More Wind

Today the wind is out of the west, a good 20 mph or so, cutting the temperature dramatically. Teh Interweeb says the temperature is 49 and feels like 40. That seems accurate. I wore thin gloves and layered long sleeve tops to counter the plunge in the weather since yesterday.

This was my last speed work day. I ran 1-2-3-2-1 fartleks over a total of 5 miles. I still hope this running in the wind isn't a glimpse of race day.

Against the Wind

Yesterday morning the streets and yards were covered with snow and ice. Today the green grass lies under high spring clouds with a very strong southwest wind. I ran 6.75 miles, and boy was it nice to turn around and run the last couple of miles with the wind at my back. The length of my last couple of runs will decrease until the big mileage hits next Sunday. At this point the forecast for Dallas on Sunday is a high of 70 with a morning low of 54. And windy. Hopefully they're wrong, but today's run might have been a foreshadowing of the race. Ugh.

Final Long Run

It was a fitting end to the winter training - a long run on the treadmill with sleet falling outside. I ran 10 miles on the treadmill. It wasn't too bad since I re-watched the Battlestar Galactica series finale. The knee felt a little better today, so apparently the day of rest helped. Now it's off to the last week of tapering and a trip to Dallas for the race next Sunday.

Cut Short

I was going to run about 6 miles today, but my right knee felt really tight. I went 2.5 miles instead and it never did feel better. Sometimes after a warmup and then some faster running my legs feel better, but not this time. The plan called for fartleks. I ran faster for a couple of minutes but no dice. I'm hoping this is because I spent 30+ hours in the car in the past six days and not something else. Tomorrow is a day off so I'm hoping that helps.

Catching Up

Three days of running to post about. Let's start with the oldest.

On Sunday morning I ran 6 miles in Alamogordo. It was a nice easy run, and I took that literally. I ran by the two elementary schools I attended as well as two of the houses I used to live in. The weather was beautiful, of course, but my allergies were in fine form. I told my uncle that I had decided several years ago not to let allergies keep me from doing things I liked, and I still try to keep that mindset.

On Sunday morning I included a 24-minute tempo run in my 5-mile outing. I went south on Scenic, turned around at Ocotillo, went north to 18th Street, and then headed for home. There was a bit of a breeze but it wasn't too bad. And again, the weather was nice and sunny. If I ever decide to run an early-spring marathon again I'll have to live someplace like New Mexico.

Today I ran about 1.5 miles with the girls, and then ran another 2.5 on my own. Clearly this was an easy run day. They're running a 5k in Texas, and by this weekend or early next week they need to be running 30 minutes straight.

15 Today, 800 Tomorrow

Got the long run in today since tomorrow I'll be driving with Sister #2 to New Mexico. I just did circuits of the neighborhood today, which turned out well since the breeze picked up out of the SE. I ran 15 miles and had a lovely experience with some dogs. There's a place over in the townhouse section of the neighborhood where I've been charged before by a dog, and today he did it again. I squared off and started chasing him. His owner was out, and she had two other dogs, supposedly on a leash. By the time all was said and done, all three were off the leash after harassing me, she was chasing them down the street, and I just turned around and went back the way I'd come. And never a "sorry" from her. Makes me want to give animal control a call.

5 in 80

5 miles in 80 degree weather today, with a 24 minute tempo run. Even though it was tough, I figured this was good training in case it's warm on race day. Which it could very well be since the race is in Texas. There was a little bit of a breeze from the south, so I started out going that way and then running faster with the wind at my back. I don't think I would have made it if I'd gone my regular route to the east and north first.

Couldn't Resist If I Tried

This was one of those days that was so nice even if I wasn't a runner I would have gone out for a jog. Earlier in the day I saw a number of people running. The temperature climbed over 70 degrees, and even though there was a little bit of a breeze from the south, it doesn't seem to matter as much when it's warm outside. I ran 6 miles, and really didn't feel warmed up until mile 5. Yikes! I must be ready to run a race. But it's taper time, and today's run was nice and easy. Tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer, and I'm all for that.

Last Long Run

I'd like to think that a week has made me so much wiser, but since I was just plain stupid on last week's long run I think the average between the two puts me somewhere in the middle. I went 20 miles today, my last long run before the race. I purposely throttled back about a dozen times, especially in the early going. It paid off in the fact that yes, I was able to complete the run.

Let me also thank the wife for the water bottle belt she got me last year for my birthday. I don't know what I'd do without it. I froze a sports drink in the bottles last night. The morning started off cool, so the bottles didn't thaw as quickly as they would if this was summer. But what was nice was when they were partially thawed and the ice was just so cold and refreshing. In addition, the weather was outstanding. Not too cold and warming up nicely. If the weather would be this nice on race day...rats, I probably just jinxed it.

Cold but Runnable

I lost my voice today. Maybe running would help me find it. Since I felt fine otherwise, I went for some 1-2-3-2-1 fartleks and ran 5.5 miles. The breeze was a little stiff out of the ENE, but I needed a good run outside. For some reason I felt like I hadn't run in forever. The weather looks awesome for my Saturday 20-miler. Believe it or not, I'm actually looking forward to it.

Back to Running Inside

6 miles on the treadmill, with 20 minutes at a 9 mph pace. Nothing really exciting to report. The scenery was okay, but other than that not much else I can say.

Respect the Distance

When you're used to 20-mile runs and have run a few marathons, it's almost easy to see a 15-mile run as short. During my last go-around with this training plan, this was the weekend where I ran the KC Half Marathon in 1:48. Yesterday morning I thought I'd try what was basically a 15-mile tempo run. The temperature was great, and although rain was in the forecast the sun was out. It was a bit breezy, though.

Let's just say there's a big difference between a race and a long run on a Saturday morning. The first five miles went quickly and easily, but the last ten miles did not. I finished the first five in less than 45 minutes and then headed south into the wind. At about mile seven I started slowing down, and before it was all said and done I walked a few times and cut the run short rather than continuing to run headlong into the wind. I don't know what the problem was other than just starting out too fast. I guess when I run the race in four weeks I need to remember the first couple of miles are a warm-up. Especially since there's a good possibility of running the last half of the race into a south wind. Maybe I was due for the obligatory bad run before the race, but I was still bummed about it.

Back to Nice

The weatherman says 64 degrees, and I'd agree with that. Today was an easy run of 5 miles. The Nike iPod sensor said 4.8 miles, and I know that's not right because I've mapped the run using an odometer. Assuming that it can at least keep time correctly, my time for the run was 44:43, meaning that I ran my easy run at a pace under 9 minutes/mile. That's faster than I ran my first marathon. I really did feel like I was taking it easy, so that gives me hope that all this training will pay off in the race with a faster time.

So Much for Running Outside

Today was back to normal for winter temperatures and cold wind. Big surprise. After all, it's early March. I ran on the treadmill for 6.5 miles, including a 24-minute tempo run. One thing about the treadmill is that I can crank up the pace and keep it there the whole time. I ran the tempo at 9 mph, and that's way faster than I would have run outside. Granted, running outside is tougher, but at least this way I can see what it feels like to run that fast and maybe transfer some of it to my next run outdoors. If I'm doing my math right, 9 mph translates to less than seven minutes per mile. I can't run 26 miles at that pace, but hopefully it pays off to get me faster and gunning for a PR in the race.

Bound and Determined

After all that time on the treadmill Saturday I was bound and determined to run outside. Even if it was freezing, which it was, and even if it was breezy, which it was, I was still going to get out. So I did. I was pretty tight, but I ran 5 miles and am glad I persevered. I thought about doing half that while I was chugging up a hill, but I stuck it out. Less than five weeks to go until the race - no slacking off here!