The Weather is Changing

What a crappy title. I could not think of anything else, however, the title is true.

11/3 Friday - Took the day off.

11/4 Saturday - Ran ten miles after my Navy Reserve drill. I felt pretty good on this run and was cruising right along. I ran late in the afternoon after drill and I had a Navy Birthday Ball to attend.

11/5 Sunday - Took day off.

11/6 Monday - Ran easy 45 minute run.

11/7 Tuesday - Flew to Dallas for meeting and ran an easy 35 minutes. The temp was much warmer in Dallas so I went slow.

11/8 Wednesday - Took day off since I worked all day and then drove to my parents house that evening.

11/9 Thursday - Ran about 4.5 miles after eating a large breakfast. The temp was in the low 80's and there was a 15 mph wind from the south. So running south was challenging, while running north was easy.

11/10 Friday - Ran about 5 miles and did 5X100 yard strides.

11/11 Saturday - Weather was cooler, but I had so much to do. I waited until later in the day to run and ended up running 2 hours - 14.4 miles. I felt like I could go longer, but my knees and hips were getting sore. Besides, with daylight "no" savings time, it was getting dark toward the end of my run and I was ready to hang it up.

11/12 Sunday - Recovery run. I felt pretty good. Legs were a little taxed from the previous day, but my knees and hips felt OK. I ran 4.8 miles (1.2 mile laps) in about 10:30 per lap. Very comfortable pace and kept my heart rate down.

11/13 Monday - Maintenance is working on the HVAC in the gym at work so it is closed down for 3 weeks!!! All I want to do is change my clothes and run at lunch. I did not run on Monday since I had a very good weekend of running.

11/14 Tuesday - Hill repeats has started. I love running up hill. It is so painful it makes me want to puke. I ran 3.6 miles prior to the hill repeats to get nice and warm. Since I am running after work, I have to get all of reflective stuff and wear it so I don't get run over by one of my neighbors. After the warm up, I did 4X300 yard repeats and jogged down the hill. My heart rate on the last 2 runs hit about 170 bpm. I did not try to run up the hill fast, but I did try to run while maintaining form. What that means is that I tried to pump my arms, lift my knees and push off after each stride. I actually think that my aerobic base is pretty good because I ran a 1.2 mile lap afterward and recovered rather well. Since this was my first set, I decided not to push it and kept the workout to about an hour. I have several more weeks of hill repeats and tempo runs. I am looking forward to seeing how it will help my running overall. I plan on running a 5k this weekend to gauge my progress to date. The 5k may use the cross country course my son runs. If so, then there are two stream crossings during the race that I am not looking forward to.

I have to travel at the end of the week, so my running may take a minor hit. Since I travel a reasonable amount, my return to running has certainly helped me maintain my fitness over the winter and do something besides riding my bike. I do need to get back on my mountain bike and doing a little off road riding for a change of pace. I may try to get out there this weekend.