Running With LeMire

With the temp at -2 degrees this morning the treadmill was looking mighty good! There was also a little coating of snow that feel yesterday evening and over night that would have made running pretty hard. Had a good nights sleep and run on treadmill now time to knock the work day out. 

16 mile run this weekend with the run group and it was a good one. The course today was rolling hills with not very many flat spots was a great time. Around mile 5 my IT band tightened up a little bit but then loosened up when it was time to roll on the 7 mile goal pace portion of the workout which start after mile 8, on miles 9-15.

Mile break downs: 8:34, 7:46, 7:48, 7:28, 7:15, 7:31, 7:18, 7:39, 6:45, 6:40, 6:40, 6:39, 6:37, 6:31, 6:36, 7:33.   Overall average pace was 7:21which is 3 seconds off of my Marathon PR pace of 7:18 per mile.

Quick 5 miles on the treadmill over my lunch hour. Probably a little to fast of pace on a recovery day but needed to get at least 5 miles in today. With the weather being so cold it's hard to get out of bed and run on the treadmill when it's -3 outside. 

Easy 5 miles on the treadmill.

Easy 5 miles on the treadmill this morning.

17 miles on slick icy roads again this weekend. Plan called for 20 miles but roads and safety were a concern so we made the best of it. Pretty slow going but had a good time running with Runners Edge. Forgot my watch so I'm not even sure how fast or slow it actually was.

6 Mille run this morning before work. Pretty easy run around 7:34/mi average. Temps in low 30's and a 5-10 mph  wind but felt good. Hamstrings still a little tight after Saturdays slipping and sliding.

This morning came really fast since I was up way to late but I still got a good run in this morning. Workout was 2 mile warm-up with 7- 1 minute fartleks at 5K pace with 1 minute easy jog in between. Therefore I ran my fast portions around 5:40/mi and then the easy portions around 7:30/mi. My legs felt good this morning at the start but did not feel like they had a lot of speed in them but the 1 minute portions got me working hard but not overlly hard. Felt good and finished the workout off once I got home with 2 sets of 10 (for each leg) single leg squats and the same for single leg calf raises. I'm going to try and really focus hard in wrapping up this marathon training hard and keep improving strength/speed as well.

This morning I woke up a little late, tired & a little cold I've been fighting all week. I got my butt out the door late so I modified my workout a bit but still got it in. Headed out on a out and back 2 mile course then stopped on the road next to our street for hill sprints. I ended up running 7 hill sprints at 20 seconds a piece then just a short quarter mile cool down.   Overall it was a good quick workout before I drive out to Topeka for some Federal Aid Training,  YAAAAAAAA!!!

Ran in some New Balance racing flats that I am currently testing out this month. There was no run group but I was invited to go over to an alternative strength/speed workout which was interesting and tough.

Workout started out with a slow warm-up then our first item on the agenda was 5 strides at easy pace. Then to a volleyball court for various verticle, lateral jumps and balancing drills in the sand. Then we jogged over to a elemtary playground that was covered with rubber tire pieces and did some IT Band stretches and body lifts after high knee and butt kick laps inbetween sets. Then moved over to a hill about 30 meters in length and a pretty good slope where we ran hill sprints for 3 minutes focusing on speed. I ran these with a light jog back down the hill and turned and went straight back up. From here we went over to the high school track just around the corner and did a bunch of different set-ups and squat excersise on the bletchers.  Then onto the track for one lap of lunges (3-4 types) forward, backwards, and lateral. We did two legged hops, one legged hops, ladder drills, skating drill, basketball shuffles, backwards sprints. Think this is a lot of items on thie list oh wait wwe are not done. We went over to the school entrance and ran  10 sprints 2 of each time in which you ran out and then had the same amount of rest to get back to the same place. These were 25 seconds, 25, 30, 30, 35, 35, 40, 40, 45 & 45. We followed this up with a cool down back to the house and called it a day.  

This wasn't a typical long run but it definitely did provide a great workout and I was really sore Sunday after it. 

6 mile run this afternoon since I had the day off but i made sure to get things done around the house before I did so.

Quick little 6 mile workout over my lunch hour on the treadmill. 1 mile warm-up followed by 1 mile faster at 8.5mph, .25 at 7mph, 1 mile at 8.5 mph, .25 at 7mph, 1 mile at half 8.5 & 9.0mph, .25 at 7, .25 @ 9mph then easy till mile 6 for recovery. 

Felt pretty easy but I have a hard time going any faster on the treadmill then that.

Yes this morning I got my butt out of bed for only 3.5 miles!! These Wednesday runs from here on out over the next month are going to be very important recover/strength training days for my down hill running legs. I know last years Phoenix Marathon was hampered by shin splints that did not allow me to focus on building these muscles for the first half of the race. Therefore, I'm still healthy at this point I decided to go for it and slide 2x4's under my treadmill so I can run downhill since mine only has vertical incline abilities. I might add some distance as we go but maybe not and hopefully this will allow me to not have wobbly legs later in the race!!

This morning was in the single digits for temps so this guys body wouldn't get out of bed. Jamie's worked the late shift so it allowed me to get to work early and then take a longer lunch to get my run in on the treadmill. Workout was as follows:

             1.5 mile warm-up 7.5 mph

              1 mile at 7:04 pace

              .25 at 7.5 mph

              1 mile at 7:04 pace

               .25 at 7.5 mph

              1 mile at 7:04 pace

               .25 at 7.5 mph

              .5 mile at 6:40

             1.25 cool down at 7.5 mph

This mornings group run started at 7am this week so Jamie's Aunt watched the boys while I ran.   She had to leave at 10:15 so it was going to be close for me to get my 22 miles in and home by 10:15. Well I did it by running probably faster and longer than I have ever before. Had some GPS issues so I started my watch late so the first approximate 2 miles. My watch ended up reading 19.75 miles on the 11 out and back course.  Splits are as follows:

7:11, 7:12, 7:06, 7:19, 7:07, 7:12, 6:54, 6:56, 7:00, 7:01, 6:44, 6:44, 6:57, 7:04, 7:02, 6:43, 6:53, 7:08, 7:19, 7:18. 

Overall average for my run was 7:02 on these miles which is definitely a confidence builder since this course was way hillier than anything I'll see on race day. 3:00 is looking possible if I feel good on race day!

5 miles on the treadmil this moring. Pretty easy pace but right hamstring and shin both sore.  I will neroli g and keeping an eye on these two items.

Week 2 of my downhill Wednesday training plan for the Phoenix Marathon. 4.25 miles with the 2x4's under the back of the treadmill for some sustained downhill running. This is a good replication of the Phoenix Marathon course. Besides a small uphill at the beginning of mile 3 the first 4 miles of the race are downhill until the first and only large hill stretching from 5-6+ mile points.  Shins are feeling pretty good at this point.

4 easy miles on the treadmill this morning before work. Legs felt good considering yesterday's downhill run duration. Feeling good and confident that this will be a good race!!