8.1 Miles!

We're gettin' up there with our long runs! Lewis & I were on 8 miles this week & he ended up running close to 9 and he did great. He left the soccer game Sat. morning & basically ran across Friendswood. The weather was great & he said he enjoyed his run. He had mapped his route ahead of time, but changed it up in the middle and ended up at, I think 8.89 miles. Awesome!
I ran 8.1 miles this morning and felt good. This cool, crisp air definitely helps. My breathing difficulties are nearly non-existent like they were when I started this training. That's a great feeling. Now, it's physical fatigue. My hips and lower back hurt at about 6 1/2 miles. But, all-in-all, I felt fine for the 1 hr. 37 minutes I ran. THAT, by the way, is crazy to me....who would've thought I was capable of running for an hour & a half! So cool!

One other note - I'm still doing my run-walk-run training. I walk for one minute when I hit each mile. It's working well for me. I feel like I have an opportunity to stretch out a bit & just rest overall for a minute. Then, I get a burst that catches me up on the time I lost walking.

Since we've still got over 12 weeks to go, I think Lewis & I will do a 'short' long run every other week (like 5 or 6 miles). Then, we'll continue to increase by a mile every other week. We'll keep you posted!

TODAY: 8.1 miles, 1:37:17 (11:58/mile) (I was excited about my pace today! Under 12 min./mile!)

GOOD LUCK, EVERYONE!

Jen

11 Miles (Steven)

For my longest practice run yet, for my 11 mile run, I ran 10.96 miles in 1:41:57 (9:18 per mile). My turn around point was blocked off for construction so I ran a little past my finish line and after GMapping my run, I fell just under 11 miles. I felt good for the most part except the inside of my right knee. The pain was dull and only felt like fatigue but it limited the bending of that knee various times throughout the run. Just another minor detail to keep an eye on so it doesn't become a major problem. That was my longest practice run yet. I am looking into getting a water belt. Not sure I want to go CamelBak because I don't like the idea of something on my back the whole run. KEEP CRANKING OUT THOSE MILES TEAM!!!

6 miles (Steven)

I took a full week off to recover from heavy traning, but I'm back at it. Ran 6 miles this morning in 52:32 (8:45 per mile). Shins hurt a little at beginning but it worked itself out.

7.1 Miles!

Woo-hoo! I ran 7 miles today! I've had two weekends off due to sinus infection and our Disney trip, so I was nervous about how I'd do today. I was supposed to run 6 miles today.

I started running around our "long block" in the neighborhood which is 1 mile. But, after the 3rd trip around, I was getting bored, so I checked my watch and headed out of the neighborhood. I had, what I thought was a 3 mile route in mind, but when I was almost back to our neighborhood, I was way ahead on time. I thought I must not have run the full 6 miles, so I ran into another nearby neighborhood around one block. Then, I just zig zagged through my neighborhood until my time seemed like it matched my 6 mile mark.

I was feeling good the whole run - the weather was AWESOME this morning. Thank goodness for fall! When I came inside, I google mapped my run (3X b/c I didn't believe it!) and it came out to 7.1 miles. I was so excited!

7.1 miles
1:26:30 (12:11 pace)

I was shocked. My average pace on my long runs is between 13 & 14 min./mile. So, to finish 7 miles at a 12 min. mile was very exciting! I think it was a mind thing - I didn't know where I was going or how much more I needed to run, so I just ran! No telling myself "I have one more lap", etc. The weather helped out big time, too. And, it's true - you kind of 'zone out' when you get to mile 5 and up. It didn't really get harder. Mile 2-3 is the toughest on me with these long runs!

So, I'm officially over the half-way hump. What a big milestone! 15 weeks to go! We can do this!!

Jen

Minor setback but much needed rest (Steven)

The day after my long run of 9 miles last Saturday, my right shin started hurting. Possibly similar to shin splints, so I took a few days off. It felt a little better but I was also sore around my joints. So, I decided to take the week off and start running this Saturday. I was on vacation last week and trained a lot and really pushed myself. I think this week of rest will definately help because I feel like I am giving my joints a much needed rest before I start increasing my miles.

5K - Personal Best (Steven)

Ran a 5K today in 24:03 (7:45 per mile) A new personal best. I am on vacation this week, so I was able to get a good nights rest and the weather was perfect. My legs and lungs felt good so I really pushed it. Woohoo!!!

8 Miles (Steven)

Ran 8.085 miles yesterday in 1:11:55 (8:53 per mile). I felt good after the first 2 miles. My legs have been killing me this week since I ran 3 days in a row, but after the day of rest, and after a couple miles my legs kicked in. I ran at the Buffalo Bayou Bike Trail which has hills, so after some of the hills, there would be flat straight aways where I would punch it. My lungs felt good and since my legs had enough juice, I just pushed it. Everything went great for the first long run of the 18 week program. I am very pleased with my time. The 65-70 degree morning weather helped a ton. Off to swim laps today.

Run, Walk, Run

Lewis & I have been continuing our training, increasing our long run by 1/2 a mile each week. Incereasing by just 1/2 a mile is very attainable, so it seems to be working for us for now.

I, like the rest of you have been reading about several different training programs online. Last week, I decided to put Jeff Galloway's strategy to the test. He promotes walk breaks for helping to prevent injury. (I was thinking it might help prevent fatigue later in the run!)

Following his method, I used the ratio for running 11 minute miles (much faster than my normal long run pace, but this ratio just sounded reasonable to me). The ratio is 2:30-1.

His instructions say to start this run, walk, run ratio from the very beginning. So, just 2 1/2 minutes into my long run, I walked for a minute! And, I kept doing it for the rest of my 5 1/2 mile run last week.

The end result - my time was faster than the week before when I ran the whole time! I'm averaging about 13 min. a mile on my long runs and I easily maintained a little better than that pace during this long run.

Even more interesting, I tried this method on my 3 mile tempo run this week. I ran right at 11 minute miles. My fastest recorded 5K was a 10:55/mile pace. So, 11 minutes a mile was pretty darn good for me - and that was with walk breaks! The only difference in this tempo run was I ran 3, walked 1.
I don't know what my final 'strategy' will be. Ultimately, I'd obviously like to run more than 3 minutes at a time (as I know I'm capable of doing). But, at the same time, I'd love to improve my endurance and my overall time. Not that I'm trying to break a record here, I just don't want to be running all day long on race day!! :)

6 miles this week (hopefully - I have a cold that's been building all week & today I'm feeling very blah). Next Wed., we leave for Disney for 6 days. I plan to take my pedometer so I can see how much walking time/miles/steps I log!

I hope everyone's doing well! Keep up the good work!

Jen

18-Week Training Program Begins (Steven)

Ran 3 miles today, completing day 5 of my 18-week training program. (We are now less than 18 weeks away team!) I will be running 4 times a week, swim laps once a week, cross train once a week (stationary bike, eliptical, weights), and rest once a week. Click on the photo for a bigger view of my schedule. It is a modified version in between Hal Higdon's Novice and Intermediate programs. It has been a tough first week, but I trust it will get better. KEEP TRAINING TEAM!!!