F A I L U R E !

Failure! I was unable to complete the 10 miles I had scheduled for today. Funny, the post for the run after the post from my last run went from "Did It!" to "Failure!" But it is not funny. I'm mad. I also cannot blame it on pushing on Thursday's 3-miler, but I do have some excuses.

I stuffed myself the night before and hardly ate anything today before the run. I actually only ate some gummie Life Savers. I went to the dump, Foodlion, fruit stand, and then crawled under the house to check the dyer vent. Sherri had been smelling something through the dryer. The guy that "supposedly" redid our bay window did not connect the dryer vent to exit the house properly. It wasn't even connected to the outlet, so our crawl space is filled with lint! I had to run to Lowe's to get a piece to try to connect the hose to the outlet. By the time I was finished (about 2:00), I was not in the mood to run.

I began running at 2:30; the temperature was 93 degrees. I thought about stashing a drink somewhere along the route, but couldn't find a good place. I told myself that I could run 10 miles without anything, I've done more miles without anything. The thing is it wasn't so hot when I did so. As mile 4 came to an end, I began to get cold. I felt the chill through the rest of my run. The run I changed from 10 miles to 8 miles, because I just couldn't do it. I wasn't worried about feeling cold, because I continued to sweat. If the sweating had stopped, I would have stopped.

Here are Heart Rates: 170 avg; 186 max; 72 resting. Recovery was 177 to 155.

It took me 1:28:47 (an 11:06 pace) for this 8 mile run. Just last Saturday, I ran 8 miles in a pace of 10:10. It seems I am going backwards. I plan on repeating this past week's schedule gain.

Did it!

Since I ran the last 2 of yesterday's 5 miles in just over 9:00 each (9:08 and 9:05), I decided I wanted to run all 3 of today's miles under 9:00 minutes each. It wasn't easy, but I did it!

The total time was 25:32 for an 8:31 pace. Mile 1 was 8:08; mile 2, barely under the 9:00, at 8:55; mile 3 was 8:28. I thought I started out too fast because I was struggling on mile 2. I didn't want to know how I was doing on time, so I never looked at my watch. I knew mile 2 was bad, so I gave it all I had left for mile 3.

What I don't understand is that as hard as I pushed, for as long as I pushed, my maximum heart rate only reached 188. Strange. My average heart rate was 174.

Tomorrow is a rest day. Saturday is back to double digits. I hope today's push doesn't affect my 10-miler.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010 - 5 miles

Believe it or not: I was looking forward to this 5 mile run. Well, that was until I got home. As I sat on the porch steps lacing up my shoes, I began dreading the "5 miles". Then I couldn't get the GPS to work (I guess because it was cloudy). As I fooled with it, the dread intensified. Since I knew where each mile was on the route, I decided I would manually do the splits. I walked to the end of my driveway with "don't run today" echoing in the back of my mind. I began running.

The first mile was a "loosening up" mile; it usually is. My shins were a little sore. I felt wore out as I completed mile 2, mostly because I knew I had 3 more miles to go. At the half way point, I turned around and headed home. Heading home raised the adrenaline. I decided to try to pick up the pace. It was rough, but my times were better:

Mile 1: 9:29
2: 9:48
3: 9:23
4: 9:08
5: 9:05

The total time was 46:54 (a 9:23 pace). Not at all a good pace for a runner, but I am happy about it (for now). I also got my heart rate up to 191 again. (I think this is the highest I've had it before). I can't remember if my max should be 192 or 200. Heart Rates: avg 169; max 191; resting 70. I hope to get my resting HR back under 60 before long. My recovery was from 191 to 132 - whatever that means.

Monday, May 24, 2010 - 3 miles

Well, it seems lately like the 3 mile runs after my long runs hurt more than the long runs. The recovery isn't nowhere near as bad, though. My legs were tired and the tops of my feet across the ankles and up part of the shins were sore. I was wondering if I was even going to finish this run. I wasn't able to push, so my max heart rate was only 183 - I should be at almost 200. Another reason for such stress on my legs is the 12 pounds I have gained. I'm mad! I'm 12 pounds over the "maximum" I want to be when I run half marathons. I need to lose 20 pounds to be where I really want to be!

My time was 29:14 (a 9:45 pace).
Heart rates: 165 avg; 183 max; 75 resting.

Saturday, May 22, 2010 - Stupid 8-miler

Okay, so I'm stupid. I had pretty much recovered from working until 2:00 am Thursday night, but what I did (or shall I say "didn't do"), leading up to today's 8 mile run was stupid.

Sherri and I headed out to see if we could find some yard sales. She was looking for some things for Max and Lainey - clothes, cheap toys to have at our house. I just like to look. I had made some coffee, put it in a travel mug, and left it sitting on the counter. The trip was pretty much useless, except that we stopped at Foodlion for a few things.

When we returned home about 10:30, I microwaved my coffee and drank it for some caffeine. When I took Morgan out, a neighbor stopped me and talked for about 45 minutes. I finally got back inside, ate some Gummy Life Savers, and drank half of a PowerAde. I took my time changing into my running gear to let the Gummys kind of digest and so the PowerAde wouldn't be sloshing around in my belly.

I drove to Salem UMC to run on Salem Ridge Road, because it is a flatter route. I headed out about 12:30, without any breakfast or lunch, just some candy. It was a very warm 87 degrees, but I kind of liked it. During the first mile, I was wondering if I would be able to do eight miles. Miles 2 and 3 went pretty well. My mind was going back-and-forth on stopping at 5 miles, while I was running mile 4 and coming to the end of mile 5. The route I was running was 2.5 miles out, so I would return with 5 miles completed. I was to then turn around, run 1.5 miles out, and turn back around for an 8 mile run. Even though my truck was in my sight, I forced myself to turn around and keep going. I wanted to stop running (or shuffling my feet) and walk. Even when I only had 1/10th of a mile left, I wanted to walk, but I kept going. And I completed the 8 miles. During the last 3 miles, I felt cold at times.

I finished before 2:00 and finally was able to pee at 6:30. This was after two 64 ounce PowerAdes and some Dr. Pepper. I was totally drained and did not want to move anymore than necessary. I did work up an appetite, though.

Since summer is heating up and my mileage is increasing, I need to do something to have liquids available. I'm not sure if I want to have something on my back or around my waist as an extra hindrance. I hate to spend money on something like that and then not use it, because they are not exactly cheap. I have thought about driving the route and stashing some water bottles, but there are not any real good places to do so. I'm really thinking about a CamelBak.

Here are the less than exciting stats:
8 Miles in 01:21:23 for a 10:10 pace
Heart rate: 175 avg; 188 max; 75 resting.

In my defense, my main goal was to just finish. This also will make it easier for me to run 8 miles faster next time.

Thursday, May 20, 2010 - Did Not Run

I did not get in my 3 miles today. I thought I was finally going to start sticking to my schedule. Emily called and said they were eating at the Golden Corral for Shane's birthday. But that's not why I didn't run. I didn't run (or got to the Golden Corral), because I had work to do. I was trying to complete about a 100 page booklet, so Gibbs Brothers would be able to bid on Metro Nashville projects. This was not for a bid, but to allow us to bid. A lot of work for nothing, if we don't pass. I think we should - we've done the books twice before. It is for a 5 year period each time. The reason for such difficulty this time is that Metro changed just about everything that was to be included. I was up until 2:00 am and still not finished.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010 (5 Miles)

I was dreading this 5 mile run, because of all the pain I felt on Monday's 3-miler. It wasn't that bad, though. I mean, it still is killing me, but with just a little less pain. I don't understand - I'm still about the same weight and added 2 miles. I had decided earlier in the day that if I began to hurt like I did on Monday I was going to revert back to last week's schedule. Last week was the first time I completed my runs on the actual days I was supposed to in a long time.

I ran the 5 in 46:47 (9:21 pace). Heart Rates: 170 average; 191 max; 70 resting.

Torturous Three on May 17, 2010

This three mile run was torturous! My ankles and the lower half of my shins were killing me. I didn't know if I would be able to finish. I did, but in one of my slowest (if not the slowest) times for 3 miles (32:15 for a 10:45 pace). I don't remember being this sore after running the half marathon.

When I got home from work, the sun was shining on the east side of the house, but it looked like rain heading in from the west. I rushed to change and get out the door to try to beat the rain. As I was about to walk out the door, the thunder boomed. The hard rain came. I waited about 15 minutes and the sun was back out. The thermometer read 67 degrees, but it seemed much hotter than that. Steam was rising from the street.

Due to my extreme soreness, I did not put a lot of effort into my running. Thus, my heart rate average was only at 155, while the max only reached 167.

6 Miles on Saturday, May 15, 2010

I wanted to keep it under an hour. At the 1/2 way point, I was 4 seconds behind, so I pushed a little. I just didn't have the feel to push much harder. My lower shins were hurting the first couple of miles, but felt okay on the last 1/2 of the run. I need to remember to "just finish" and not worry about being faster than the last time I ran the same number of miles - that should come later - after I lose the 10 pounds I have gained! I did finish under 60 minutes at 58:53.

Thursday, May 14, 2010

Ran a very slow 3 miles - 9:55 pace - after mowing the backyard. There's nothing else to say.

Killer 4 Miles!

I thought I was going to die, during the first mile. I really thought I was going to die on the final three. One of my most difficult runs - no matter the distance! I guess I'm not use to the heat - I've run when it was 18 degrees, but today it was 82.

May 10, 2010

I forced myself to run in the cold rain. It was rainy and 55 degrees with some cool breezes at times. The last mile of the 3 mile run was not too fun. Not so much because of the rain, but my legs were worn out. My pace was over 9 minutes at 9:23.

Heart rate: 167 average; 182 max; 80 resting.

Halfway to Ten

I am finally halfway back to ten miles. The run started off kind of rough, but eased out over the last 2.5 miles. My GPS worked fine today, so I have some times to go along with my heart rates. It was a beautiful day for a run.

The stats: Heart Rate Average - 168; Max - 185; Min - 67. Total time - 46:13; pace - 9:15; avg speed - 6.4 mph; max speed - 9.9 mph; best pace - 7:33. My beast pace is 7:33? I want my worst pace to be 7:00!

Route: Salem Ridge Road

Thursday, May 6, 2010

My first run in a week. I did well last week until Saturday. It rained - it poured, so I did not run. On Sunday, it was still raining. Monday was nice, but I just did not run. Tuesday was beautiful, but I did other things and did not run. Wednesday, we were able to get out and go to work. It took us about 3 hours to get home (normally just over an hour). We stopped and got something to eat, so I was too stuffed to run when I did get home. Thursday, I finally ran. I ran 3 miles. I know, big deal, but it is killing me. May pace was a dismal 10:04. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever see 10 again - that's 10 miles, because I have gained 10 pounds, and that is 10 that I did NOT want to see again!

My GPS is going crazy. I haven't used it in awhile, so I tried it again. After about 1/10th of a mile, it said I had ran just over a half mile. When I finished my run, it said that I had ran 3.565 miles. So, I guess after the little hiccup it was correct the rest of the way. I will continue to run with it, but I will drive my mileage first.

I ran with the Heart Rate Monitor again. I'm not doing anything with the results, except recording them: 169 average; 186 max; 68 resting.

The Flood (space)

The space is reserved for blogging about the flood (if I ever do). I could write a book about it, so I'm avoiding it for now.