12 Laps

Weather is still nasty, but I did the full 12 laps today. Next time I do this it will be with a watch.

Getting There

My assualt on 3 miles is making good progress. I've made it as far as 11 laps once or twice. Today I ran 8 laps at what felt like a much better pace than I've been running. Next nice day I should make it to 12.

I'm thinking that 6 days/week of running and 6 days/week of riding is a nice way to have 5 days/week of double workouts and have at least one workout each day of the week. (((5 x 2) + 1 + 1) = 12 total workouts/week.)

Good Progress

I just finished my second 28-mile week of running this "Spring." This is unusually high mileage for me at this time of year, so I am quite encouraged. The weather was "nice" this weekend, with bright sunny days, although highs were only in the 20s!! The track is mostly free of snow, but too cold to consider a time trial yet. I like to see at least 45 degrees before doing my first time trial of the year. This week will be slightly less mileage, but hope to do a tempo run or something other than slogging through the cold. Mark

Slow and Steady...

With the emphasis on slow. But I've been pretty good about getting to the track almost everyday and then riding the excercise bike for 45 minutes. Today I hope to run 11 laps.

Typical spring weather. Beautiful and warm some days, cold and damp others. We might be some snow today and/or tomorrow, but it should be all melted by Monday.

I sure am glad we don't have Buffalo weather here!

Not Again!! (from Frozen Tundra, NY)

Six inches of snow yesterday, then 20 degrees this morning. Here was the scene from my front porch this am. I am, however, planning to run tonight!!

Spring Training Update..........Not Again!!!

I've had a good string of 7 days in a row of running now. The "spring" weather has improved somewhat, allowing me 28 miles last week in 6 runs. If I count just the last 7 days (Tuesday through Monday (yesterday), that would be 32.5 miles in one week.

Anyway, I feel this is a good start for me, as I usually don't get my mileage this high in the "spring." Of course, "spring" here means temperatures in the 30s and 40s.

However, Sunday was warmer than usual (mid 40s), and I played tennis with my daughter outdoors, followed by a 4 mile run.

Now the bad news............2 to 4 inches of snow expected tomorrow!! Oh well, I'm not giving up on "spring" training!

Mark

Ramping Up

Temperatures have been very nice. During Friday's workout it was almost 80. Today it was mid 60s. I'm now up to 8 laps around the track. Once I get to 12 I'll start using a watch. On the excercise bike I'm riding 45 minutes and burning about 700 calories (according to the bikes computer).

Spring Training Starts?

This week's weather has finally improved to where I can consider it "spring" training. Temps in the 40s, almost 50 one day, although yesterday was back in the 30s. Here's a summary of the week so far:

Sunday: 5 miles, about 8:35/mile pace
Monday: weights and ab lounger
Tuesday: 4.3 miles, 8:38/mile (in the dark after dinner)
Wednesday: 4.5 miles, before dinner, in the light, averaged 8:01 per mile, including 4 fartleks of about 100 to 200 meters each. What a difference running before dinner, and with the sun out. Note that this run was still with full sweats (but not hat and gloves). This was encouraging, and gives me some sense that I didn't lose too much conditioning over the winter.

Hoping to run tonight before dinner also.

Mark

Early Spring

Yesterday I went running on the track at Charlottesville High School for the first time in months. The run wasn't much--I just wanted to start working on getting the feel of the track again. The weather was fantastic. It was the first day of DST so at 5:00 there was plenty of light and it was in the 70s. I wore a brand new pair of running shorts. By the way, the price of running shorts is insane. I bought them on sale at our local running shop and they were still well over $20. That's more than I sometimes pay for a pair of real pants.

After the run I did an easy 30 minutes on the exercise bike--so I've had my first double workout of the year.

My legs are still sore. I'm looking forward to the soreness going away so I can start to run faster.

"Spring" Training????

I've sort of re-started my training, now that we're close to "Spring" in Buffalo. But it sure didn't feel like it, with either fairly cold rain or snow most every day this week.

Here's a summary of this past week’s training:

Sunday: 3.1 miles XC skiing, about 42 minutes total

Monday: 32 minutes on exercise bike indoors

Tuesday: weights indoors

Wed: 4.4 miles in pouring rain and dark, temp in 40s

Thurs: 4.4 miles in pouring rain and dark, temp in 40s

Friday: 4.3 miles in swirling snow and wind, temp in low 30s*

Saturday: 5.1 miles, drizzle changing to steady light rain, temp in the 40s.

All in all, not a bad training week. Maybe the track will be free of snow soon. I'm itching to get out there an try a mile!

I'm glad Eric's training so I don't have to feel like I'm doing this alone.

*Thought about Frank Shorter while I was running in the wind and swirling snow (although I really shouldn't compare myself to Frank). While training by running uphill in the mountains of New Mexico in the swirling, blinding snow, Frank thought to himself...."I doubt anyone in the world is doing what I'm doing." That made him feel better, and in fact, he said the runs were almost pleasant.

Mark

Less Sore

Hopefully the worst is over and I'll be ready for the track next week when I'm back in Charlottesville. The ten-day weather forecast looks like the weather should be nice for running around mid-day.

Sore

I've now run a bit more than two miles each of the last three days (haven't run yet today). My quads are sore and walking down steps reminds me of how I felt in 1975 after running Maryland Marathon. I did walk on the beach the first two days and that might have contributed to the soreness.

Winter's Last Gasp????

My last post used the terminology "Winter's Last Hurrah," conjuring up the annual "Harriers Last Hurrah" "race" which was the Riverside loop, but with a twist.....the one closest to their predicted time won, and no watches allowed, of course.

Anyway, after running in shorts late last week, and thinking spring training had begun, it snowed 5 or 6 inches last night and this morning, so I couldn't resist one "final" cross country ski session....but this IS Buffalo, after all. Anyway, I did about 3.2 miles, averaging 13:20 per mile....it was slow due to wet, slushy spots, which caused soft snow to stick to the skis. But, all in all, not bad for skiing in March. Can't wait until the track is clear, though!

Mark

First Run

Just got back from my first run of the year. A bit more than two miles on a flat road. I didn't time myself because I didn't want to know how slow I was. Since there isn't much to say about the run, let me focus on the equipment.

I used brand new shoes that are probably the nicest looking running shoes I've ever had. They are Tiger (Asics)trail shoes and are red with gold, black, and gray trim. What makes them trail shoes is that the upper has a tighter weave than normal and the tongue is bit different with the idea being that one's feet will get less wet when running on trails. The bottom has a tread design that is for trails, but I don't know what about the tread design makes them ideal for trails. I got them at a clearance sale--they where the only shoes in my size at the sale that had the right design to handle my extreme supination. So far so good. Extremely comfortable considering they now have a total of two miles on them.

My choice for shorts is sure to cause controversy. I'm at my beach house and usually when I am here I run on the beach in a bathing suit. So I thought why not use the same suit on the road? I took the risk and have no regrets. The suit could probably pass as a long multipurpose sport short except that it has a Speedo logo on it.

I was concerned about the temperature and the wind. As a result, I overdressed and wore a sweatshirt over my T-shirt. So I sweat a bit more than I would have liked but that's what I get for wearing a sweatshirt.