Run #44: I'm ba-ack!

Woo hoo! I'm back! This is my best 5K pace (10:36/mile), getting very close to that 10:30/mile mark I've been wanting.

I focused on slowing myself down--ironically, this resulted in a great (for me) pace. I realized I'd been starting my runs too fast and couldn't sustain that. Alternating walking and running doesn't feel very good for me. With this length of run, I like to run the whole way. By going more slowly, I didn't get worn out--and at the end I was actually able to speed up because I had enough energy for it! Yeah!

Run #43

I'm not sure why I haven't been able to run the full 3 miles the last couple of times. I have all sorts of possible reasons--getting over a cold, a route I'm not crazy about (flat, to make sure my IT band doesn't hurt), physical and emotional fatigue.

I guess I just need to keep trying to run a little further than the time before, and keep going the whole route as I've been doing, even when I have to walk part of it. I'm glad my pace is still okay; maybe when I get back up to running the whole way (next week?) my pace will be awesome. We'll see! I'm going to STICK WITH IT even though I've been having trouble with energy and motivation during the run.

11:04 pace, slightly better than Thursday.

Edited to add: I used the mapping feature on Daily Mile to determine that I ran 1.84 miles before starting to walk today. (I did a combo of walking and running after that.) I did that 1.84 miles in about 18:48, which is a pace of 10:12, quite a bit faster than my overall pace on my running-only 5K workouts. So, maybe part of my problem is just having a hard time pacing myself--which makes it especially difficult when my energy is low. I think next time I run (probably Tuesday) I'll really focus on going slowly so that I can go further.

Run #42

I was TIRED this morning, and I felt it! I did some walking. So I was discouraged. But instead of staying at that discouraged place, I'm going to highlight the GOOD stuff about today's run:

1. Despite a not-very-refreshing night's sleep, I ran!

2. Despite doing some walking, my pace wasn't too bad (11:07 a mile on my 5K route).

3. My IT band hardly bothered me at all! WOO HOO!

I'm going to try to get a great night's sleep on Friday so that Saturday I can run the whole way again.

Run #41

Well, with this iliotibial band (IT band) bothering me, I have to run on flat surfaces, and stop when it hurts. It started hurting (suddenly, and sharply) at 1.6 miles. I stopped, stretched, and walked 6 minutes. I then ran 6 more minutes, and it was getting more achy, so I walked the rest of the way. I figure I ran just over 2 miles and walked almost a mile. I'll be really glad to get over this injury. It's one that can take awhile, but I'm consistently stretching & doing strengthening exercises, so I'm doing my part!

3.13 miles, 37:49, pace 12:04 per mile.

Workout #40

I mostly walked today. My knee is still bothering me, and I feel like I need to get it feeling better before I run on it much more. The running bothers it, so I really felt like my body was telling me to back off. Hopefully I can figure out what to do about my knee so I can get past this roadblock quickly!!!

2.85 miles, 36:30.

ETA: Sounds like this might be what's wrong.

Run #39: 5K

3.1 miles in 34 minutes even

This was by far the easiest long run I've done! I think the Monday boot camp is really helping my legs feel stronger, which makes a huge difference. I was surprised my pace was slower, not faster, than usual. But while I still want to get down to 10:30 and then 10:00, it was a huge victory to me today, being able to run so EASILY. I still challenged myself; I just felt strong!

I do have a knee that is bothering me a bit. I'm running through it, and it's not bad at all; I just hope it gets better, not worse.

Run #38: 5K

I am so glad I got back out there today! After Wednesday's unmotivated short run/walk, I didn't run Saturday since I had to be somewhere at 7. So I ran today, on my 5K neighborhood route. It was a good run! I pushed myself but didn't feel awful.

Looking forward to seeing what my time was, I pushed the button on the stopwatch as I stopped running--and the stopwatch started. Yep, I'd failed to turn it on in the first place. So I'm figuring it was probably a pace of about six minutes a mile.

(I wish!)

Based on the time on the podcast I was listening to, I think my time was good, but I don't know if it was my best or not. We'll see how I do Tuesday. Hubby is changing his workout schedule, so I am too--it'll now be Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays or Sundays for runs, and Mondays I'll still do the boot camp.