A solid training week, and 8 miles tomorrow!

Well this week went as scheduled. I did my Strength Training on Monday and Wednesday, which went pretty well. I am beginning to see some muscle definition in my arms and legs (no major 'gun shows' yet) which makes me feel good and at least gives me a visual clue that all this work is actually having results. :)

Tuesday was a nice outdoor run in the early morning for 3.6 miles at a 10:30 pace. It felt good and my breathing and cadence seemed to stay pretty consistent. I'll take this kind of run any day! Did some good stretching afterwards and didn't have any pain during or after the run. It is so nice not to have those aches in my hamstring anymore.

Thursday was another rainy morning so I had to resort to the Treadmill for my Striders. This time I ran the intervals at a 10:00 pace for 90 sec seconds, followed by 1 minute at a 12:00 pace. I did two sets of 4 with a 5-minute easy run between the two sets. I think I am going to keep the interval pace at 10:00 for the next 3 weeks and just continue to increase the time/distance for the next month or so. Then depending upon how that feels, I will change the pace to 9:30 for another 3 weeks. By then, I will be ready to start tapering down.

Friday was a rest day. It was so awesome to 'sleep in' today and leisurely get up and get ready for work. I was thinking of going to the jacuzzi in the morning but the bed was just too warm to leave!

Finishers tech shirt for Chicago Police 5KI picked up my race packet for the Chicago Police 5K Foot Chase today. Bib #367. I had to go to the Police Training and Education building in Chicago. There was NO Parking anywhere -- everything was permit parking. I finally found a place near a park about 3 blocks away. Walking into the building was kinda weird. Police in halls, etc. Kinda felt like an episode of America's Most Wanted, and I was going to be mistaken for a hoodlum or something. LOL I got my packet with no problems, of course. The tech shirt is totally awesome! Can't wait to finish the race and be able to do my run training with this nice long-sleeved shirt!

Tomorrow is my LSR -- 8 miles. This is the longest run I have taken to-date. This may be the first run where I will have to bring fueling with me because at my LSR pace, this is going to take me at least 1.5 hours to complete. I think I am going to try a GU for this run -- run for 45 minutes, take the GU with water, and then run for another 45 minutes. I want to see how this works for me. Up until now, my runs haven't really been long enough to bring anything along other than water. The weather is going to be chilly -- mid to upper 30s -- so I will also be testing out my layering choices to see if they keep me comfortable for the longer run.

Given that my week started Sunday with the Pumpkin Stampede 5K, my total miles for this week is going to be 18. The weekly miles continue to climb upward. Woo Hoo!

Running with friends is cool!

Well, this was kind of a humdrum training week.  On Tuesday, I ran striders -- four times "1-minute speed segment (at a 9:30-10:30 pace) followed by 1-minute easy run pace segment".  This is going to be a regular Tuesday or Thursday training activity.  I did that several times with a 5-minute easy run between each set.  It went pretty well!  Each week, I will be increasing the length of the speed run segment -- initially by increasing the length of time but eventually switching to distance rather than time.  This process is designed to increase my overall run speed.  Let's hope it works as planned.

On Thursday, it rained most of the morning.  And I decided not to run in the rain in the dark (rain wasn't so much the issue as my concern about running at night and slipping due to an unexpected hazard).  So Mike Rice and I met up at LifeTime to do a 30-minute run on the Treadmill.  We kinda missed each other at first -- I couldn't find him.  So after a while, I went to do my warm-up and Mike found me.  He had been doing his warm-up in a different part of the gym.

So we did our 30-minutes side-by-side, which was really aweome.  I ran a comfortable 11:20 pace at a 2% incline so that I could talk easily.  I got caught up with stories about his recent marathons in Wisconsin and Chicago.  It is really nice to have a running partner who is so passionate about running.  It helps energize me and keeps me motivated.  After the run, we went for breakfast and talked races, equipment, family, etc.  Good times!  Unfortunately, I had to leave for work afterwards...

Our next race together will be the Hot Chocolate 15K.  Looking forward to carpooling downtown together with another friend of Mike's and tackling the race.  It will be interesting to see what the weather is going to be like (i.e. how cold will it be!).

Mike wants me to run the Polar Dash on Jan 14th -- seven days after the WDW Half Marathon.  I am pretty excited about running but I am not sure I am up for two Half Marathons a week apart.  WDW will be the first Half for me, and I have no idea how my legs will feel 7 days later.  The Polar Dash has both a 10K and a Half so I think I will compromise and sign up for the 10K -- I should be able to run (or run/walk) 6 miles by then (and the fleece running jacket and medal you get look awesome!).  Beth: I am fully expecting your feedback on this one.  :)

Sunday is the Pumpkin Stampede 5K Fun Run.  I am looking forward to this run, especially since it is in my city so I don't have to get up early to get there on time.  Race starts at 8am so I should be able to run the race, return home, shower, and then be at church for the 10am service.  WooHoo!  (I hope the shirt is cool)