Tag Archives: running goals

I’m Proud Of…

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I’ve gone for six runs since I last posted (and almost as many bike rides). I’m not going to catch up, but here are some highlights I’m proud of.

On the 18th, I did a hill training run. I ran to the closest steep hill and ran intervals up it. I was always slowing a lot by the top, so my last two, I broke it in half, and found it was not the slope of the hill but my endurance that was the problem.  That said, I’m proud of my average speed for each of my uphill segments.

Lap Highlights

I’m also proud of my peak speed for the run being while running uphill, and of how fast it was.

Peak Speed Uphill

Today, I did an interval workout. It was tough. Randomly drawn distances from the set of {100m, 200m, 400m, 800m} (4 each of each distance but only two 800s). But Garmin thinks I got new 1K, 1 mile, and 5K records (I accepted them even though they weren’t continuous). This hard workout resulted in my run being primarily anaerobic, and my post-run weight lifting session being primarily aerobic.

Catch Up

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On September 25th, I didn’t leave myself enough time for a longer run before dark, so I only went 3.1 miles. My fastest pace was only 5:19, with an average of 6:58 in my last 0.1 miles.

On the 27th, I did another hill workout, mostly the same route as on the 23rd. It was really hot out, max temperature during my run was 99°F, with an average of 94°F. It appears Garmin made an update that made it so my watch or Garmin Connect figured out I was doing intervals, so I can say that my interval average was 7:56. But, it lumped my hills with my last 0.1 mile. The hills were in the 8:xx range (8:31, 8:11, 8:53), while the last 0.1 was 6:47. My fastest pace, in that last 0.1, was 4:45, after having run over 6.5 miles. And once upon a time I could keep that pace up for at least a mile!

October 1st I went for an easy, short run, 2.11 miles, basically uphill then back down. This allowed me to get a new “fastest mile” (as far as Garmin knows) of 9:55, with a max pace of 7:29, but this was not pushing hard, just going downhill.

Dropped Another Three

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I didn’t hit my goal of a sub-35:00 5K on last Friday’s run, but last night I did it. I changed several things, so it’s hard to say which had the most impact, and which had little or no impact. But here’s what was different:

  • No phone weighing me down
  • I got a Garmin Forerunner 965. This allowed me to not lose time unlocking my phone in the dark. It also enabled better visibly for my stats, so I could see how fast I was going downhill, and try to keep the pace from slowing too much. I could see when I was dragging (especially as I approached the 2 mile mark) and pick up the pace.
  • I uploaded a Spotify playlist to my Garmin, with songs specifically selected with running in mind, rather than random every eclectic thing I’ve ever liked on YouTube Music. This focused list made it easier to run harder, and let me not lose time to skipping or rearranging songs (and more phone unlocking).
  • Because I was thinking about high knee workouts last time, I tried harder to use my hamstrings when I started going slow.
  • I stretched deeper and longer before my run, and I didn’t do an upper body workout the night before.

Here’s my stats:

  • 3.1 miles
  • 34:50, more than 9 minutes less than four runs ago
  • Average pace was 11:14
  • Top pace in last 0.1 was 4’36”
    • My last 0.1 mile overall was slower than it should have been because I tried to see what my instantaneous pace was while running

I’ll probably bring my phone next time, as I like being able to reflect on my run (viz. make these post-run posts) during my cool down walk home, I like being able to take pictures on my run, and it looks like I can’t control the Spotify playlist from my Garmin while in the middle of an activity. I also can’t get messages from Live Tracking if I’m sharing a feed without my phone.

A Need for High Knees

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After finishing 3.01 miles, on my way to the spot where I do my end of run sprint (slightly uphill), the back of my right knee was hurting, stiff, not wanting to move. Like I’d been going uphill a lot, and it was never getting the full range of motion. Because it wasn’t. This is a large part of why I missed my goal of getting faster than a 35 minute 5K: my feet were dragging because I wasn’t using my hamstrings like I needed to. So, I did a little bit of a high knee drill as I walked to my sprint spot. That helped a lot.

And even though I didn’t get my 5K time faster (oh, also there were very few sprinklers to cool me down today, as I ran an hour earlier), I did improve my sprint time:

  • 3.11 miles
  • 38:17
    • my 5K time after accounting for screen unlock time was probably 38:07
  • Best pace 5’32” during the last 0.1 mile
    • A better improvement than the Monday to Wednesday improvement

I might have one more single run dramatic improvement left in me, but I think I’m going to have to start actually training— fartlek, hill workouts, longer distances, sprint drills, etc.—to get better improvements. Losing weight will also help. For some reason a 17 minute 5K wasn’t too hard when I was skin and bone and quadriceps. Well, age may also play a role. Perhaps. Just maybe.

I did an upper body workout yesterday, so after my run I just went to the sauna for a half hour or so.

Losing fluid in the sauna

Oh, and I think I need new shoes. I’ve had these for a while, 4 years or so. They would be fine if I were my ideal weight, but….

Recovery

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Today (6/18) I went on my first run since my most recent accident. I only made it 0.7 miles before I had to slow my pace drastically because of the pain in my hip. I did manage to make it a full 3.12 miles.  It looks like my goal of running a half marathon sometime this fall is in danger.  I’m not worried though.  I’ll do what it takes to recover, then focus on training for a half.