Tuesday - 0

I didn't even try today. With the discomfort coming on so quickly yesterday, I figured at least a couple more days of rest and Ibuprofen will be beneficial. Maybe tomorrow.

Monday - 1/2 mile

I tried again today with no luck. At about a half mile I could feel some discomfort coming on so I went ahead and called it quits. I've got some text messages out to friends asking their opinion on how long I should rest. First response is wait until there is no pain. No specific timetable. I hate this!

Sunday - 1 mile

I ran a mile this evening to see if the IT Band flared up. It did towards the end of the run. Not enough that it made me quit, I probably could have run more. But more rest is definitely needed. Once I'm back to running, I'm going to try and keep the Su-F runs short (about 4 miles) and the Sat. run medium distance (7-10). I'm shooting for 35-40 mile weeks for the next 3-4 and allow myself (knee) time to adapt to the mileage before increasing. I can do this with consistent 4 mile runs and longer run on Saturdays.

I'm not going to be able to push the weekly distance like I thought I would be able to which means the races I've got planned will have to be done with my longest runs beforehand at about 55-60%. It doesn't give me the confidence I would like to have but at the same time it does play into the 'push my body past what I think is possible' mantra.

Saturday - 0 miles (Week Total - 16)

Rest.

Friday - 0 miles

Pretty sure my knee pain is being caused by an inflamed IT band along the outside of the knee. Symptoms are spot on plus the primary cause is increased 'physical activity such as an increase in mileage for runners'. Check. Rest, stretch, anti-inflamatory. I'm going to use my rest days walking. I figure I need to walk some anyway to prepare for longer races, so why not now?

Thursday - 2.0

Another day with knee pain. Again started out hurting and progressively got worse. Cut the run short. I am planning on taking the day off entirely tomorrow in an attempt to salvage my long run Saturday. I am probably naive in thinking one day will help, but...

Wednesday - 2.0

I had 6 miles on the schedule but a mile into the run my knee started hurting and continued to worsen. Actually it hurt from the start, but that is usual. It just normally warms up and the pain subsides, today it didn't. So I cut the run short and worked out a bit instead. I felt like a loser though. Since I took off Sunday it will be extremely difficult to get in more miles than I did last week. But I will try. Maybe a short couple of miles Saturday evening. My long run will be Saturday morning.

Tuesday - 6.0

Another 6 mile day. I think the first back to back 6 mile days so far. Not fast, extremely windy. A bad mental day, I had to talk myself thru the entire run. But in the end I'm glad it played out that way. Mentally I needed to get a run in where I didn't quit/come up short when I really wanted to.

Monday - 6 miles

6 miles on the treadmill. I'm diggin the treadmill thing. I can keep steady pace, intervals, progressions, etc. Tonite I did a new run. Mile 1 - last 1/10 at 4.0 grade, 2 - last 2/10 at 4.0, 3 - last 1/4 @ 4.0, 4 - last 3/10 @ 4.0/4.5/5.0, 5 - last 4/10 @ 4.0/4.5/5.0/5.5, 6 - last 1/2 @ 4.0/4.5/5.0/5.5/6.0. Went by fairly quickly and felt good the entire way.

Sunday - 0 miles

The 2 miles I had on the agenda for today was just to loosen up the legs. I did some work around the house and felt like that did enough to loosen up, no need to spend more time away from the fam.

Saturday - 13.0 (Week Total 40)

I didn't make up this morning to run. Everytime I tried to get out of bed Luke woke up and asked where I was going so I would lay back down with him. He's not feeling well. I ended up going to the 'Y' which I think was actually a good choice. I did 2 mile/.33 run/walk (inclined) intervals for the 13 miles (last 2 intervals were 1.5/.33). I felt really good, like a real runner, thru about 9 miles. This is awesome as 9 miles is still a long run for me. But then things went south. Everything started hurting; feet, hips, ankles. But I never lowered my pace, which was around 9.30. I did increase the last .6 mile to about 8.45. All in all a good workout plus I got in 40 miles this week!

Friday - 3.0

All 3 miles were slow today. I decided to scrap the plan on doing a fast 1 or 2 miles. Right before my run I allowed myself to get a little stressed and I wanted to be able to think on the run to clear my head. I can't do that while running fast as my focus is on, well, running fast. I'm at 27 miles for the week with a planned 13 miler in the morning. I will get this run in. Or I will come back later and edit this post. Ha Ha!

Thursday - 5.0

Five miles at 8.27 pace. Best pace for a five miler yet. I know it's slow, but I am dropping seconds off of each mile. And getting in more distance, so improvement is coming. Tomorrow's an easy 3 miles before Sat. long run. I think I may do at least one, maybe two, fast miles to get a better idea where I am. Last year at this time I also didn't feel fast and went out the same week and did a couple of miles at 6.53 & 6.33.

Wednesday - 4.7

I literally didn't have the time to finish the 0.3 during my run. I had to get back to the house as Nat and I were leaving to go to the 'Y' at 5:30. I should have known that Nat's '5:30' really means anytime between 5:30 and 7:00! But, I already had a 0.3 extra from earlier in the week so....I didn't feel 'with it' today. I mentally had to make myself continue running throughout the run. Pace was better than it has been, but still really slow. Kindof getting bummed about that. But 19 miles is the most at this point in the week so far (I've said that before) so I am being positive that this will be my best week ever. I'm looking for 40+ miles! My previous record is 34.

My old running partner, Randy, has just started back this week after several months off. I called him but he didn't answer. I think he is just what I need right now to push through to some consistent runs in the 5-6 mile range (my times will drop as well). He will complain about that distance right now, but I can always run a couple while I wait on him then run the three miles I know he will want to start with. If we can just work out the scheduling.

Tuesday - 2.0

Oh, and how quickly I can resort back to my old self. I had a faculty meeting today after school that ran for an hour so I ended up making my run short. As good excuse as I know, but still just that, an excuse. I could have found the time for another 25 minutes for the additional 3 miles had I really wanted to.

Monday - 5.0

Ran on the treadmill at the 'Y' today. 1.5 mile wu, 2 miles @ 7.40 pace, 1.5 mile cd. It may have been my best run so far this summer. It is the first time this summer that I've felt like a runner.

Sunday - 7.3 miles

I had a sore throat again this morning and slept in (8:00). I didn't get around to running 'til about 1.30 and it was hot! I felt good thru about 3 miles but then things started going south. By the time I got back home I was drained. Definitely not the long run that would grant me the confidence I need to attempt a 50k in 4 weeks. But I am going to try and alter my running schedule to up my mileage, or just make sure I get in my mileage. I'm doing too many (any are too many) ~2.5 mile runs. I'm going to transition and try to make sure each day is no less than 5 miles. There just isn't any justification in doing anything shorter. I'll attempt another long run, 15-18 miles again on Saturday and reassess.

Saturday - 2.6 miles (25.2 Week)

Woke up this morning with a sore throat and very tired after having been up 'til 2 Thurs nite. So I didn't get in my long run. I will have to get it in tomorrow morning. Ran an easy/quick 2.6 miles. First mile was actually probably the fastest mile I've run in some time, 7.43. Everything has been so slow lately. I think part of why I've not been with it mentally lately is because I am not running anything fast. I want to try to get in the runs and mileage so I purposely run slow so I don't dread the 'pain' of running fast, plus I know I can't keep the pace for the distances I want to run. This actually has a negative effect on me from time to time b/c I can't get into running mentally so I cut runs short, totally defeating the purpose of the slower runs to begin with. I mean, really, if I am only going to run 2.5-3 mile runs, why not run them faster and get them over with?

Friday - 4.0 miles

Stayed up 'til 2 AM last nite searching the internet for a mid-Oct 50k with no luck. At least nothing close to home. Watched a Team Hoyt vid on YouTube and some YouTube vids of soundtrack scores that I like and got pumped up. I needed it badly. Did some push-ups and crunches and woke up at 196 lbs. I'm feeling good about my weight and actually pretty good about running. I had a good run on the trails today at my best pace yet. I've been talking with Nat about moving up my 50k from late Nov. to early Oct. 8 weeks early! She told me to go for it, so I'm going to attempt a bit longer than scheduled run this weekend and take it from there.

Thursday - 2.4 miles

Aaaagh, wanted to go 6 today. Something mentally is not clicking right now and it should be since I just hit benchmark #2 Sunday. And I'm actually considering moving up the benchmarks sooner, a 50k Oct. 4th instead of a 17.5 miler Sept 28. Runs like today won't help my confidence that I can manage it. But I know I could have gone further last Sunday. I feel that I could have completed Big South Fork, and 4 weeks sooner than scheduled. Why not move things up on the schedule then? One of the reasons I'm progressing my distances is to see what I can accomplish. I don't feel like I was pushed enough from Sunday's effort. We'll see what the next couple of days look like. If I can extend Saturday's run from 13 to 15-16 and maybe find a 50k mid-Oct then it may be a change of plans. If not, then I'll probably stick to current plan.

Wednesday - 4.0 miles

I went to the YMCA and ran while Nat did aerobics. I wanted to run 6 miles, but only got in 4 before Nat was finished. Even with the two zero days Mon & Tues, I have in more miles thru today than I have had (thanks to the 12 miler Sunday).

Tuesday - 0 miles

Signed up for biggest loser today and weighed in at 198.5 (my scales before I left the house).

Came home after work (never a good thing if I want to run) and then talked myself into spending time with the fam (always a good thing) and running after I put Luke to bed. The problem is I NEVER get back out the door. Laid down with Luke and promptly went to sleep, too. ~8:00 PM.

Monday - 0 miles

Just didn't get out to run today. Legs felt quite good, though (or at least not too sore). Spent the day with Luke playing so I wasn't going to dash off even for a quick run since it would've been just a recovery jog anyway. Playing with Luke is a much more fun way of recovering. I will try to put up pics later in the week.

* Luke starts school tomorrow (two days a week at a local church)!