Lake Park Recovery

Distance: 2.96 mi.
Time: 22:2.3.
Pace: 7:35.

For today's extended cooldown run I found myself in my parents' subdivision for some miles that went by a little too quickly. The good news is I absolutely love my Karhus. Again, I want to see how many miles I get out of them before fully converting, but they are far more comfortable than any Nikes I've worn, and this particular model feels very light for a trainer. 

Sunday Shakeout

Distance: 3.01 mi.
Time: 22:51.19 - 7:36 ppm.

Today I just ran a short shakeout from my parents' house after visiting with them for a bit. I try not to ever repeat post titles for this blog, but that's getting a bit difficult. Also, I think I failed to mention that I bought a pair of the Nike Lunar Swift recently. They were on a ridiculous sale at the Nike factory store in Concord Mills and I wanted a cheap alternative pair for when the Pegasus begin to wear out, which is the case currently.

I'll Have Some Wine Now, Please

Tempo: 5.04 mi in 34:50.92 - 6:55 ppm.
Cooldown: 0.8 mi in 5:46 - 7:37 ppm.

This wasn't really a tempo run; I just started off a little quicker than usual and decided to go with it. I've changed my stride - more on that later - which makes it easier to get out at a swift trot even when I don't plan on it. This was my first run in a new pair of Nike Lunar Swift that I bought for half the retail price at the Nike Factory Store. I wasn't too pleased with them but they will make a nice alternative to the Pegasus when I want to run a little faster than usual.

Running through my parents' neighborhood, I crossed paths with my niece and brother-in-law in the park. I then remembered I had more important things to do today and cut the run short.

Merry Christmas!

A Bit Rundown...

Distance: 3.1 mi.
Time: 22:04.34 - 7:07 ppm.

I didn't intend to run a 5k today. In fact, I was supposed to my second workout, but since I am racing this Saturday I decided I would be ok without it. I also seem to have come down with a mild virus. I have been much busier than usual this week, and the lack of rest may have opened up my immune system to the legion of germs I'm faced with on a daily basis due to large amounts of interaction with others. In order to compensate for the slackness, I just tried to run 3 miles at a fairly decent clip in the heat of the day. I didn't run as fast as I wanted but I suppose that's just as well; as I write this later on the Thursday night I feel a good bit worse. Hopefully I can kick it soon!

Shoe Shopping?! Already?!

Distance: 3.00 mi
Time: 23:45/7:53 ppm

As discussed, the Brooks Defyance 4, for which I paid about $100.00, are at the end of the road after fewer than 300 miles. The Nike Dart 8, a basic neutral trainer that cost $40, lasted 501 miles - 501!!! - for me last fall. Granted, that was too much; I probably could have done well to park them after 400. But still - that's over 100 more miles than the Brooks! And I run on the trails a lot, too!

Anyway, I decided I'd take advantage of my ability to wear a neutral shoe by buying something basic again, and I went with the Saucony Grid Cohesion. I found a sweet Air Force-blue edition on Eastbay but I didn't want to wait a week for it to get here so I went ahead and bought what Dick's had to offer: a dark grey style that likely looks very funny on me, but oh well. I ran around my parents' neighborhood in them and they felt pretty good. I can probably get a few more miles out of the Brooks but I feel like I have a decent shoe for when they finally kick the bucket. Also - and this is the exciting part - I think I've picked out a pair of racing flats for the next time I decide to toe the line.

Stay tuned!

P.S. No Running Buddy details for this run because I left it at home.

Lake Park Stroll

Distance: 4.82 mi
Time: 00:36:53/7:39 ppm

I was at my parents' house today, and I don't particularly enjoy running in their neighborhood. There aren't any trees lining the streets, and I can't run very far without a lot of backtracking because the connecting roads aren't safe. In other words, not a whole lot to say here. I got the miles in, sped up a good bit towards the end, and I was done.

I did notice that they had arrows marked along the streets as if for a 5k race. They used to have one here every October during the neighborhood fall fest; I ran it once and finished second. I asked my dad about it but he didn't seem to know if they had run the race recently. I certainly didn't hear anything about it, but if they still do it could present a great chance to run up front. Who knows?

Details

Lake Park epic fail

Eggers and I once again exchanged workout ideas for the week of September 20, and I decided to do a 2x3-mile workout with 4 minutes rest in between.  The goals were set relatively high, as I intended to come through the first set at mile times of 6:45, 6:45, and 6:30.  After the rest, the second set would be 6:30, 6:30, 6:15 or under. 

Sadly, I failed...miserably.  We can blame it on the fact that I had come down with a mild stomach virus the day before and was running on empty, or the fact that because of the work schedule I had to do this in the 95-degree heat again.  Either way, I sucked, coming through the first set in 6:42 (after starting way too fast in a half of 2:55), 6:56, and 7:02.  After four minutes of walking, jogging, stretching, and cursing, I threw myself back into the second set and came through in 7:02, 7:27, and 6:43.  Yikes!!  At least I finished strong again, but it's clear I'm still learning how to pace myself and that I'm having trouble getting through the mental blocks that show up in the middle sets.  Back to the drawing board....