As a youth, I ran, yet I did not exist in a sense. 19 years passed. Today, I exist in one sense because I must run. Perhaps I run to escape the futility of my existence. Perhaps not. In either case, this blog, or whatever it is, will serve to chronicle my training as a runner, my development as a man, and ultimately my demise as a human, because all things pass, fade, retreat into the horizon--and while we run, as we run, the mirage that is the shimmering, glimmering future continues to assert itself just out of reach. And yet, as this picture up above connotes, it may still be beautiful. And so the question may be what is IT? What is it? What is IT?

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

2.20-2.26

2.20 2.5 miles warm-up. 4 by 1200's with 80 seconds rest. 3:47, 3:46, 3:46, 3:46. 3.75 miles in 20:34. I was at 18:57 for 3.5 miles, which is 5:25 pace. 2.75 cool down.

9 miles total.

Abominable workout--I felt like crap. What a bummer. I did the same workout last year, but faster and with less rest--although I think I went faster on my recoveries. I have to remember I am way above last year's mileage and training differently--but I need to incorporate more speed work in either case.

2.21 6 miles on treadmill (2% incline) in 39 minutes. I need to take it easier in terms of mileage this week.

2.22 5 miles easy.

2.23 12 miles total. 2 miles warm up. On treadmill at 2% incline, I alternated fast quarters in 73 seconds followed by recoveries of half miles in 2:50. I did 10 quarter miles fast and ended up at 7.5 miles in 40:32 (5:24 average). 2.5 miles cool down.

I am ecstatic about this workout. I felt very strong and relaxed nearly the whole time. Next time I do this workout I will be decreasing my rest--first time I was able to do ten of these!

2.24 15 miles treadmill at 2% incline in 1:49:15.

2.25 15 miles treadmill at 2% incline in 1:48:57.

2.26 13 miles treadmill at 2% incline in 1:31:15.

75 miles total for the week. Sort of a recovery week with one okay speed workout and a great workout on Monday. I needed to scale back my mileage a little bit. My legs feel cooked--but even a couple days of recovery helped my legs feel insanely strong on Thursday. I am going to tear up the seacoat this summer.

Friday, February 17, 2012

2.13-2.19

2.13 10 miles easy on treadmill (2% incline).

2.14 10 miles easy on treadmill (2% incline).

2.15 1.5 mile warm up. 10 mile tempo on treadmill at 2% incline in 55:09 (5:31 pace). 1.5 mile warm up.

13 miles total.

I am psyched--this is 1:47 faster than 11 months ago!

2.16 8 miles outside in 62 minutes. (Recovery day)

2.17 10 miles AM on treadmill at 2% incline in 67:26. Sort of a progression run. First 6 miles in 42:36. I then picked the pace up from 7:05 per mile to 5:30 per mile for 3.5 miles. I then ran the last half mile in 2:26. My last mile was in 5:21.

11 miles outside PM in 81 minutes.

21 miles for the day.

2.18 18 miles outside. First 3 miles I was at 21:45. I then inadvertently picked it up and was at 35:20 after 5 miles and 61:42 after 9. I ran the last 9 miles in 57:30 with the last 3 in 18:13. Total time was 1:59:12. I felt pretty good.

2.19 12 miles outside in 92 minutes.

92 miles for the week

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

2.6-2.12

2.6 2 miles warm up. Canova Lactate Threshold on treadmill at 2% incline--I alternated quarter miles fast in 73 followed by half miles in about 2:51 for a recovery. I did 8 fast quarter miles for 6 miles total in 32:31. 2 miles cool down.

This was a total ballbuster. I wanted to do 10 quarter miles, but I was totally cooked. This was 8 seconds faster than a couple weeks ago.

10 miles total.

2.7 12 miles in 77:79 on treadmill at 2% incline.

2.8 11 miles in 78 minutes on treadmill at 2% incline. I took it easier today.

2.9 8 miles treadmill at 2% incline in 58 minutes.

2.10 25 miles outside in 3:00:51. My last five miles were slightly under 7 minute pace and I felt pretty good throughout the run, but slightly tired the last 7 miles or so. I have a lot more stamina than I did a couple months ago.

2.11 5 miles outside AM in 40 minutes. 6 miles outside PM in 46 minutes. Recovery day.

2.12 2 mile warm up on treadmill at 2% incline and then 3 by (400, 800, 2000 meter) 2 mile supersets with recovery jogs of 400 meters (2 minutes). My goal was 73, 2:35, 6:53). I did (73, 2:34, 6:47) [10:35], (74, 2:34, 6:46) [10:34], (74, 2:33, 6:39) [10:26]. 6.5 miles total in 35:25. I find that a lot of my workouts for speed tend to average about 5:27 per mile, whereas last year that would have been impossible.

4.5 mile cool down.

13 miles total.

I rocked this workout and was 15 second faster than a similar workout last year at this time. Just 2 days after a 25 mile run, I feel fantastic.

4 miles PM on treadmill (2% incline) 27:20.

17 miles total for the day.

94 miles for the week. I am annihilating workouts from last year at this time.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

1.30-2.5

1.30 13 miles on treadmill (2% incline) in 89:39. I felt terrible.

1.31 2 miles warm up. 12 by Half Miles at 2:32 on treadmill at 2% incline. I jogged at slightly under 8 minute pace for 2 minutes between each one. 9 miles total with 11 recovery jogs in 52:45. 2 miles cool down.

This was a great effort. The last 3 were pretty hard. Last year, I think I did the same workout but could only muster 6 reps and I probably took more rest.

13 miles total.

2.1 12 miles in 79:47 on treadmill (2% incline). I felt okay.

2.2 11 miles in 80 minutes on treadmill (2% incline).

2.3 17 miles on treadmill at 2% at a solid pace in 1:45:23, which is 6:12 pace. Forst 7 miles in 44:09. Last 10 miles in 61:12.

2.4 These runs were all outside. 4 miles AM in 26:43. 6 miles early PM in 43:31. 5 miles late afternoon in 34:12.

15 miles total.

2.5 11 miles on treadmill easy.

92 miles total. My legs feel a bit rubbery. I have never run this kind of mileage before.