Awesome Runnin' Weekend -- Day 1: 6/4

Saturday morning I got up earlier and with more ease than I had any other morning that week.  Work vs. Running . . . hmm . . . which one do you look forward to most?  Having increased my miles on my week day runs, my plan was to repeat the same runs that I had done the prior week.  Most things I have read say that runners should not attempt to increase their mileage by more than 10% from week to week, and I see no reason to buck that advise.  Currently, my plan is to add miles onto my weekly runs because I don't like the idea of having 50% of my miles coming from my long run.  I've seem the topic of weekly mileage breakdown debated a lot and have yet to find a definitive answer.  However, 50% does seem to be on the high end among most people, which is why I plan to add miles in on my weekly runs.  Granted, at this point, I am not training specifically for either my Half Marathon or Marathon, so I feel like I have a some flexibility in my workouts.

Currently, my aim is more focused upon building the self discipline needed to put in the proper amount of work.  I want to improve my general conditioning and try to work off as much weight as possible before I begin a specific training program geared toward the Marathon.  Also, I want to focus upon learning and applying proper post run recovery routines.  It is one thing to be able to run 10 miles once, but it is another to ask you body to do it repeatedly.  Considering my weight is much higher than most people attempting to run a Marathon, I'll need to do everything I can to aid my body in its post run recovery.  I need to be disciplined about stretching, using the foam roller, taking ice baths, using my compression socks, and nutrition.  In the past, I have been kind of hit and miss in all of these areas, which is part of the reason why I wanted to commit myself to running in the marathon.  The marathon is unforgiving and is not going to allow my to be slack without making me pay a price that I just don't want to pay, so dedicating myself to doing things correctly now will only help me later.

As the title of this post might suggest, my runnin' weekend was in fact awesome!  Saturdays 3.7 mile trail/multipurpose road run was nearly too good to be true.  I began my run about 30 mins. earlier than I had the week before and the temperature was not as disgusting as it had been last Saturday, which I am sure helped.  The first mile was on the trail and a little shaky, but most first miles are a bit shaky.  During mile two (also a trail mile) everything seemed to be clicking, my legs felt great, my breathing was easy, and my new Saucony Triumphs seemed like money well spent!  Mile two also contains more uphill running, so I handling this portion o the trail gave me a real confidence boost.  During the third mile, I had to work to reel myself in.  Also, I got to see a deer pass across the road about 5 yards in front of me.  This was the first deer that I had seen while running in Umstead.  She was a beautiful doe, and I was surprised to see her that late in the morning, but she was moving towards water and might explain it.  As awesome as this run had been, I was still dreading the last .76 mile, which just mainly consists of one giant ass-kicker of a hill.  But, this run indeed proved awesome when I stormed right up with hardly giving it a thought.  Normally, whatever song is stuck in my head on a run completely abandons my as I climb this hill, but during my run on Saturday -- this song just kicked the hell out of that hill:



So thanks Adele!  I was actually shocked at just how well I went up that hill.  If there has been one constant since I began running this course in Umstead, it has been that this last hill has pretty much kicked my ass. But, Saturday I took it at 10min. mile pace and had energy to spare at the end.

3.76 miles in 40.57 for a 10:52 pace.  Over 90 seconds faster than last week.

11:08.66
12:01.89
10.02.49
.76 7:44.08 10:07