Running Log

August 16th

Speed training (fartleks) at the high school track with Wes!

Distance = total of 4.13 miles... the first mile was on it's own just to calibrate... then restarted workout on the iPod to run a mile at a pretty good pace, then jog a lap, then run another mile then jog a lap... then we moved on briefly to running the bleacher stairs - up and down 8x for me... then one more half mile jog.

Total Time = for the first calibrated mile: 6:56! Woo hoo!... then 24:01 for the 3.13 mile workout

Average Mile = says 7:39 for the 3.13 mile workout but that's irrelevant since we purposely jogged the in between laps lightly... but guess what!... my second mile of the night (the first one of the second workout - did I lose you there?) was under 7 minutes too! Yay!

Notes = time was 7:15pm... so glad we did this 'cause it felt great and I loved being back on the high school track... it's been a long time!... I think the speed training really helps and I'm seeing an improvement in my times... holy wow! those stair runs were insane!... I was not prepared for the difficuly of that!

August 18th

Distance = 4.02 miles

Total Time = 30:53

Average Mile = 7:40

Notes = 7:15pm again... back to Pearson Park with Wes for a lovely run on the trail and interior road... I am just feeling so good out there for the past week or so - let's hope that holds for race day this Friday... my knees aren't bothering me nearly as much as they had been and I'm feeling strong.

Additional notes:

I was telling Wes the other night that it feels sooooo good to get back out there and run hard and train for something. I'm so grateful to him and my brother for doing this 5 miler with me and motivating me to work at this. I guess all I needed was a training partner! I also was reminiscing to him that, when I was huge and pregnant, I use to daydream about doing something - anything! - where I could really exert my body and feel exhausted and winded from a workout. I would have loved at those times to be able to run a full out sprint and enjoy the good burn that follows. I've always stuck to running off and on since high school, but it's been a solid four years now since my babies were born that I've been so irregular about it. Now, I'm making the time and doing this for ME! It is tough though. Something always has to sacrifice when making time for new activities. I'm not actually eating dinner with my family a couple nights a week. I get it on the table and I sit with them and talk, but then I eat after my run since I go out right after Sophie lays down. So I'm eating pretty late on those days. Plus, it's a little less one-on-one time with Will on those evenings. But I just feel so good about doing this and I'm going to stick to it as long as I can. I'm noticing a very nice change in myself and I love it. I feel more toned. I feel stronger. I feel like I used to after cross country or track practice and I love that. I can tell that I'm improving and it motivates me to work harder. Running makes me happy and it's always been my first choice workout. I still have a poster from Runner's World magazine that I tore out and hung on my wall back in high school. It says:

"It's not how fast or how far you run that matters. It's what running does for you, mind, body and spirit. It's how running makes you feel."