45 minutes - nice

Today I ran in a completely different area. I ran from "yellow park" up the bike path along the coast and up into the forest. There are always a lot of people around so I feel pretty safe running up there. My next goal is to run the 10K (not a formal 10K, that's just the distance) from "yellow park" to the zoo. I think I also want to ride the distance it is from our house to the zoo and back but I'm not sure when. I think that would take a couple of hours.

Update: that was about 7.5K in 45 minutes.

Saturday August 26th
10 miles

We ran around Lake Merced and then up the great highway. It wasn't a bad run. I felt pretty good after not really sore like i usually am. I was coming down with a cold so i was suprised i was able to finish it without too much complaining and without anything hurting. I felt better than i had when i ran 10 miles 4 weeks ago. I'm sort of looking forward to trying out 12 miles.

Saturday - 45 minutes good pace
Sunday - 30 minutes quick pace for first half/doggy the second half

I ran today because I can't run tomorrow. I'm taking a little train trip, so I thought I'd try to run a half hour fast. It didn't go as well as I would have liked. I couldn't relax and I felt stiff and kind of sore-ish. The first half went by quickly but the last 7 or so minutes I felt like I just bonked, for lack of a better word. No energy, slow, slow, slow.

6 miles at 11 min pace

It was a good run. We ran with someone that normally runs a 9 min pace so it made us feel like we should pick it up a little. I felt really good after until about noon then i was really hungry and cranky. But OMG my lunch tasted the best it had in a long time. My calf is feeling so much better. On Monday i saw a chiropracter that also specializes in sports medicine. He massaged it which hurt. Of course by Monday it had already been feeling better from me stretching it and iceing it. But it was good to know that it wasn't bad. He said i don't need to come back unless it starts bothering me again.

45 good minutes. I had a lot of energy and I could have kept going. New ipod mix had something to do with it I know. Note to self: Moby makes for good running!

Saturday August 19th
8.5 miles trail run Waddell Creek

It was a good run. My calf was feeling much better than it had. We have still been running an 8:1 (run/walk) and it seems to work perfect for these long distances. Able to keep up a good pace and 1 min really never seems long enough but it's enough to make it. We are trying for 12 miles next weekend in the city. We'll see how that goes. I really like trail running. I had a couple slight sideaches and felt like i was the slightly slower of the group but wasn't having any trouble staying with my running mates.

56 minutes. I felt like I should try for 60 minutes today so I set up my ipod, and headed out. I forgot that my playlist includes the 3.5 minutes of warmup walking, so I did just under 60 minutes. Oh well, now I still have something to shoot for. Ran earlier than usual, still warmish, but not hot. Nice breeze. My form felt a little stiff and I kept having to remind myself to move my arms and lean back, etc. I found that when I moved my arms, that really helped me to run a bit faster. Towards the end I was running really slow, and I was able to relax a bit more. Some days I just feel more in tune than others, more relaxed. Today wasn't one of those days.

Thursday 6 miles

I ran with three other people and two turned around at 5 miles. That was really hard. Until i made it back to the 5 mile turn around i kept thinking i should have gone back with them. But once again once i was done i was glad i had gone the 6. My calf felt a little better than last week. It was harder to run because it was dark out when we started. It makes me just want to go back to sleep. Being dark when i run will make it harder to keep it up in the winter.

45 minutes, slow and steady. The last part of my run is on a mild incline for about 7 minutes. Just as I started to level out, a man painting his fence said, "Lift your knees higher!" "Yeah, yeah," I said. When I finished I walked to cool down and when I reached my house, my neighbor was standing on his balcony. "Running down hills is good for your health," he said, pointing down the hill I live on. "I'm finished now," I said and went inside.

45 minutes - I was pretty tired. I think it's because I'm doing some sort of cardio every day. I can't think of any cardio that doesn't use my legs. Swimming isn't doable so what are my options for cross-training? I bike and walk.

I did it though, which makes me happy. Sometimes the best part of running is that I actually made it.

Saturday 5.2 miles

Was supposed to go 7.1 but my calf was really bothering me and I thought i shouldn't push it. So i turned around early to make it 5.2. Talked to the coach last night and he recommended on top of using the roller and icing that i should think about getting a massage. So i might do that. We'll see.

Fast 45 minutes. I had a lot of energy today so I know my pace was faster than normal. When I started to get a little tired I would just slow down a little and then pick it up again. I debated going for 50 minutes but I decided, no, next week. Feels good to know that if I want to go for a 45 minute run, anywhere in the world, I can.

Friday - 45-50 minutes

ok not hard, breezy and cool 3:00 pm run. Nice.

Tuesday and Thursday
Track on Tuesday included running out 2 miles near Hwy 17 and doing hill repeats (6 run up and walk back down). Then we ran 2 miles back. I really enjoyed it. It was a challenge and made it easier to go hard when you knew once you reached the top you got to walk back down.

This morning was difficult. 6 mile run and my calf was really tight. It didn't warm up until about 3/4 the way through the run. I felt strong at the end and we actually ran faster the last two miles. I much more enjoy going out slower and finishing stronger. It just leaves you with a more positive feel for the run.

Last Thursday and Saturday

Thursday-Ran 6 miles but was extremely sore from doing lunges two nights before which made it a very difficult run.

Saturday- 10 miles. We planned to do 9 but were so close to ten when we realized where we were. The last mile was really hard but luckily there was a good breeze and a lot of shade. We also slowed our speed down to about an 11:20 min mile. I think this helped us last longer.

35 or so minutes. Ran my regular route but shorter because I met the family at the beach. Fun!

45 minutes again but I'm running farther each time. I think it works out to under a 10 minute mile now but that's about as accurate as I can get using google pedometer. I ran after breakfast which for me is a new time. I don't know if the time had anything to do with it, but I was more sore the next day than I have ever been: back, ankles, hip.