Something clever, and a new record

To wrap up last week's runs:

We had this speedy-q run on Friday (Wednesday and Thursday got delayed due to some kind of illness that manifested on Monday). It was a 30 minute run in which we covered just over 3 miles (9:58 pace, awesome awesome). It's pretty evident that occasional intervals of speedwork help me keep a good pace throughout the entire run. Sometimes, my legs just need a wake-up reminder. This was probably the best paced run we have ever had.

On Saturday, we ran a new record distance of 5.71 miles. The training plan target was 6.5. We ran for 75 minutes (a 15 minute increase from our last record long run). Mentally, I was in a much better place this time.  I also got through the whole run without ANY join pain (some mild fatigue in the left hip) and only minimal tummy cramping. One note, though: do NOT run south on Robertson Ave past 5th street. It is extremely dark, there are no sidewalks, and it has a surprising amount of oncoming traffic. Old Jacksonville Hwy, however, has some great sidewalks - really wide and flat. It was sooooo nice to get away from hills for a while.


And another week in the books means another notch on the thermometer:

I think it's about time to cross something of the Wish List. First down will probably be the Camelbak Annadel Hydration Pack from REI. As our long runs get longer, a small gatorade bottle isn't going to cut it anymore. Also, I'd really like to have a pocket for holding keys/phone/etc. Especially the phone. As we venture further and further from the house (or anyone's house), I'm getting a bit squeamish about not having one on me.

Redemption: A Joyful Run (Part II)

(Did you miss PART I?)

Monday's run went well... really, really well. Not only was it comparatively cool, which allowed us to run at a consistent pace of 10:49 (yeehaw!), but I maintained a great attitude throughout.

We made it a fartlek run (Swedish term for "speed play", or interval training), which you can learn more about from Coach Jeff Galloway here. Matt and I took turns on the cross streets picking a distant landmark to run to at a quicker pace. Running fast is one of my weaknesses, so I've really got to work on it. Fortunately, fartlek runs are AWESOME and FUN for me. On top of training my body to run fast and allowing me to run in child-like glee, fartlek workouts foster great camaraderie.

Matt likes them because he can break out of the slow pace we normally run; he also enjoys challenging me to defy my own expectations. We had a lot of fun, and Matt frequently expressed how proud he was of my performance. I won't lie, I felt pretty dang good.

We finished really strong, and managed to get home before 10:00pm. I'm still feeling the excitement today, but I'm also feeling a bit of tenderness in my shins (from Saturday) and hip connectors. Hopefully, I can stretch and work out the tightness before Wednesday's run.

The plan for this week (week 2) :

Monday: 30 min run (speed work, Azalea district)
Wednesday: 30 min run (I don't know what we'll do here... a regular run?)
Saturday: 4 mile run (East Texas Striders' Half-Marathon clinic, which is scheduled for a 3 mile run unless I can find someone else to run the last mile with me)