9 miles

Easy 9 miles outside this morning (7:50 pace). Yesterday was my last day of work so this was the first relaxed Saturday morning that we have had in a few years. Unfortunately it won't last too long as classes start in 5 weeks. The run felt pretty good this morning although I started to feel a little tired toward the end and my HR reflected it as well as it went up to 165 for the last mile. I will probably keep my long run down to 14 tomorrow because I want to be ready to race on the 4th. 70 miles for the week.

10 miles

Easy 10 this morning at 7:50 pace (4 outside and 6 on the treadmill). Legs felt good and still no signs of the sore knee.

7 miles

Easy 7 on the treadmill at 8:00 pace this morning.

12 miles

Easy 12 this morning (7:50 pace)... 6 outside and 6 on the treadmill. Legs felt really good today. I started a new pair of shoes on Monday and haven't had any pain in my knee since. The miles are adding up a little quicker now and it's easy to forget that my shoes might be getting worn out.

Hills... sort of

10 miles (7:50 pace) this morning with some inclines thrown in... I'm hoping to get my legs used to the idea of hills. The only good option for us outside is the back of the levy out our front door... but it isn't the best footing and is way too dark to attempt at 3:30 in the morning. My legs felt pretty good today.

7 miles

Recovery run this morning on the treadmill. Legs were just a little sore but overall didn't feel too bad

15 miles

Legs felt good this morning.. no soreness and not too tired once I settled in. 15 miles at 7:51 pace. HR stayed under 160 for the first 6 miles then averaged 162 for the next 5 miles. Miles 12-15 were at 164-165. I was definitely more tired than on a typical long run but it didn't feel as if I had raced yesterday. It was a good indicator that I ran as controlled as I thought I had during the race... another good sign was that my knee didn't bother me too much. Just a little starting around mile 10.. I stretched it a little and was able to continue without any problems. I stopped at 15 just to be on the safe side. Recovered to 130 in1:03 and 120 in 1:15.

12k

The race wasn't exactly what we were expecting... not so organized and a little more of an obstacle course than your typical road race. We got a chuckle out of the course map before we began as there were many footnotes... run under the bridge and through the dirt path up the grassy hill.... over the bridge and down the handicap accessible ramp (with three 180 degree turns)... run along the bike path until you reach the 3 flights of stairs leading back up to the bridge... Last year they had trouble with people getting lost and missing a section of the course because it was pretty complicated, not well marked, and they didn't have any type of escort. Anyway, I was happy that this was going to be more of a workout effort than a real race.... the plan was to run 6:55 to 7:00 pace.

I ran a short warm-up about 20 minutes before the start, stretched and did a few strides. It was pretty humid and probably close to 60 degrees but I actually felt a little cold while we stood around waiting for the race to start (it finally did... 10 minutes late).

I felt really good from the start.. really relaxed. The first 4 miles went by in 6:44, 6:53, 6:48, 6:49. They were all on pretty flat roads... no cross country, ramps or stairs yet! Miles 5 and 6 were 7:05 and 6:59... it was somewhere in these miles that we had to run off the bike path into a frisbee golf course (the dirt path and up the grassy hill) and then a little later we ran down the ramp and back up 3 flights of stairs. I was still feeling really relaxed and controlled through these miles... it felt much more like a MP back-to-back effort that I had been doing prior to the half marathon. It was tempting after mile 6 to pick it up a little but I stayed on pace through mile 7... 6:50. I let myself go a little for a the last .44 and finished (on a huge downhill) at 6:17 pace.

I was 10th overall (99 runners) and the first woman in 51:23 (6:53 avg. pace) ... not a very competitive field =) But it was fun and probably a good training effort. My legs didn't get sore at all and my knee felt fine throughout the race and later in the day as well. It was a nice change in effort from the easy runs that I have been used to lately.

6 miles

Easy 6 on the treadmill this morning. Everything was feeling good. 12k tomorrow!

8 miles

I made it through 8 miles (7:50 pace) today without any pain in my knee. I added a few 200m strides at 6:55 pace just to get the legs moving a little before the 12k on Saturday.

9 miles

My knee was still hurting a little this morning so I stopped at 9 again. It is frustrating to have a problem like this that never completely goes away. I will keep icing and be careful with my mileage!

9 miles

For some odd reason my knee was hurting pretty badly this morning. I usually only deal with the pain immediately after a race or occasionally the day after a long run. It was bad enough that I had to stop and stretch my IT band after 7 miles and still had to stop early at 9 miles. So I will ice and take ibuprofen today. Otherwise my legs felt good today.. a little tired at the start but after a mile I settled in to 7:50 pace and felt pretty good. My HR didn't go above 150 today... it averaged almost 10 beats lower than what is the new normal.

7 miles

Recovery run today. Felt ok after the first mile... a little tired and still a tiny bit of soreness in the legs. 8:15 pace.

17 miles

Long run this morning... 17 miles in 2:12:59 (7:49 pace) with average HR of 156. My HR stayed below 160 for the first 12 miles. Miles 13-17 were 161, 163, 162, 162, 163. I pushed a little on the last 400m of the run to see if I could get it up a little higher (just out of curiosity and because I was a little concerned that it was low because I was tired... even though I haven't been feeling tired). Anyway, it did go up to 169. I recovered to 130 in :52 and 120 in 1:02. My legs felt great with the exception of the last 4 miles when they started feeling a little tired. They are just a touch sore but I think that it will be gone by tomorrow. I think this was a pretty good run!

8 miles

I kept the miles at 8 this morning even though I felt fantastic. I expected to be tired today as it is the end of a 76.5 mile week for me and my legs were feeling a little off yesterday throughout the day. I was pleasantly surprised to find my legs feeling really good as soon as I got going on the treadmill this morning. I kept the pace at 8:10's anyway just to make sure I am not overdoing anything. Hopefully this means I will be feeling good for my long run tomorrow. I am running (racing?) a 12K next Saturday but am not planning on adjusting mileage at all other than a slightly lighter day on Friday.

11 miles

Easy 11 this morning at 8:00 pace. Legs felt pretty good during the run but I am starting to feel a little tired as the day goes on. Tomorrow's 10 might get changed to 8.

9 miles | 3 .5 miles

Easy 9 this morning. Legs were a little tired to start but felt better as I got going. I kept the pace a little slower this morning (8:10) and average HR was 148. I added a few 200 meter inclines in the last mile which got the HR up to high 160's.

Easy 3.5 miles this afternoon with the kids in the stroller. We did a little tour of the parks in the neighborhood which meant there were a few breaks during the run.

12 miles

70 degrees and light rain when I headed out the door at 3:30 this morning. I felt great today... there's something about running in the rain. I did the first 6 outside with the HR monitor on... I was running 7:45 pace at 156 HR. It wasn't that long ago that I couldn't take a step without my HR going up to 167. The last 6 were on the treadmill. Good run.

10 miles

Easy 10 this morning with 6 outside and 4 to finish on the treadmill. Legs were a little heavy for the first 2 miles or so but that lifted and I felt good for the rest of the run. 7:50 pace with my HR staying at 160 or under.

7 miles

Recovery run today... my legs weren't sore just a little tired. Nice and slow on the treadmill. 71 miles over the last 7 days.

Long run

It seems like it has been a long time since I have been out for a long run. It felt good to be out today for 2 hours... 16 miles in 2:04:50 (7:48 pace). I started feeling a little tired around 13 miles and stopped back at the house for some gatorade (thanks Elle!). It seemed to help after a couple miles and I felt pretty good by the end of the run. My legs never got sore (which is new for me) and a few hours after the run everything is feeling good.

9 miles

Easy 9 on the treadmill.

10 miles

Easy run this morning... 4 outside and finished on the treadmill. Averaged 8:05 pace and was able to keep my average HR under 160 for the entire run!

9 miles

Easy run on the treadmill. 8:15 pace.

11 miles

Easy run today. The first 7 1/2 were outside and then in to finish on the treadmill. Legs felt good. Average pace outside was 7:45 and then a little slower on the mill.

Don't fly United

That was the lesson we learned from our trip to Vermont. Other than one canceled flight and one that was delayed, we had a great trip. The wedding was beautiful and we had most of the morning on Sunday to spend with the groom (our friend from college who also ran cross country and track with us). He took us on a hilly trail run that really wiped out my legs... I will need to work on hills before TCM! I had planned on a long run but after close to 6 miles on the trails I was happy to just add another 1+ miles to make it 7 for the day. The wedding made for a late night on Sunday and with an early flight on Monday we didn't have time for a run before we left (and there was no way we were leaving the kids to go for a run once we got home!) so Monday was a day off.

Tuesday - Easy 9 this morning (7:50 pace). My legs felt great.

7 miles

Recovery run this morning on the treadmill. Legs were a little sore but overall didn't feel too bad.

Easy runs

Thursday - Easy 7. Felt good.

Friday - Easy 8. 4 miles outside and finished with 4 miles on the treadmill (averaged 7:50 pace). Felt really good today.

We are off early tomorrow morning to Vermont for a friend's wedding. It will be a short trip (back on Monday) but we should have a chance to get in some fun runs. We are leaving the kids for the first time (ever!).... we have never even left them with a babysitter yet. Grandma and Grandpa are coming to take over so things should go just fine though... Elle is very excited (Bud will probably be a little less excited to not see Mommy for 3 days).