Living in between - run thoughts

Went for a 6.34 mile run today - good to be back at my normal workout distance.

See below for geeky running details.

Listened to my latest obsessive sci-fi reading - Persepolis Rising, which is Book 7 of the Expanse series. A truly wonderful standout in the field of sci-fi.

Got me thinking about moving between states - as individuals, communities, peoples, and the world. Every moment is between two others - we are always in motion. The idea that there is a static moment where everything “just is” is an illusion. Embracing that kind of constant change is difficult and I am working through it personally right now.

Meanwhile, here are the geekier running details.

I use iSmoothRun for tracking on an iPhone and linked to an Apple Watch. iSmoothrun allows me to customize a workout better than most apps I have used.

Fuller stats of today’s run at Smashrun here.

Also here’s the run Strava here.

I follow and connect via both platforms, but more on Strava.

Some details for the run:

Running Time: 1:00:05

Total Distance: 6.34 miles

Avg. page: 9:29/mile

Run for Wellness - Less than 9 weeks to go!

Today I did my Tempo Run of the week - including an attempt to do 3 tempo miles at an 8 minute per mile pace or better (I did that on one).

Couldn't get out and exercise or join the Run for Wellness team? How about a donation for the sake of American mental health - check out the campaign here:

Run for Wellness

Join me in de-stigmatizing mental health and making it an American priority.

 

Two weeks of runs - getting faster

I reached a great milestone this week, ran 7 miles averaging less than 8 minutes per mile. Still walking 30 seconds per mile on distance and tempo runs, and those walks are in the times. Here are all the runs and their logs...​

April 20 - 7 miles at an 8:08/mile average - had a good run and beat the goal, averaging 8:03/mile according to Nike+'s record here.​

April 22 - intervals - four 3/4 miles at 5:13 each, with 1/4 miles resting between them. On intervals, I run 2 miles to warm up, and around 1 mile as a cool down. I managed to keep the pace close to the goal on the first two intervals and dropped 20 and 30 seconds on the uphill segments. Full details here.​

April 25 - Tempo run - 3 miles at 7:38/mile average - plus 1 mile warm up and 1 mile cool down. Almost did this - the splits on the three miles were: 7:18, 7:40, 8:03. So I did come pretty close! See the whole run here.​

April 28 - 7 miles at an 8:08/mile average - and here was where I went under 8 minutes per mile on average, actually averaging 7:57/mile! See it all here.​

May 1 - Intervals - 5 kilometer intervals aiming for 4:18/kilometer with quarter mile rests between them.​ I struggled with these, came close on 3, and dropped 20+ seconds on two. Not much to look at here, since the walks slow down the overall pace a lot!

Runs across the land

In the last week, after a Passover break from running, I managed to run my best mile ever during intervals on Monday, April 1, struggle with the uphill half of a run in Palm Desert on Wednesday, and have a great meet my goal 6 miler today upon returning home. Here are the runs, and their goals...​

Monday - Intervals with 1/4 mile breathers in between: 1 mile at 7:06, did it in 6:39!; 3/4 mile at 5:13, came pretty close; 1/2 mile in 3:25, I petered out here on the hill; and 1/4 mile in 1:40, which I also managed pretty well. Run map and splits here.​

Wednesday - Tempo Run in Palm Desert - Warm up mile, 1 mile at 7:38, easy mile, 1 mile at 7:38, easy mile, 1 mile at 7:38, cool down mile. 7:23 and 7:30 on those first miles which were downhill and relatively flat, respectively. I died on the last mile, going back uphill, ending up at 8:53. Run map and splits here.

​Today, Sunday - "long" run - 6 miles averaging 8:08/mile. Felt mostly good, and carried a good average all the way through, including on the hills. Ended with an 8:05/mile average, and I am happy with that! Run map and splits here. This run includes the Galloway recommended 30 seconds walking per mile as well, with the exception of the last break after mile 6 which I just ran through.

Long run and intervals

Since I last posted I swam a little, did Torah yoga, ran 14 miles in the snow, and managed to do intervals this morning at a pretty fast clip.

Intervals today - 2 mile warm-up, then 3 mile intervals, with 400m slow between them, then a little more than a mile cool down. My mile splits were, around: 7:04, 7:40, 7:50. The first was good, the last two less so :-) Here are all the details.

14 mile run on Saturday, aiming for 8:20 average minute/mile pace, and come close for a while. Started out cold, and then got snowy, which was fun. Ended up with two runs on the Nike app since in the wet I encountered some of my own human error - all told a good run considering the conditions. Here are the links to the incomplete records:
First 9+ miles
Last 4+ miles

More to come this week - a little calf soreness after today's run - I hope it will improve by Wednesday's scheduled tempo run.

A tempo run at up tempo

Got out in the damp today and ran pretty fast. A tempo run:
- 1 mile easy
- 5 miles fast - I managed to get my average for these under 8 minutes per mile
- 1 mile easy
Still walking 30 seconds after every mile and that is factored into the pace.
Here are details and splits.
Now two days off - hopefully with a massage, a swim, and some yoga, and then 14 miles on Saturday.

Long run - 11 miles plus - tech glitch

I had a great long run yesterday, over 11 miles, and I caused a tech glitch in the tracking of it by fiddling with music too much - oh well!
I think the run probably had another half mile onto the end of it, changing my three splits. In other words, I believe I didn't slow down as much as it showed - I will have to prove it again on my next long run.
Overall goal - 8:40 per mile averages or better, and I feel like I came pretty close!
Incomplete details here.
As always, times include my 30 seconds walking every mile.

Long tempo getting faster

Today's assignment - a 6 mile tempo run with a mile warm-up and cool down.
My goal - miles 2-7 of the 8 at 8:30 per mile or faster.
I averaged better than 8:25 on those miles, and only dropped to 8:34 and 8:38 on miles 6 and 7, which are uphill too.
Feels good to run well - here are the details.

Dog Bites Rabbi

So, while on my temp run yesterday, more to come about that, I passed a dog owner and his two little Scotties that I see relatively frequently. One of his Scotties, off leash of course, decided to chase me, and took a chomp out of my calf - biting through my running pants and breaking the skin. Doctor says I should be OK :-)

Meanwhile, here's the link to the run.

Goal was 1 warm up mile, 5 miles at an average of 8:30/mile, and 1 cool down mile. Even with the dog bite near the end of mile 2, I did pretty well on the goal. Made it through the uphill mile in 8:41 and was pretty kicked for the final tempo mile. Still walking 30 seconds at the end of each mile and still keeping this pace, so all in all, I feel I am making progress and feeling good.

Chappy Chanukah!

Tempo run - shorter, slower, a little painful

Aiming for a 5 mile tempo run (mid-distance tempo - should be a 10k pace) plus a mile warm-up and cool down. Didn't have time for the full run, and my calf muscle seized up when I slowed down, so ended up walking more - calf has recovered some throughout the day.​

Sticking to an 8 minute to 8:30 pace, including walking 30 seconds.​

Splits were pretty good until mile 5 and 6. I will have to ease off a little this week so as to recover.​

Here are the details.​

​

Run after Yom Kippur too

I managed to get out yesterday and do pretty well:

- Mile 1 - warm-up - 9:27
- Mile 2 - fast - 7:54
- Mile 3 - fast - 8:01
- Mile 4 - slower - 8:27 - I have to work on this hill, and this drop off in energy
- Mile 5 - fast - 7:57
- 5.0-5.3 - still fast - 2:33 (7:16 avg.)

Full details and map, here.

Still a long way to go. I am prepping myself for the formal training program for the Boston. More on that soon.

 

A run before Kol Nidrei

After walking Jude to school, I got out and did a relatively disciplined quick run. One mile warm up at a slower than 9 minute pace, and three miles after that aiming to keep an 8 minute pace. And I managed to keep pretty close to that plan, even while maintaining the 4 minutes running then 30 seconds walking plan!

Here are the details.

G'mar Chatimah Tovah - may everyone be finished for a good inscription in the new year! See you at Temple Beth El for Kol Nidrei tonight!

Back on the road and longer...

After a week long hiatus due to the High Holy Day craziness, I decided to try and increase mileage while keeping my pace not too fast. Started out slowly, and slowly increased pace throughout the 7 miles, keeping the 4 minutes running, 30 seconds walking, the whole way, and correcting when I blew it :-)

Overall, felt great - awesome to be running longer again and feeling like I could go farther.

Here are the details - if you can't click through to them, "friend" me on Map My Fitness.

This week's runs - mountains on one!

Sunday I got out and ran on the Blue Ridge Parkway - gorgeous! And slow - I have forgotten what it's like to run at a little altitude and up serious hills, oy!

Here are the details on that one.

Today, after walking to Kindergarten, I managed to get in my normal distance plus a little more, at my relatively normal pace now - still lots of work to do. Got up to close to 5.5 miles though!

Details on today's run.