Another Pre-Training Week In The Books

This morning I knocked out another five mile run before work at 7:13 pace. Once again it felt much easier than Monday's initial run at this pace, which is a very good sign. Aside from that it was fairly uneventful--kind of boring, actually. I guess that is to be expected on the treadmill, but I continue to believe in treadmill running--if nothing else I think it helps from a mental discipline perspective. For the week I ran 21 miles, which I think is perfect given the fact my marathon is nearly a year away--I just need to focus on having a decent base and feeling super comfortable running fast by the time my 16-week marathon training course kicks in next year.

The only other remotely noteworthy thing to mention is I read online that deleting your running history from your Garmin Forerunner 210 helps when you are having problems picking up satellite signals, which has been a major issue for me lately. So I went ahead and deleted every run I had stored on there, including my 2013 Marathon Corp Marathon (which was a hilly disaster). It kind of felt like a stroll through memory lane going through those runs. Most were in the 4-5 mile range and a lot of them were fast, including last year when I ran sub-7:00 pace for four miles. Hopefully I can start actually picking up satellite signals again. Not super important right now given the fact I will be doing the vast majority of my runs on the treadmill for the next several months, but I really would rather not have to buy a new watch once it is time to start doing serious outdoor training next year.

P.S. Yesterday's "leave you running clothes in the locker to dry while you are at work" experiment failed miserably--when I went to pick them up right before 5:00 P.M. they were still pretty wet nearly ten hours later. Oh well.

Great Training Week!

Last week I was able to get in six training days in a row -- one weightlifting session, two bike rides (one spin, one trainer), and three runs. It felt really good to be able to get in that much training so early in the season -- I literally feel like I am ready to race right now, and I still have months to go before my first event. This morning I banged out five miles on the treadmill, starting at 7:24/mile pace and adding another 0.1 MPH every mile. I felt completely under control the entire time -- smooth and fluid, and barely breathing heavily (even in the last half mile, which I cranked up to 6:58 pace). I still need to figure out which races I want to do this summer -- two of the ones I was interested in have already sold out...

Five Mile Run

I started my training week yesterday with a chest and tricep workout at the gym. I did not feel particularly strong on the flat bench -- I struggled to put up 205 lbs. five times and then barely got up 225 once. The only thing I thought at the time was that my body was not completely awake (it was like 8:00 A.M. in the morning). I think it may be time to shift to free weights anyway as my serious training period starts to get a bit closer (and my weight drops -- I am now just a hair under 180 lbs).

Today I ran five miles on the treadmill. I ran the first three miles at 7:13/mile pace, then scaled back to 7:30, and then gradually increased the speed until I was running 6:53 pace at the very end. I ended up average 7:12 pace, and although I was sweating buckets afterwards, I did not feel all that winded. Soon I will hit the pool again -- given the way the last four months have gone, if I can just manage to drag my lazy butt to the pool on a consistent basis, it is going to be a pretty good (i.e., fast) season.