Tuesday 19 laps

31:07 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

Still have this darned cold—it's at the coughing stage now, which means it should be winding down soon—but it doesn't seem to be slowing me down any. It was cold enough this morning that I wore my sweatshirt for the first mile, but then I warmed up and took it off. It was a nice fresh morning, but there's supposed to be a storm coming in today, bringing rain for the next couple of days. So... it may well be muddy and wet on Thursday, besides being Thanksgiving. My first weather challenge of the winter! And then a second storm is coming in on the weekend, bringing snow. I've only got three miles to do this weekend, but it may be too muddy and slushy to run around the house. Meadowbrook Park should be okay, though. And the library is closed this weekend, so I won't have to worry about finishing in time to go to work in the afternoon.

As for last Saturday's eight-mile run, I checked back and found that I'd done my best time for eight miles since I've been keeping track of times on all my long runs! And I was afraid it would be hard, after missing so much of my training for this half marathon, and having a cold to boot! I guess I was still in pretty good shape from Long Beach. I matched my overall time for that half marathon, and did it on the park's inclined course. That bodes well for being able to train up to San Francisco's hilly half marathon in the summer.

Week 5: Eight miles

2:07 hours, 1:2 minute run/walk ratio

When I was putting stuff in my waist pack this morning, I discovered the empty GU packet left over from Long Beach! I haven't been to the park since the half marathon, yikes!

Well, today, I did go to Meadowbrook Park for my eight mile run. I'd meant to get going by 8 am, but in fact it was closer to 8:20 by the time I got ready and hit the road. Still, plenty of time to finish and get ready for work at 1:30, and the weather is cool enough now that I don't have to worry about finishing by 10 am.

I had a really good run. Maintained a good pace and didn't get too tired. The weather was perfect, high clouds, light breeze, probably in the 60s the whole time. I wore my black running pants, and layered one of my AIDS Marathon tank tops under my red running shirt. Probably didn't really need the extra layer, but it didn't hurt, either.

I ate a couple of PowerBar Gel Blasts (like gummy candies) at 4 miles. They were one of the free samples I picked up in my race packet at Long Beach. They were lemon-flavored, very yummy! They helped my sore throat, too. I may try to get hold of some more. Only problem is, the package says to eat 1–2 pieces every 10 minutes while exercising! No way am I going to eat that many. But I don't use GUs as often as they say, either. Maybe one every half hour or so, or a couple every mile. Hm. That would be a big bagful of candies to carry along on a half marathon! Well, we'll see. I do need to eat more on the long runs than I did for Long Beach.

Thursday 19 laps

30:42 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

I didn't run on Tuesday, because I slept in late and was still feeling icky. But today I felt fine, if reluctant to get moving, and had a good run.

I'm scheduled for 8 miles on Saturday. The longest I've done since Long Beach was five miles, and that was a while ago. I'm having a real hard time getting back into training this time. I don't really want to do Surf City. But then, that was what scheduling another race right away was for—to keep me training throughout the winter even if I don't want to. If not for Surf City, I'd have been sitting on my butt ever since Long Beach. So I guess it's doing its job!

Week 4: Three miles

46:56 minutes, 30:60 second run/walk ratio

Did 28.1 laps around the house today. It was kind of a comedy of errors—I didn't get enough sleep last night, and feel a cold coming on, so I was tired and decided to take it easy and try out some new stuff. Used the Gymboss timer on vibrate to time intervals, using 30:60 second intervals, which is what Jeff Galloway now suggests in the training book I got with the timer. Same amount of running/walking time total, but with the intervals each cut in half. And used my iPod shuffle to listen to music while I ran. So, first thing, I went out of the house without earbuds. Went back for earbuds and started over. Then, after two laps, when it was too hot to keep my hoodie on, I realized I didn't have my hat, either, so I went back to toss my hoodie on a chair and grab my hat.

I didn't wear my sleeve, so I couldn't clip the timer to the gauntlet. I tried clipping it various other places, but nothing worked, so I ended up holding it in my hand. I messed up some of the intervals while I was fiddling with it.

Despite everything, I did a pretty good time. Averaged about 15:40 minute miles. I like the 30:60 second run/walk ratio, I don't get as tired with the very short run intervals. I'll try it next week on my 8-mile run and see how it goes.

Thursday 19 laps

31:32 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

Hm, faster than Tuesday and I did the counter-clockwise circle today. I felt like I was being slow, but I guess not. It was a bit warmer today than Tuesday and the driveway has mostly dried up.

Tuesday 19 laps

32:21 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

There was frost on the ground this morning! Winter is coming, brr! I told myself it would be bracing. Actually, it wasn't all that cold. I ran in my sweatpants and hoodie and it was fine. The driveway was a bit muddy—apparently, there was a big rain/snow storm here while I was out of town—but not too bad. There was only one spot where I had to kind of run around the puddles.

I felt kind of slow but still ran a decent time.

Week 3: Four miles

(Miles approximate) 1:05 hours, 1:2–2:3 minutes

Did my run on the treadmill at our hotel in South San Francisco—not quite the 6.5 miles I was scheduled to do, but not bad. I didn't wear my watch, thinking I'd just watch the timer on the treadmill for intervals, but found 1:2 hard to keep track of, so I switched to 2:3 after about 25 minutes. It was a pretty good run, and I'm glad I was able to fit it into my schedule this weekend, even though it wasn't the whole distance.

Thursday 19 laps

32:58 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

I was slow today. Still, I remember when "slow" was 35–37 minutes, and 33 minutes was fast for 19 laps. I really do feel as though I'm finally recovered from the medical problems I've had over the past few years.

I ran counterclockwise today, which is also the slow direction. It was a good run, but I got a late start and I'm driving to Monterey today! Now it's nearly 10 am and I still have tons of stuff to do before I head out, so I'd better get to it!

Tuesday 19 laps

31:01 minutes, 1:1 lap run/walk ratio

I have really been finding it hard to keep up with my running since Long Beach. I think this is the first midweek run I've done since I got back! It was cold and windy out there, and it sprinkled a bit of rain on me, but I wore my sweatpants and hoodie and did it anyway. Had a pretty good run, actually. I haven't been sloughing off long enough to really affect my conditioning, so if I am determined and keep it up from here on out, I think I'll be fine for Surf City. But keeping it up throughout the winter will be a challenge! I'm still thinking of joining a gym, but I want to check out the various gyms in town and see who's the cheapest and see if there are any that have month-to-month memberships.

And this weekend, I'll be in South San Francisco for a con, so I will have to be creative and determined to get my 6.5 (or 7) mile run in.