When it comes to my running, there are some people that I like to compare myself to. I feel like if I'm doing about as much as they are I'm doing well. These are people who I've never actually met, but through the wonders of the Internet I can find out exactly what they ran today.
Lately I've been disappointed in myself because I haven't been running as much. My life's been hectic and my motivation's been low, which have led to my lack of running. I've been wondering, though, are my comparisons fair? My situation is not the same as most of the people I compare myself to. They have different jobs, schedules, etc. I'd like to be able to only hold myself up to my standards, but it's not that easy.
May 25, 2005
Weekly Summary 5/15-5/21
I've decided to start dating these posts; I figure that will make them a little easier to understand.
Miles: 38
Workouts: 8 x 1000 meters, total time for the 8000 meters was 30:44
Races: none
I was still tired last week. I'm not getting the rest I need and it shows when I only run 5 out of 7 days. And on one of those days I cut the run short because I was tired.
Miles: 38
Workouts: 8 x 1000 meters, total time for the 8000 meters was 30:44
Races: none
I was still tired last week. I'm not getting the rest I need and it shows when I only run 5 out of 7 days. And on one of those days I cut the run short because I was tired.
May 20, 2005
Just In Time
I was out a little late last night since my softball game ended later than hoped, so this morning I planned to run easily for 45 minutes or so. I actually felt pretty good, so I ended up running for an hour. Heavy rain was forecast for today, so I thought it would be raining when I got up. Luckily, it wasn't. I checked the radar and there was a break in the rain just as I was heading out the door. It started to rain again about five minutes before the end of my run. I was glad for the break because it was pouring not long after it started to rain again.
I didn't run yesterday. I was absolutely exhausted when my alarm went off, so I took the day off and slept in. I was still pretty tired all day so it probably was a good idea not to run.
We lost our softball game by two runs. As I mentioned previously, it ended late. It ended late because it started late as well. We were just going to get started when this soccer team started to put goals out in the middle of our field. I play in the Congressional League, and we were playing out on the Mall near the Lincoln Memorial. The other team we were playing was saving the field and was there before the soccer team, but the soccer team claimed to have a permit although they couldn't produce it. Just as the Park Police were going to get involved, we found out that one of the players on the other team had found another field.
I didn't run yesterday. I was absolutely exhausted when my alarm went off, so I took the day off and slept in. I was still pretty tired all day so it probably was a good idea not to run.
We lost our softball game by two runs. As I mentioned previously, it ended late. It ended late because it started late as well. We were just going to get started when this soccer team started to put goals out in the middle of our field. I play in the Congressional League, and we were playing out on the Mall near the Lincoln Memorial. The other team we were playing was saving the field and was there before the soccer team, but the soccer team claimed to have a permit although they couldn't produce it. Just as the Park Police were going to get involved, we found out that one of the players on the other team had found another field.
May 18, 2005
Mind Over Matter
After last week's mediocre running, I was kind of anxious to get back into the groove this week. I didn't run Sunday, as I had a headache and just felt achy. Monday I did 10 miles and Tuesday I did 8 miles. This morning I had a good speedwork session. My workout was 8 x 1000 meters with a 200 meter recovery. I ran it at the middle school track. I didn't want to go to the high school track and find it locked again. I didn't pay attention to each repeat's time individually as I did to the cumulative time. I wanted to see how fast I ran the 8k of repeats. The first four repeats didn't feel too good. I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to finish the workout. But I must have loosened up, because the second four went much better. I was hoping for my 8k time to be 30 minutes, and after 4k my time was 15:37. I ran the last 4k in 15:07 to finish in 30:44. I'm extremely pleased with the workout and also that I didn't quit at the beginning when I wasn't feeling great.
Weekly Summary
Miles: 18.5
Workouts: None
Races: Two-mile race at Fitness Day
This was not a good week of training. Between staying up late, being sick, and traveling I did not run much at all last week.
Workouts: None
Races: Two-mile race at Fitness Day
This was not a good week of training. Between staying up late, being sick, and traveling I did not run much at all last week.
May 12, 2005
Bad Week
This week has not been too kind to me. I haven't gotten much sleep or done much running, and to make matters worse I think I've caught the bug Puff had. My stomach's been bothering me since yesterday. I've run a grand total of 15 miles this week. Since I've been up late almost every night this week I've been sleeping in.
Yesterday was "Fitness Day" at my workplace. I work right next to a school that has a track. We held various running and walking events on the track. Last year I won the two-mile race, but I was not able to defend my title. R., who came in second last year, won this year, while I came in third behind R. and J. (I think), the new guy who ran XC in college. Also disappointing was the fact that I ran slower than last year, although this year I ran in the relay before the two-mile.
I'm going to try running tomorrow. Originally, my plan was to do my long run tomorrow because I'll be in Blacksburg this weekend for M.'s graduation, but that plan has changed. I'm just going to run easily for around an hour, so about 6-10 miles.
Yesterday was "Fitness Day" at my workplace. I work right next to a school that has a track. We held various running and walking events on the track. Last year I won the two-mile race, but I was not able to defend my title. R., who came in second last year, won this year, while I came in third behind R. and J. (I think), the new guy who ran XC in college. Also disappointing was the fact that I ran slower than last year, although this year I ran in the relay before the two-mile.
I'm going to try running tomorrow. Originally, my plan was to do my long run tomorrow because I'll be in Blacksburg this weekend for M.'s graduation, but that plan has changed. I'm just going to run easily for around an hour, so about 6-10 miles.
May 07, 2005
Weekly Summary
I haven't done this for a few weeks, but I'd like to start again.
Miles-66
Workouts-None
Races-Hills of Cabin John 5k XC, 19:30
Miles-66
Workouts-None
Races-Hills of Cabin John 5k XC, 19:30
The Birds
This morning I did my long run of 15 miles. I decided about two weeks ago that I'd be better of running long on Saturday instead of Sunday like I had been doing. I ran out and back along the bike path, and then added on a little around the house to get to two hours. The run was uneventful, other than the birds. About 12 miles into the run I saw a few geese flying overhead. When my eyes returned to the path, I saw two more just standing there. They took off, and for a second it looked like they were coming right at me, but then they flew off. I probably saw more people on the path this morning than I have combined on my Sunday runs.
May 06, 2005
Recovery
If there's one aspect of my training that I would like to improve, it would be my recovery. It's not that I run fast/hard every day or anything like that, it's mainly that I don't get enough sleep. Most days I suck it up and get up and run, but occasionally I have a day like Wednesday where I hit the snooze button a few times or reset the alarm for an hour or so later. Then I'm likely upset because I didn't run as far as I had planned or worse yet didn't run at all.
I think this takes the most toll on my workouts. I wanted to do a tempo run Wednesday, but I hit the snooze button and got up late. I tried again Thursday, but just didn't feel like I had the energy so I just ran easily instead. I'm hoping since I can sleep in a little later on weekends that I'll get a good workout in tomorrow.
I think this takes the most toll on my workouts. I wanted to do a tempo run Wednesday, but I hit the snooze button and got up late. I tried again Thursday, but just didn't feel like I had the energy so I just ran easily instead. I'm hoping since I can sleep in a little later on weekends that I'll get a good workout in tomorrow.
May 02, 2005
Race Report
Yesterday I ran the Hills of Cabin John XC 5k. It was my third XC race of the year. Right now, I'm leading the club's XC series, but I don't expect that to hold up. Maybe I'll be able to finish second or third, though.
The weather before the race was not very good. It rained Saturday morning, stopped for most of the afternoon, and the rained overnight. It was still raining when I woke up Sunday morning. The rain stopped before the race, but the course, which was mainly on trails, was muddy and full of puddles. I got off to a good start, and then settled in. I was in second place at the beginning of the race, but was passed by a few people and ran most of the race between fifth and tenth place. I almost managed to go off the course at one point. We ran behind some baseball fields and then back into the woods; I didn't know there was a little bend there and I had to grab a tree to stay on course. I passed a runner with about a quarter mile to go and held off another runner to finish in 7th place in 19:30.
Overall, I'm happy with this race. I would have liked to run faster (I was only a little more than 30 seconds out of third place), but the course was sloppy and I feel like I put forth a good effort. It helped that I was running with people for the entire race. Having others around helps me to maintain my focus. I think I'm not going to race for about a month now. I'll give myself a solid block of training and we'll see how I do then.
The weather before the race was not very good. It rained Saturday morning, stopped for most of the afternoon, and the rained overnight. It was still raining when I woke up Sunday morning. The rain stopped before the race, but the course, which was mainly on trails, was muddy and full of puddles. I got off to a good start, and then settled in. I was in second place at the beginning of the race, but was passed by a few people and ran most of the race between fifth and tenth place. I almost managed to go off the course at one point. We ran behind some baseball fields and then back into the woods; I didn't know there was a little bend there and I had to grab a tree to stay on course. I passed a runner with about a quarter mile to go and held off another runner to finish in 7th place in 19:30.
Overall, I'm happy with this race. I would have liked to run faster (I was only a little more than 30 seconds out of third place), but the course was sloppy and I feel like I put forth a good effort. It helped that I was running with people for the entire race. Having others around helps me to maintain my focus. I think I'm not going to race for about a month now. I'll give myself a solid block of training and we'll see how I do then.
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