Maria's Running Blog

10.5mi progression run in 1:30:53. Last 1.4mi in 10:44 (7:40 pace). Felt good today.

easy run in 53:13. Light rain. I was supposed to do strides afterwards, but the roads were too slippery for my comfort.

Did tempo intervals workout today. I didn't feel the best today, kind of sluggish. Did 2x3000m with 2:50 jog rest on Fort Lee HS Track. It was very hard, times were 14:07 and 14:11. I tried to run second faster than the first, but just didn't have it today. 4mi warmup and cooldown.

I was dragging today. Time was 55:48. So tired... legs are dead. I wore my Garmin with HRM and it just confirmed my feeling bad. HR was 150 on average, and I was running 9min. pace! Ugh, I hope I recover for tomorrow's 14-miler. Did 4x100m fast strides after the run.

another tough run. It was too warm and sunny, 75F - the sign of things to come. This was supposed to be fast finish long run, but my efforts to pick up the pace didn't get me good results. I was working hard and still running slow. Oh well... I was supposed to run up to 8mi at 8:20 - 8:10 pace, but could only manage 4.8mi in 39:45 (8:16 pace). HR was too high again, 159 average, but that also could be from the heat and not enough hydration.

Recovery run, 38:19. Ran really slow and felt actually better than yesterday. HR was 141 average.

Another recovery jog. I ran deliberately extremely slow, 43:19. HR was under 130 most of the time. I think I'm going to take this entire week very easy. I want to run a good 10K this Saturday, and I felt really tired last week. We'll see if this experiment gets me a better time.

another easy jog in 58:55. HR was mostly around 130-135. I think I'm recovered by now, so I'll do some faster running tomorrow, and then more easy runs until Saturday.

did marathon pace tempo today, sandwiched between some warmup and cooldown miles. All that jogging last 3 days gave me extra energy and I ran a bit faster than I intended. I wanted to stay at 7:50-8:00 pace range, but dipped a little under: 5.86 mi in 45:37 (7:47 pace). HR was 164 for the tempo portion and 145-150 for easy portions. 4x100m strides after.

No running today due to my poor planning. Lisa had a spring concert at school at 7PM, and I was hoping to go for an easy 6 miler afterwards. Well, the concert didn't end till almost 10PM, because the band teacher is retiring at the end of the year, and there were several extra numbers, speeches, etc. that were included. By the time I got home, it was too late. One more time, I see how much better it would work for me to run first thing in the morning, before work. It would be much more reliable. The problem is, I feel awful running in the morning, and I try to avoid it whenever possible.

very easy pre-race run, 40:37 and 3x100m strides. I am not sure it's a great idea to run just 12 hours before the race, when I usually have 24 hours between my runs, but I could only do it after work, which means 8PM at the earliest with my commute. I'll find out tomorrow if there'll be any negative effects of this run.

My goal was to break 46 min, and I was able to do that. I ran 45:51, which is the fastest time of the year for me, but still 47 seconds off of my PR. This was a fast (totally flat) course, so it's probably a good indicator of my racing fitness right now. Here are the splits: 7:16(HR 164), 7:23(173), 7:20(173), 7:27(173), 7:33(173), 7:25(176), 1:23(179). It's hard to say how much of an improvement this race was compared to 46:14 last month because this was a faster course.

I'm happy with the result, but not too happy with the way I ran the race. Contrary to the plan to start in 7:20-7:25, I found myself at the first mile marker in 7:16! I think I paid for it by not being able to speed up later. I settled into 7:20 pace on the second mile, but then all I could do was maintain the same effort, and the mile splits began to slide as I was getting more tired. I did push the last mile, but it only gave me 7:25 at that point. One thing I'm happy about compared to my 46:14 time in April is that I ran the last 0.2mi 8 seconds faster this time. I think it's because I was dueling with another woman, and we passed each other couple of times until I went into a full sprint the last 100 yards and finally passed her for good.

I was wearing my Garmin for the first time in a race, and it was interesting to see HR data. My HR stayed exactly the same from miles 2-5, which confirms my feeling that I was running the same effort, but the times were getting slower as I was getting more and more tired - this seems logical to me. I would have to increase the effort (and HR of course) to even keep the same pace. I was wondering what the max HR would be, and I got 180, but I'm not sure if it's my true max HR. I need to run some 5K's and see if it goes higher at the end.

Another interesting fact about this race was that it offered $20,000 in prize money, so a lot of Kenyans showed up, about 20-25 people. The winning time for men was 28:43 (Julius Kiptoo) and 32:00 for women (Ukraine's Tatyana Hladyr) - they won $2,500 each. The first Americans were John Henwood in 29:36 and Matt Downing in 29:39. It was cool to see so many Kenyans at a local race. One thing that is noticeable about them is how slowly they run on the warmup. No faster that 8-8:30 pace, it must be a real crawl for them (probably like 10:15 pace for me)!

long run on pretty sore legs from the race (quads, hamstrings and to lesser extent, calves are all sore). Once I warmed up though, I just felt slight discomfort, but nothing terrible. When I finished, that's when I felt how sore I really was! By keeping my avg. HR around 145 I was able to go 16mi rather comfortably. Sure, I got tired towards the end, but that is to be expected when I'm running this long. There was no exhaustion which would probably hit me if I ran the 8:40 pace I used to run before I got Garmin. Total time 2:27:30 (9:13 pace). One water stop, no other fuel.

super easy recovery run on the treadmill (pouring rain outside). 40:00, 10min. pace. Quads still sore, but a lot better than yesterday. I felt good running, but not so great during the day. It felt like I'm coming down with something - kinda achy.

Stride workout: 12x100m with 100m jog. Most were around 18 seconds. I felt pretty good, but I could feel some lactic acid in my legs after 8th or 9th repeat.

Very easy recovery run today, HR ~130-135. Quads feel a little sore from the workout yesterday.

Tomorrow I'll do another strides session, then 2 more easy runs, and 15K race on Sunday! I should definitely PR, because I'm in better than 1:16 shape now. If everything lines up and I pace it right, maybe I can even dip under 1:10, but I doubt it. I think 1:11-1:12 is more realistic.

Did second stride workout of the week. I was concerned with thunderstorms all around the area, so I did warmup and cooldown on the treadmill, and actual strides outside on a flat street by my house. It worked out pretty well. Most strides were again in the 18s, with couple in the 17s range. The first couple felt slow, but once I got into the rhythm I felt fine and pretty consistent.

I decided to take a day off. I ran 7 days without a break, which is unusual for me, but the main reason is that this whole week I feel a bit off. Something is going on with my throat, but it's less than full blown cold or infection, it's very mild, just kind of scratchy feeling. Some days I also feel a little achy, as if I'm getting a fever, but I don't have any fever. It's really weird, some sort of low grade thing. I'm getting worried about the race on Sunday. I think I'm still going to run, because I need points for USATF-NJ Grand Prix in category 3 (>10K), and such races are hard to find, especially 15Ks.

easy pre-race run, 40:09. My throat is still scratchy, but I feel a bit better than yesterday. Don't know what to expect tomorrow. I'll shoot for 7:35-7:40 for the first 4 miles, and then speed up if I feel good. If not, I'll try to hang on at the same pace.

15K race today. I woke up with the same scratchy throat as all week, but decided to go anyway. The course was flat with 5-6 bridges over the river that had short steep inclines. Othwerwise flat. My time was 1:11:36 and I got 2nd in F35-39, which is a rarity that happens when no one faster shows up.

I started at 7:39 pace and... got stuck there. For three miles I was running comfortably, and then it started getting harder. I found myself running alone, with a person ahead of me about 150 yards and no one close behind. Mile markers were off, but I think I slowed down to about 7:45 in the middle miles. I felt fatigue in my legs, kind of a heavy legs feeling. It may also be partially mental, I may be losing focus in those middle miles. Or afraid to push the pace as if to not die prematurely. Not sure. I took one gel at mile 7, and it seemed to help. I was able to speed up the last mile and actually had a pretty strong finish. I also recovered fast and now don't feel as worn out as I was last week after my 10K. All that makes me think I could've run faster, maybe 1:11 or slightly under. Here are the splits and HR: 7:39(153), 7:37(167), 9:31(169), 5:40(169), 6:09(168), 9:24(170), 7:46(170), 7:44(169), 7:37(171), 2:06(174). Max HR hit only 178 today.

But considering how I felt all week, it's an OK race I guess. A big PR as expected (by 4.5 minutes). I'm going to see my doctor on Friday and do some blood work and check my levels of B-12. I may need an injection (a consequence of losing 12 inches of my small intestine in a surgery 4 years ago).

Easy recovery run after the race, 57:53 (9:20 pace).I felt fine, not sore at all, but my cold (I'm pretty sure now that's what it is) has progressed to my sinuses now. This is one of teh slowest moving colds I ever had! It's attacking me for the second week! Time to start Zicam again.

The plan had an optional day off, and I decided to take it. Not feeling great from the cold. I had pretty miserable night last night, waking up million times because I couldn't breathe. Started taking Zicam today, and it's definitely helping. At least I can breathe through my nose (well, most of the time).

easy run, 1:06:38 (9:23 pace). Felt pretty good, did 4x100m strides afterwards.

the humidity killed me today. Middle 5.5mi in 43:38 (7:54 pace), but I started at 7:47 pace and then just died. HR was 171 for the fast portion (compared to 164 2 weeks ago).Tough run, and I was sweating like crazy. Got injection of B-12 today and had a blood test. Results next week.

it was not as humid today, and I felt better. Temps still in upper 70s, but that's how it's going to be now that summer is here. Hopefully I'll acclimate in a week or two. Ran easy today, 1:15:53 (9:02 pace).

very easy pre-race run, 30:12 (9:26 pace). Legs felt kinda heavy, didn't like that feeling before the race, but oh well... we'll see what happens tomorrow.

Ridgewood Run 5K - 22:01, 3rd in F35-39.

Today was way too hot to expect good results, so I'm happy with my time. It seems it's either I'm not 100%, or conditions are less than perfect with my races lately. It was 80F at the start and the sun beating down from clear skies. I was drenched in sweat after very easy 1.5mi warmup. Found water and drank two full cups about 20 min. before the start and then tried to stay in the shade.

When the gun went off, it took me about 9 seconds to cross the starting line mat, so I started my watch when I actually crossed it. First mile was 6:55 and I felt pretty good. Soon, however, there was a tiny hill, and after it, the pain set in and I felt my pace dropping significantly. From that point on I tried to hang in and not to slow down more. Second mile in 7:16. Not too good, but I'll take it in this weather. Third mile, I tried to set my focus on some people to pass and take my mind off the pain, but it wasn't easy. My last split for 1.1mi was 7:50 for a total of 22:01 on my watch. Official time was 22:10. I feel like this was a better effort than my 5K a month ago where I ran 22:15. I started a bit faster today and felt better longer. I need to work on my second mile.

HR recorded higher numbers than ever before, both due to effort and the heat, the max hit 186 and average was 182 I think.

When I got back into the car to go home, the car thermometer read 90F.

easy recovery run (59:30) plus some strides. Still hot today, but at least not humid. Legs felt heavy and a bit sore in the quads.

I felt fine in the beginning, but when I picked up the pace after 1.5mi warmup, it felt like I was running too hard for the slow splits I was seeing. And I can't blame the weather either this time, it was cool and dry. HR was mostly around 160 on the faster portion (which is where it should be?). I did 6.1mi in 50:44 (8:19 pace). I was able to do 7:54 pace last week, although for a slightly less distance. I also got bad stomach cramps half way through that never went away till the end - that probably slowed me down somewhat. Oh well, there's always another day. Total time for the run was 1:20.