Weekly Training: October 25 - 31 & a Record Month!

Graphic is from my page at dailymile.com.

October was an awesome month! WIth moderating temperatures, running has been great. It felt good to finish the month strong, with a 17 mile run, making October my highest mileage month ever. It just barely tops my previous best, 190.3, in April.  This 17 miler was also my longest run since my May 1 marathon.  Today's goal today was LSD pace, targeting around 10 min/miles. I tried to keep it easy early, and save a little for a quicker finish: 10:22, 9:59, 10:11, 9:57, 10:11, 10:04, 10:12, 10:04, 10:17, 9:56, 10:03, 9:54, 10:07, 9:45, 9:41, 9:28, 8:38. Perfect morning, 53 °F at 5 AM!   The full week's activities:

• Monday: Morning yoga, 22 minutes. Weights (chest and biceps), 40 minutes. Evening yoga, 53 minutes.
• Tuesday: Morning yoga, 8 minutes. Running (6 miles @8:57).
• Wednesday: Morning yoga, 11 minutes. Running (Easy pace, 6 miles @9:25). Weights (Shoulders and legs), 40 minutes.
• Thursday: Morning yoga, 10 minutes. Running (half marathon pace, 8 miles @8:51).
• Friday: Morning yoga, 25 minutes. Weights (back and triceps), 40 minutes.
• Saturday: Morning yoga, 26 minutes. Running (half marathon pace, 10 miles @8:56).
• Sunday: Morning yoga, 32 minutes. Running (easy pace, 17 miles @9:56).

Daily personal yoga streak: 65 days.

YTD: 1,562.2 miles running, 458.3 miles cycling, 2,020.4 miles total.
Running miles - Month: 190.6, Week: 47.

Silent Saturday

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."



Rule #20: "It's not food if it arrived through the window of your car." 
 
That's an easy one for me to follow, for several reasons.  First, I don't like to use drive-through lanes.  I park and go inside.  Bad enough that I have to contribute to global pollution to drive my car to go places.  I'm not going to sit with my car running waiting in a line, burning fuel and not even moving.  It's also easy to follow this rule because I never ate fast food but very occasionally, because it's clearly not very healthy.  And since going vegetarian a year ago, I don't buy fast food at all.

Training Tip Thursday

"Gels are a compact source of calories, helpful in preserving glycogen mid-race. I don't take gels in races shorter than a half, figuring that I have enough glycogen stored in my muscles to get to the finish line without supplementation. For longer races, I space them out at even intervals, one every 5 miles. Runners need to develop their own gel strategies based on what they learn in training."


Source: Marathon training coach Hal Higdon http://www.facebook.com/halhigdon

Green Choices Wednesday

Today's Green Tip:

Cleaning your dryer's lint filter can slash its energy usage by as much as 30%!

~Source: sierraclub.org

Tuesday Quote of the Week

"Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame."


~B.K.S. Iyengar

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.

These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/

Monday Morsels (Source: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/):
BBC radio personality Anne Diamond asks her audience to make Mondays meatless… SecondAct magazine tells readers to go MM for their health, highlighting some celebrities who have already joined the movement… Phillyist offers their MM recipe for Kale, Sweet Potato and White Bean Chili… The Toronto Vegetarian Association reports that two leading mayoral candidates -Smitherman and Pantalone- have promised to bring MM to Toronto is elected.

Weekly Training: October 18 - 24 & 1,500 Running Miles!

Graphic from my page at dailymile.com, running miles only-- I didn't do any cycling this week.

On December 20, 2009, I published 1,500 miles as my 2010 running mileage goal.  I reached the 1,500 mile point on Saturday's run!  Looks now like that goal was a little conservative; I had revised it downward a little after a minor knee injury, but that's OK.  I'll probably finish 2010 somewhere over 1,800.  What should my 2011 running goal be?  Maybe 2,011 in 2011!  I'll decide and publish by end of year.

• Monday: Morning yoga, 24 minutes.  Weights (chest and biceps), 40 minutes.
• Tuesday: Morning yoga, 24 minutes.  Running (speed training, mile repeats - 6 miles @8:10).
• Wednesday: Morning yoga, 9 minutes.  Running (easy pace, 6 miles @9:34). Weights (Shoulders and legs), 40 minutes.  Evening yoga, 51 minutes.
• Thursday: Morning yoga, 15 minutes.  Running (half marathon pace, 8 miles @9:00).
• Friday: Morning yoga, 30 minutes. Weights (back and triceps), 35 minutes.
• Saturday: Morning yoga, 27 minutes. Running (half marathon pace, 10 miles @8:56).
• Sunday: Morning yoga, 51 minutes. Running (easy pace, 12 miles @9:48).

Daily personal yoga streak: 58 days.
YTD: 1,515.2 miles running, 458.3 miles cycling, 1,973.4 miles total.

Tea Party Musings

I don't usually get into political subjects here, but I just keep wondering what the deal is with this Tea Party movement.  It grew out of opposition to federal spending, specifically the spending on economic stabilization, and the spending on healthcare reform. 

Just wondering, where were all of these people while over $700 billion was squandered on the insane war in Iraq?   So it was OK to spend hundreds of billions of dollars killing people.  But, spending to help avoid an economic collapse, or spending to actually help people is a cause for revolt! 

I don't get it.

Training Tip of the Week - A Must-See Video for Runners!

I try to watch for good information on running mechanics and form.  Like most runners, I just started out running, any way I could.  Over a period of time, watching really good runners, I've seen a lot of things that I try to emulate.  I certainly don't have anything close to great form or perfect mechanics, but I try to be conscious of it and to gradually improve.  A 26.2 mile marathon race is a real test of endurance.  It's difficult just to finish such an extreme distance.  After finishing a first marathon, a runner's goals usually focus on running the next one a little quicker.  Answers to both enduring the distance and improving speed may be found in running mechanics.  Running more efficiently uses less energy, leaving more energy for those last gruelling miles between 20 and 26.  Running more efficiently will also result in improved running pace.  Dave B., one of my friends on dailymile.com posted this video on his page, and it's worth sharing with my running friends on the blogosphere.  It contains a whole lot of good information on mechanics, more than I can absorb at once, so I'm saving it to refer to.  Enjoy!



What do you think?  Do you see some ideas that you can use?

Tuesday Quote of the Week

"The reason for self-awareness is to become self-creating."

~The Taichi Hearwork blog - http://taichiheartwork.blogspot.com/

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.


These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/

Monday Morsels (Source: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/):
The LA Times celebrates MM with a recipe for mushroom quesadillas… Washingtonian.com welcomes Chef Glenn Babcock to the MM movement as he introduces his fall lineup of meatless dishes for D.C. restaurant Nage… The Toronto Vegetarian Society is encouraging action through eating by asking mayoral candidates if they will pass a MM resolution if elected… The blog at Eating Well includes some MM inspiration this week, including links to dozens of plant-based entrees… One student at Irvine Valley College encourages her classmates to try MM with a recent op-ed in The Lariat.

Simulated Half Marathon Race

Last week, I added two races to my schedule:
11/25/10 - Turkey Trot 10K, Beaumont TX - Goal: New PR, <54:28 (8:47 pace)

12/11/10 - Swamp Stomp Half Marathon, Lake Charles LA - Goal: <2hrs (9:09 pace).

Although I've run the marathon race, I've never raced the half-marathon.  I'd trained all around the distance many times, but didn't have a good feel for race potential.  Since I've added a December 11 half marathon to my schedule, with a goal of sub-2 hrs, I wanted to get a good assessment of how I can currently do a "near best-effort" run at this distance. Sunday morning, I went through a trial run, trying to run it fairly hard, just like I'd run a race.

I know that 9:09 is the "magic number" for two-hour half-marathon pace. I started out way slower than 9:09 on the first mile and knew I had to make it up, but my first mile is always slower. I just found a good rhythm in the upper eights and cruised. Hitting 6.5 miles in just over 58 minutes, I knew I could back off into the low nines and be OK, but I thought I'd see if I could finish out in the upper eights. Running stayed pretty comfortable through ten.  The last 3+ were a strain, but by then, I knew I had enough in the tank to make it. Mile splits were:  9:46, 8:57, 8:56, 8:46, 8:53, 8:44, 8:59, 8:46, 8:53, 8:47, 8:59, 8:42, 8:28, 1:01 (0.1). Result: 13.1 miles, 1:56:43, 8:54 pace.  An unofficial PR for me at this distance. Perfect cool clear morning for running, 53 degrees at 6 AM. This run felt great!

Weekly Training: October 11 - 17

Graphic from my page at dailymile.com. Graphic includes running and cycling miles.

Solid week, although light on cycling:  40.1 miles running, 4.25 miles cycling, 44.26 miles total.

Monday: Yoga, Weights (Chest and biceps).
Tuesday: Yoga, Running (Mile repeats - 6 miles @ 8:35).
Wednesday:  Yoga, Running (8 miles @ 9:33), Weights (Shoulders and legs), Core & Yoga.
Thursday: Yoga, Running (Tempo run - 5 miles @ 8:35).
Friday:  Yoga, Weights (Back and triceps).
Saturday:  Yoga, Running (Easy run - 8 miles @ 9:25).
Sunday:  Running, half-marathon race simulation (13.1 miles @8:54.), Yoga, Cycling (4.25 miles @8mph).

Daily personal yoga streak: 51 days.

YTD: 1,473.2 miles running, 458.3 miles cycling, 1,931.4 miles total.

Training Tips Thursday - Marathon Pacing

In a marathon race, it's suicide to start out at a pace that is way too fast!  It's a sure way to crash later, before reaching that tough 26.2 mile distance.

Every runner who runs a marathon wants to run the best race possible.  Running too fast may cause a lot of trouble making the distance.  However, running slower than necessary leaves time on the course that could have been used for a quicker finish.  A first-time marathoner often has no idea how to target a marathon race pace.  When running subsequent marathons, the runner's goal is normally to run the distance quicker than a previous race.  Either way, the runner may be trying to set a target without knowing what he ore she is really capable of.  I've found some good tools like the McMillan Running Calculator .  This tool lets the runner enter a "best time" at one distance to get an estimate of pacing at another distance.  Of course, this assumes that the runner is adequately trained to the rigors of the other distance.  A 5K race time would be a meaningless marathon predictor if the runner had never run more than 10 miles.

I recently came across an article on the Running Tips for All website that gives another method to determine possible marathon pacing, using times from interval runs of 10 800 meter repeats.  Pretty interesting.  Excerpts from the article follow:

The 10 x 800 Marathon Workout
If you think you can run a 3:30 marathon, then try running 10 repeats of 800 meters on the track. Each 800 should be 3 minutes and 30 seconds. Recover for 3 minutes and 30 seconds. And repeat. If you are shooting for a 4 hour marathon, then your 800 repeats should be 4:00 minutes (with 4 minutes recovery). It’s that simple! Yes, it also works for a 2:09 marathon, as well as a 5:30 marathon.

Determining Your Workout Pace
If you are not sure what pace you can hold, then start with your best guess and give it a try.
If you can’t do all ten at pace, your intervals need to be slower. Do all ten and still have plenty of energy? Cut the intervals down. You may have to change the workout several times over a two or three week period until you arrive at a workout pace that you can hold consistently. You should try to do your last 10 x 800 workout about two weeks prior to your marathon, but by then you should have a good idea what pace you should be running.

Green Choices Wednesday - Recycle and Reuse

Wednesday-- not only is this the day of the week for my Green Choices feature, it is also the day for weekly garbage pickup in my neighborhood.  When I go for my Wednesday morning runs, I'm usually a little disappointed by sights along the roads.  Many garbage cans are overflowing to the point that the lid won't close.  I don't make a point of looking inside people's garbage cans, but most of the overflowing ones have lots of recyclable items that are clearly visible while just running down the road.  Items like aluminum cans and plastic bottles that are so easy to recycle.  I once read that there are enough aluminum cans in circulation that if every one was recycled, no cans would have to be made from bauxite ore (a heavily polluting process).  Imagine that-- a closed loop system, a continuous cycle of use, recycling and reuse, instead of a linear system of manufacturing, use and landfill.  Seems like systems could be designed to do that with most materials we use, and that, with encouragement, everyone would to participate and make it work.  Maybe I'm naive.

One week per month, there is a pickup where residents can set out larger items.  The city does a good job in some areas.  I know they put yard waste like grass clippings and tree or bush trimmings in a separate part of the trucks and compost it.  They also pick up waste oil left in containers by the curb and send it for recycling.  Most other large items go to the landfill.  The city doesn't do a good job of recyling other items, as there is no curbside collection of cans, bottles, paper, etc.

I regret seeing useable items left by the curb for pickup, like pieces of furniture and miscellaneous household items.  There are good organizations in the area such as Goodwill Industries and the Salvation Army.  They both accept household items that are usable.  They resell them in their stores, and everyone wins.  The organization gains resources to help run their programs.  Donators are able to get rid of unwanted items.  Shoppers in their stores get good, used items at a great price.  And the items get reused.

Every week, the magnitude of waste represented by the overflowing cans makes me sad.  And the magnitude of thoughtlessness involved in generating such waste.  After composting our kitchen and yard waste, collecting all metal, plastic, glass, paper and cardboard to take to local recycling centers, and just avoiding all possible disposable products, we often have just one small bag in the bottom of the huge garbage can that the city supplies.  And I'm not bragging, because it really just isn't that hard.

Think green and live green!  

Tuesday Quote of the Week - The Gayatri Mantra

As my last Silent Saturday feature, I simply posted a graphic of the Gayatri Yantra, a geometric design meant to visually convey the essence of the Gayatri Mantra.   It may be used to meditiate on while reciting the Gayatri Mantra.  This is the mantra, in Sanskrit:

Aum Bhur Bhuva Svah
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi
Dhiyo Yo Naha Prachodayat

I find the literal English translation to be a little awkward, but there are a number of good interpretive translations that flow nicely and convey the mantra's essence.  I like this one by Swami Nardanand::

"On the absolute reality and its planes,
On that finest spiritual light,
We meditate, as remover of obstacles
That it may inspire and enlighten us."

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.


These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/

Monday Morsels (Source: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/):
The popular food blog Yum Sugar now has a MM group where readers can share recipes… Money management site MintLife encourages everyone to take the MM challenge, offering 7 recipes that cost $10 or less… Plant-based food producer Gardein credits MM for increased awareness about the health and environmental impacts of meat production and consumption… Salt Lake City paper Desert News suggests MM as a way to develop more mindful, sustainable eating habits.

Weekly Training: October 4 - 10

Graphic from my page at dailymile.com. Graphic includes running and cycling miles.

A fairly average week, 40 miles running, 10.75 miles cycling, 50.75 miles total.  I ran an easier pace all week to lighten the load on a sore left heel.  An unusual pain is typically a result of an unusual stress.  I know I eperienced additional stresses both on a fast run on the previous Tuesday, and on a long trail run on the previous Saturday.  I'll just continue to keep the intensity a little lighter for a while.  The shoulder soreness I had experienced several weeks ago did not return, so I was able to continued my normal weights routines Monday, Wednesday and Friday, increasing weight 2.5 pounds on schedule.  Cycling activity was fairly low, only 5 miles Wednesday and 5.75 miles Saturday.

I continued to practice my yoga, at least a few minutes each day.  My daily personal yoga streak now stands at 44 days. 

YTD: 1,433.1 miles running, 454.0 miles cycling, 1,887.1 miles total.

Silent Saturday - The Gayatri Yantra

Food Rules Friday

Michael Pollan is an acclaimed author and whole food/heathy eating advocate. He is the author of the best selling "In Defense of Food" and "The Omnivore's Dillemma."




Rule #19: "If it came from a plant, eat it.  If it was made in a plant, don't."

Training Tips Thursday

After running a long trail race last Saturday, I was interested in what strategies runners use on trails, so I searched some articles.  I had run trails before last week's trail race, but this one was by far the most technically challenging.  I sensed some of these tips intuitvely before the run, and learned a few of the others while running.   

This is an excerpt from a good article at active.com: Sport Spotlight: Trail Running

Trail-Running Tips

Follow these tips for happy trails wherever you run.

1. Run tall. Running, especially uphill, can be exhausting, but if you bend under the effort it's more difficult for the lungs to do their thing. On the uphill, keep an eye at the crest or a few yards ahead, not at your feet. If you're gasping, slow down and pump your arms a little, or if you need to, walk, while keeping your posture tall. Even elite runners will walk a steep hill.

2. Shorten your stride on the way up. And plant your entire foot; climbing on your toes kills your calf muscles. Jump over obstacles. Stepping up on unsteady rocks and roots is not only tiring, it can be hazardous.

3. Be loose on the downhill. Stop braking and allow yourself to fly a little, throwing your arms to the side. But don't flail. If you lose control, slalom from side to side like a skier. Don't lean back or dig in your heels to brake (a guaranteed butt slide). Instead, land quickly and lightly.

4. Plot your moves. View the trail like a chessboard. Plan your steps around bumps, dips, soft sand and fallen trees yards before you reach them.

5. Focus on time, not distance. Don't expect to match your road PR. "Out-and-back routes are great because you can cover the same distance a little bit faster on the way back," Lanthier-Brandner says.

6. Diminish your risks. Run in pairs or let someone know where you're going and when you'll be back. Take plenty of fuel and fluid, a lightweight jacket and a cell phone, which won't always get a signal in the mountains, but might. Uphill runners yield to downhill runners. Yell "trail" well in advance of passing another runner or hiker.

7. Find your balance. Slippery downhills let you know what your legs are made of. Build them up between trail runs with weighted squats and lunges, and build your balance using wobble boards (check out www.performbetter.com for balance gear).


8. Keep your bearings. Things look different coming back than going. Pause to look around when two or more paths diverge from the one you're on. Look at trail signs and identify rocks, trees or landmarks on the horizon.

9. Leave no trace. Even in races, trail runners stow empty wrappers and wouldn't dream of dropping cups like road racers. Stay on marked trails, don't cut switchbacks and go through, not around, puddles to prevent erosion.

10. Feel like a kid again. Crank it on the downhill, hoot and holler, jump into a stream. "Trail running is a chance to get down and dirty, to grab hold of our authentic selves," says trail running coach and sports psychologist Terri Schneider. It'll make all those miles during freezing winters on the treadmill so worth it.

Green Choices Wednesday

Wow-- It's October already.  The winter holiday season is quickly approaching, which will bring the annual frenzy of shopping and gift-giving.  Many environmental groups are advocating backing away from the buying frenzy for the holidays.  Treehugger.com has a "Slow Holiday" campaign, stressing "taking the time to enjoy the time, to savor the moment." with "gifts...selected for thoughtfulness, longevity, and quality over quantity..."  A variety of green gift ideas may be found at Treehugger: http://www.treehugger.com/giftguide/.

Other groups advocate not buying in to corporate marketers' encouragement to overconsume by participating in a "Buy Nothing Day" on "Black Friday."  Almost every year, there are reports of several shoppers being trampled to death in the rush to be the first one into a store in this competitive buying orgy.

Of course, we all want to remember our loved ones with nice gifts, but it's worth remembering that quality is more important than quantity.  And there are options other than wanton spending.  If you have a talent for crafts, for example, your eco-minded friends would probably greatly appreciate the thoughtfulness, effort, and personal touch put into a handmade gift.

Even a simple process such as gift-wrapping can make a difference.  Every year, tons of holiday waste are generated from discarded paper, bows, and ribbons. 

Here are a few possible gift-wrapping options:

• When you receive gifts in nice wrapping paper, consider unwrapping them carefully instead of ripping them open.  Paper, bows, and ribbons can be reused to wrap gifts you give. 
• If you give a gift in a gift bag, the recipient is more likely to reuse it than throw it away.
• Instead of a paper gift bag, you may consider hand-making a cloth gift bag.
• Reuse attractive household materials.  Many people use pages from the Sunday newspaper comics.  You can also use attractive pages from magazines or paper from a map.

Any of these options will save you money, ease landfill usage, and save trees!

Tuesday Quote of the Week

"Your mind is your servant, your body is your vehicle and your soul is your residence."

~Yogi Bhajan

Meatless Monday

Running Green supports Meatless Monday, an initiative associated with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The goal of Meatless Monday is to help reduce meat consumption in order to improve public health and the health of the planet.


These delicious-looking recipes are published by the Meatless Monday initiative, and may be found at http://www.meatlessmonday.com/category/this-mondays-menu/

Monday Morsels (Source: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/):
The movement has officially launched in South Africa, according to iafrica.com… Fitness trainer for ‘The Biggest Loser’, Bob Harper, encourages followers to try MM via Twitter… Barnard- the women’s Liberal Arts College at Columbia- now goes MM… NY Times food columnist Martha Rose Shulman discusses MM as a healthy way of empowering restaurant patrons… The Sustainable Scribe cooks up a pot of veggie jambalaya for the Monday Night Foodbowl


Personal note: Friday, we tried the Baked Orzo Ratatouille that was featured in last Monday's recipes.  We loved it!

Deer Fly Festival 25K Trail Run

Race Review:  Deer Fly Festival 25K Trail Run, Saturday, October 2, 2010, Sam Houston Jones State Park, Lake Charles LA

15.53 Miles, 3:02:29, 11:14/mile pace.

It felt totally great to run this awesome course on this awesome day!

I planned for this run down to the last detail. I started hydrating heavily Thursday evening, and continued throughout Friday. I loaded up on carbs. I rested the legs for two days prior, and I'm so glad I did. This course took about all I had to give. I practiced my yoga both morning and evening on Friday, finishing the evening session just before going to bed, feeling totally loose and ready. I mixed and bottled my gatorade the night before and had my hydration belt and cooler packed and ready to go. I laid out my running clothes and shoes, and set my alarm for 4:30 AM, figuring I needed to leave about 5:30 for a 7AM start. Lots of great planning, and I only missed one tiny detail. When I set the alarm time, I forgot to flip the switch to "alarm." I woke up Saturday morning, looked at the clock, and saw "5:13." I scrambled out of bed, got a quick bowl of cereal, grabbed my gear, and got out about 15 minutes late. It worked out OK; I got to the starting line about 7:05, and the race had not quite started.

This was a very enjoyable event, on a perfect morning, 58 °F with low humidity. It was staged at Sam Houston Jones State Park, just outside of the Lake Charles/Westlake, Louisiana area. Part of the charm of the event is that it was an unofficial, unadvertised race. Very relaxed and friendly atmosphere. No sign up forms or fees. Costs a dollar to get into the park. Runners just find out about the race by word of mouth, and attendance grows a little every year. The race organizer, local runner Duane Lewis, measures the route very accurately with a wheel counter, and marks the course clearly. Although there are no entry fees, Duane even buys finisher’s medals.

The park is beautiful, and the course is great and very technically challenging. I was surprised by just how challenging it is, containing one feature I wasn’t prepared for: hills—lots of them. Most of the surrounding area is fairly flat, but these trails are quite hilly. I had to train myself quite early to greatly shorten my stride on the inclines. The course goes up and down, twists and turns, and has lots of roots and uneven footing. The surface varies from hard dirt, bare or covered with leaves or pine needles, to soft sand; from deep woods where the runner has to duck under branches, to river bank. I paid close attention to footing after several near-trips on roots. After many early close calls, I decided it would be a major victory just to finish without a fall or a twisted ankle.

One of many hills!

Technical Challlenge!

I wanted to run this race mostly to enjoy the trail experience, and wasn’t worried too much about pace. I also stopped a few times to take pics. In his race info email, Duane suggested that trail conditions may knock 2 minutes off of normal pace. That sounded like a lot to me, but he knew better than I did!

I also got to run with dailymilers Jeremy F, and William F. We all plan to go back next year.

Weekly Training: September 27 - October 3

Graphic from my page at dailymile.com. Graphic includes running and cycling miles.


Much less mileage this week, running 32 miles, down from 40 the previous week, a "mini-taper" for Saturday's 25K trail run.  The season's first cool front was energizing, after slogging through a long, hot summer.  I had an incredible run Tuesday morning.  The temperature was 57 °F, my first run below 60°F since May 5.  I felt liberated by this fantastic morning and just let it all loose, for six miles at 12 seconds/mile quicker than my 5K PR pace: 8:57, 8:15, 8:08, 7:50, 7:51, 7:10. Sucking wind at the end of this one? Yes! Loving it? Totally!!! I probably ran way too hard for a race week, but made up for it by taking a short easy 4 miler Wednesday and resting my legs Thursday and Friday.  Saturday's 25K trail race was very enjoyable.  Details and pics are in a separate post.  I followed with a nice 6 mile recovery run Sunday with a 3 mile cooldown on the bike.

Still going strong on my personal daily yoga challenge; my yoga streak is currently at 37 consecutive days!