4 mile tempo

I did a 4 mile tempo on the capital crescent last night in 22:20(5:35) pace. I am happy with the effort as I hit 11 minutes going downhill and 11:20 fighting back up to the start. Overall, I stayed in control but even 5:30s feel somewhat fast to me right now. I think I will skip out on the tempo for next week and just do an uptempo 8 mile run, while increasing the mileage to about 50(this week will probably be around 45 again).

7 days

I had a successful week last week after hitting my goal of 7 days with a workout thrown into the mix. I only hit 45 miles, but it was more than enough to work my body. I will probably stay at the mileage for the upcoming week and include a similar workout.

Workout 2

I set out on my second workout since the surgery last night(counting rockville twilighter as my first). I didnt have any written down and decided about an hour beforehand that today was going to be my workout day for the week. The plan was to start out easy and then find a quick, yet relaxed pace and then pick it up until gradually until it started to exceed a tempo effort. I did not use any mile markers or really have a set distance. It was to be a progression run in the most literal sense.

I headed down to the Georgetown and settled on a 6 mile loop that follow the Potomac. I hoped to finish the whole 6 miler before ending the workout, but I ended up about a half a mile short and jogged the rest of the way in. I ended up running the full 6 in 36:44, which is pretty slow for a workout, but I put in a good effort and it was actually really hot. When I was driving to Georgetown, my car read 91 degrees on the dashboard. The second plan for the rest of the week is to run everyday. And then to head into next week and do a workout similar to yesterdays(hopefully a little quicker).

Trance

I finally made a jump in training, or at least temporarily have stepped up to the next level. Last week I managed to hit 40 miles and the first run of this week was a 7 miler at 6:16 pace. I headed out towards Bethesda on the CCT from the store and felt really stiff through the first couple miles. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldng relax and get into a comfortable rhythm. I eventually got to the point of the trail where it swithces over from asphalt to gravel, and my body shifted into autopilot as I started cruising down near 6 minute pace. At one point I looked back to see if I was down a big hill, because I needed some explanation as to how I felt so good at the current pace, but it turned out if I was going down a hill, it was a very small hill. I was also kind of worried that I was going so quick before I had even turned around, but on the other hand I love the feeling of running some place you have never run, and not worrying about how far you have left or how fast you are going, but simply just going and slipping into a trance like state. I was unfortunately awaken from this trance after I turned around and made it back onto the asphalt. I still managed to keep pace on the asphalt, but it was not nearly as comfortable as on the gravel section.

40

I hit 40 for the week unexpectedly. After only running 4 days last week, I managed to run 6 and feel pretty good throughout the week. The runs were all pretty pedestrian, but that is fine for now.

4

I am so out of shape that I am keeping track of how many days I run a week rather than focusing on how many miles I run. Last week I ran 4 days, although I was hoping to run 5. I figured by taking yesterday off that I would be more prepared for this week. The reason I am not running 7 days is because its tough for me to follow a 6 or 7 mile run with a run that is less than 30 minutes. I have always found it kind of pointless to go for run that didnt last 30 minutes, even if it was a second run.

Stiff

I ran 7 miles yesterday from the store with the running group. I felt ok for the most part, but I also felt really stiff. I went out in around 7 minute pace and came back probably around 6:30 pace. The run was uneventful outside of hearing footsteps from behind about 3 miles in. I of course didnt look back and proceeded to run the next half in 3 minutes. I later found out that it was a guy from the group who started out slower and was trying to catch up to me, not just some random runner on the trail.