Every day is a new day

Same as yesterday except for 12-14 inches of new wet snow.  So had to repeat Thursdays run.

So did 8.1 miles in 71:00 minutes for an 8:50 pace.  Oddly enough average HR was the same as yesterday as well at 143.

More snow expected tonight so long run may have to be on the treadmill.  Oh joy.

Decided to split up the long run today since it is still snowing and  I could not bear the thought of another long run on the treadmill.  I know it is not the same but I really want to get the miles in today.

So ran 6.2 in 53:24  for about 8:37/mile. Will try to get back to the gym later this afternoon if I can get away from my desk. Average HR again was 143.

P.M.  Back to the machine.  Little change since I was last there, the only difference is it was at least 5 or 6 degrees warmer.  Ran an easy 6.6 miles at 8:55/mile.  Felt fine- I had never done two real runs in the same day. Great for getting the miles in without strain.  I sure hope I can get back to the road by next long run day though.  HR 141 ave.

Now there is almost three feet of snow on the ground.  We have road graders for snow plows in this town.  All the snow must be dumped in the ocean.  Needless to say the streets are almost unusable for cars or runners. 

To change up the treadmill routine I did a 2 mile warmup at 9:00/ mile, then ran a fast ( for me) mile at 6:45/ mile with a .25 jog, then a graduated three miles going from 8:30/ mile down to 6:45/ mile with a smooth speed increase ave 7:40 and finally almost a mile cooldown at 9:00.  Total time 1:01.  Average HR 148 ( 120-166)

I thought it might be time to make a change in my training routine.  Since I recently got a logging HR monitor I thought training  by HR was worth a try, even if only for a change of pace.

It seems I was running my easy/long runs too fast and my interval/tempo runs too slow, at least according to average HR.

So in light of the above ran 7.1 easy at 9:12/ mile for an average HR of 138.

Exactly the same as yesterday. 

7.1 miles at a 9:12 pace. Average HR 136.

Quite the winter.  Still way too much snow to run anywhere plus winds to 50 mph the rest of the week.  I am promising myself no more treadmills once spring arrives.

Did a series of progression runs from 8:15 down to 6:30. With a warm up and cool down the total was 7.3 miles in 58 minutes. Average HR 149.

Easy day on the treadmill.  Sunny but cold and windy( 8 degrees and wind 35+).  Two more feet of snow expected in the next 36 hours, but turning to rain by Monday and then rain all next week.  The good news is that should allow running outside by Wednesday.

Today was a recovery easy day of 7.3 miles in 65 minutes for an 8:54 pace.  Ave HR 137.

Where do I start?  Let's see winds 45 gusting to 60. Blowing snow and ice fog.  No plowing for 36 hours. Oh yeah 12 degrees.  Could not risk a boat ride to town for the treadmill.

That left jogging around the island trails with snow shoes.  So that is todays workout. On a perceved effort basis slow jogging in deep snow with snowshoes is easily as difficult as marathon paced running.

The good news is the weather is changing and it is expected to rain all week!

Raining and in the 30's!  Back outside as soon as tomorrow. 

After a 2.2 mile warm up ran a treadmill 5K at hard but not hardest pace.  Ran 7:30  7:15  7:00 and 0:42 for  22:27.  Guess I'll run the local 5K on Saturday to find out where I really stand.

Recovery day so nothing special.  Still treadmilling.

Ran 7.0 miles in 1:02.  Ave HR 136.  Very hot and humid in the gym since it has warmed up so much with the return to rain.

Back to the great outdoors!  Ran with only a little glare ice on the roads.  Felt really good to see the scenery change.

Ran a 1 mile warm up then ran next Saturdays 5K course which includes a roundtrip over the bridge. While the bridge is less than a hundred feet elevation gain going over it twice in less than a mile seems to slow one down.  Ran it as a fast tempo/slow VO2 max run but managed only 23:52.  Put that down to ice and a lack of compitition.  Will know in a few days how much my speed has suffered over the winter(what little I have anyway).

Ended up with a total of 7.7 miles in 62:40.  Average HR 144.

Recovery day but wanted to run the 5K course again.  Planned on doing only recovery pace but ran a little fast and ended up with 7 miles in 58 minutes for an 8:20 pace.

Nice day with little wind and temps in the mid 40's.

I am cutting back on the miles with the increase in speed and tempo work.  Seem to be getting a lot of new aches and pains that I most definately do not want to grow into a problem.

Easy day on the treadmill.  Ran 5 miles at 9:00.  Ave HR 133.

Just so I would remember how to move my legs tomorrow at the 5K I ran the last mile at 7:30.  Ave HR 151.

Woke up to an inch or two of new snow. Wind at 25 with gusts to 30. Temp about 30 degrees.

Great weather day for the local 5K race. I did not include finishing place in the summary above as my son and I made up close to half of the total runners. We saw no one at the start and thought the race had been canceled and did minimal warm up and were leaving the start area when the organizer showed up 5 minutes before race time . A few quick strides and we were off.

The field was made up of two fast runners, me and two joggers. I often have trouble with opening pace and today was no exception. I never try to start out with my son but the other fast runner told me he was just looking for a low 7 minute pace today so I followed him, expecting to slowly lose ground but have someone in sight the whole way.

Well as expected I went out too fast, going by the first mile marker in 6:44. Then I hit the bridge- long uphill section and straight into the wind plus the snow was rather slippery on the bridge. Wind did not seem to push much on the return trip. Needless to say the second mile was slow, very slow. I noticed my HR peaked in the high 170's- a little high for an old guy like me. The third mile was tiring but uneventful. The leaders were out of sight ahead, the joggers were out of sight behind. I was tired enough that surging to the finish with no one in sight did not seem worth it. Felt tired but not exhausted at the finish.

Details 6:44, 8:17, 7:09 and :47 for 22:57 a PR for the CC course.  Ave HR 163.

Less than 4 minutes behind son, who said he had a bad day and running wearing only shorts, ( no shirt, hat or gloves), was a bad idea especially considering the wind chill.  No matter he owes me dessert tonight!

Started out with the intention of running an easy 6 or 7 to loosen up legs a little stiff from yesterdays 5K.  Got to the turn around point before Whale Park and decided it was too nice a day, ( no wind and 45 degrees), to stop, so carried on to the mill bridge and back.  Ended up with 11.0 miles at an easy 9:00 pace for 1:39:00.  Average HR was a little high at 144 but soreness nad hills accounts for that. More than a little stiff as I write this.  Stretching then a nap I think.

Ran five miles with a friend who is recovering from surgery so kept to a modest pace that actually felt just right to me after running too long yesterday after Saturdays 5K race.  Ran two miles at 7:30/ miles on the way back to the gym.  Total time 65 minutes.  Ave HR 132.

Today was a good day for the hill route.  Warm, wet and windy was the order of the day, with temps over 50.  This time of year that seems like spring.

Ran an easy and relaxed pace on the hills finishing in 1:11  for about an 8:52 pace.  Nice, fun run.

Trying out a new strategy for dealing with work hours that are growing rapidly. My son wanted to start two a days for track and asked if I would skiff into town early to get him to the track. I thought it would be a good chance to run a short run before work.  It wasn't, I am not a morning person and found the run to be harder than usual.  Still I ran 2.4 miles easy at 9:00/mile and a modest tempo 3 miles in a little under 8:00 for a total of about 45 minutes.

I will do a shorter regular lunch run assuming the legs are up for it.

P.M.  Did a slow recovery type run this afternoon.  Legs were quite sore for the first mile.  Guess I'm not used to two-a-days outdoors yet.  Did 5.6 miles in 48:30 for an 8:40 pace, all on level ground.

Felt the need to have a recovery run day due to overall soreness.  I also realized this is my tenth day in a row of running.  Since I do not want to take a day off until Sunday I thought an easy day was just right.

Nice day with no rain or wind and temps in the low 40's.  Ran for an hour for a total of 6.8 miles. 

Beutiful day for a run, sunny, no wind and temps in the 40's.  A little short on time today so ran only 6.5 miles at a slightly faster 8:20/ mile pace.  Ave HR 142.

Did not originally intend to go more than 8 miles today.  This is my thirteenth day in a row so I did not want to push it.  Of course my recent major surgery friend kept saying he felt fine and lets keep going every mile.  So we did.  I kept to a pace right for both of us and ended up with 11.7 on the mill and back route.  I had done a 1.5 mile warm up on the treadmill before he arrived for a total of 13.2 miles in 1:55 for a 8:42 average pace.  Ave HR 142.

Will run more speed work miles next week and drop the total mileage a bit to compensate.  Looking to run a flat course 5K on March 15.  Feel really slow at the moment.

A very much needed day off.  Tired fronm the last twelve days.  The good news is it is just aches and pains, nothing nagging or problematic.  Plan to cut down from low 60's to upper 40 miles and do at least 2 speed days this week.  Decided I will run the 5K in the next series race  and not my prefered 10K. I want a better 5K time.  Will try on March 15th. 

A.M. - Got up early to bring my son into town to run a self timed 800 time trial.  The track is covered in ice so we were going to mark off a section of the park trail and run it there. We got up early but son informed me he was too tired to run a time trial and would like to do it after school. Since I was already up I decided to go into town anyway and run a bit before work.  Ended up doing 5.3 miles in 44:52 for a 8:30 easy run pace.  Will do some more later.

P.M.  Went to the gym at noon to just do a couple of treadmill mile intervals since the track is under ice.   Did a 2 mile warm up, then 2x1600 with a quarter jog.  miles were 7;00 and 6:45.  Then a 1.2 mile cooldown. Felt just a little more tired than expected, but thought it was the morning run.  Actually turned out to be treadmill set at 2.5%.  Average HR 144.

I could not decide what to do today or where to go.  It was quite windy and threatening to rain heavily.  Should of been an easy day in the park.  Instead it was a tempo day on the highway in the heavy rain and wind.

Jogged a 1 mile warm up then did 7 miles at an average pace of 8:00 and only a .1 cool down due to the heavy rain.  Went in the gym and did 15 minutes of active stretching instead.

Felt pretty good, minor leg issues only.

I was just going to do an easy day treadmill run.  It was very busy at the gym today and I had to give up my machine after 30 minutes.  Put on my hat and an extra shirt and ran out to the park and back.  Total of 7.5 miles in 64 minutes for an 8:31 average.

Felt tired this morning and almost opted for only doing a 6 mile easy run.  My plan was to run a few mile intervals.  By the time I got to the gym I decided to try to follow the plan and modify only if I had to.

So ran a 2.5 mile warm up at 8:45 pace.  Then did 3x1600 at just under7:00 pace with 400 jogs followed by 2 mile cooldown.  Tired but not exhausted.

Glad I did not wimp out!  Decent workout for an old guy.

Easy day today.  I had to go out to the airport to pick up my wife's car that was left in short term parking due to lack of space.  I did not want it towed so I decided to get two things done and ran out to the airport to collect the car.  I went on a route I had never run on before and was unsure about the distance.  As per the GPS it was exactly 7.1 miles.  Ran the 6.1 at an easy 8:50 pace and the last mile at just over 7:00. for 61 minutes total.

Nice day for a run and made it back over 200 miles for the month which is my long term ave goal.