I guess I will survive. Still took it easy and slowed down to 8:30.

0:47:35

Went to Duke tracks for speed work. Did a workout which is called Yasso 800s. Warmed up half a mile and then did 8 time 800 meters with 600 meter active recovery inbetween. The 800 splits were 3:37, 3:32, 3:33, 3:33, 3:33, 3:25, 3:27, 3:26. If the theory behind Yasso 800s is correct, this workout predicts I can run a 3:30 marathon (provided I put down the mileage and training).

0:58:44

An easy run. It's getting warmer and humid here.

0:42:57

Long run from home to the American Tobacco Trail and then back. Nice cool day but very humid and with some rain.

1:50:28

Regular course, a bit too fast pace. Nothing special.

0:42:41

Trying to up the weekly mileage by a bit. It was actually nice and cool this morning.

0:51:40

Tempo run at the tracks. 1M warm up at 8:06 and then 4 miles at 7:00, 6:57, 6:53, 6:49 and 1M cool down at 8:20. It was humid and I was very happy to be able to maintain this pace and run negative splits.

0:44:05

Usual route between the campuses. It's a nice sunny morning.

0:51:43

Trail run near my house. Didn't record time.

In boomer NC, family vacation. When for a short trail run with a friend. Lovely trail near a local lake.

Early run in the trail near my house.

0:51:25

Agian early run to beat the heat. Slightly faster than yesterday.

Run between the campuses and two loops on the east campus.This is a easy cut back week.

Again running between west and east campus with an extra loop on the quad for emergency bathroom break.

0:57:13

Back to an old route I haven't run for a while. It was a fun run and I was slightly too fast (pace 8:01). I need to learn to run slower.

1:48:38

Early morning run at the golf trail. It's very humid these days.

0:52:29

Same as yesterday just slightly faster.

0:50:32

Same like yesterday and the day before it. I don't mind this monotonicty but it must be a not so good way to train.

0:50:52

Ran to the tracks to do 400m repeats. I did 7 of them in: 1:34, 1:34, 1:34, 1:33, 1:34, 1:32, 1:33. Even I am surprised at how even pace they were. Rest between intervals was 200m jog and the time got a bit longer as I progressed. Ran back home from the tracks.

0:53:04

Same old same old. 45 miles for the week! Wow!

The farthest and longest I have ever ran. Planned to do 15 but felt like running more. The last 2 miles were only slightly more difficult. I was smart to start slow. I took a long ice bath afterwords.

2:18:28

Had to rest after yesterday.

Trail near my house with a little extension. Still a recovery run after my long run on Sunday.

0:57:25

Forced rest day. We had to drive to DC and back the same day. Crazy story.

Ran to the tracks to do tempo run. I did 4 miles tempo with the following mile splits: 6:58, 6:58, 6:59, 6:57. So even, I think I'm turning into a robot.

1:10:04

Trail recovery run.

0:51:08

I usually rest on Saturday but I had a forced rest day on Wednesday so I added a run today.

I ran with a new group of runners I found. The run was hard in some ways. First it was a route I never ran and this adds to the mental challenge. Second they started too fast and then we all faded and I don't like doing that. But I like the people and the route was nice for the most part.

Recovery run. I have nasty blisters on both feet around where my arch is (well I don't have much of an arch). I ran really slow and it was painful most of the time.

0:53:16

Slightly better after I popped the blisters last night. Was able to run faster. I have sponge-bob band aids on my feet.

0:52:01

Went to a loop of 1.65 to do tempo. I ran 1 loop warm up, 3 loop tempo (=4.95 miles) and another loop cool down. The splits were:

13:44 (8:19 per mile)

11:37 (7:02 per mile)

11:21 (6:53 per mile)

11:23 (6:54 per mile)

13:38

That was an awesome run. almost 5M at my 10K pace or below.

1:01:42

Trail run at easy pace.

0:50:23

Some different way to run the trail plus 4 times short steep hill repeats at the end.

0:43:19

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT:

I have registered for my first marathon!!! SunTrust Richmond VA Marathon, November 14, 2009.  Hooray!

Ran again with a group of other runners. We started pretty early 6:40am but by the time we were finishing it was close to 9 and already 80+. The major hill of the run was at mile 13 and lasted for half a mile. Needless to say I was quite tired when I was done. While running, one of the guys commented about my form saying it looks really great and it look like I am not making an effort. I was very happy to hear such a comment but I can assure you I was making a lot of effort, especially in the last 2-3 miles. The pace on average was OK but it flactuated a lot during the run. I was not happy about that.

2:13:06

6:30 AM, 6 miles at recovery pace after yesterday's 16 miler. Felt good, no pains.

0:50:25

I did 6.2 miles today with 9 times 80-100m sprints thrown randomly during the run (which was in easy pace). I don't know if this can be count as fartlek as these sprints were not done consecutively.

0:50:25

did 8.9 miles over all with a pyramid speed work. My version of it today was 2X(200m+200m jog) + 2X(400m+200m jog) + 2X(800m+400m jog) + 2X(400m+200m jog) +  2X(200m+200m jog).  I will not bother you with all the warm ups and recoveries but here are my times for the intervals:
200m:  0:42.0
200m:  0:46.3
400m:  1:34.9
400m:  1:34.4
800m:  3:18.4
800m:  3:22.2
400m:  1:36.0
400m:  1:36.2
200m:  0:44.7
200m:  0:43.2

At some point just before I started my intervals a group of like 20 highschoolers with no track etiquette came to the field. It took them a few minutes to realize that there are 8 lanes and that they do not have to walk or jog only in lane 1. The intervals were not very challenging. I think next time I do this kind of workout I will add another 800m in the middle.

1:12:10