i track my mileage by the month. bc some weeks have stuff that intenvenes.
this month has been very consistent for miles. but nothing really fast bc that takes real effort and concentration - that has been lacking this month for sure.
maybe today is the day i get back to trying some intervals.
I had taken about six weeks off due to nagging hamstring pain, and did more biking as I trained for an event. Went back to running about three weeks ago. Got back up to my regular six mile run.
Today, it was unseasonably hot, so decided to run inside, and did some intervals on the treadmill. As I started my first one, my body reminded me that I had not run at speed for some time. The pace, that a few months ago was working but still somewhat comfortable, felt quite hard. Managed to maintain that pace for the planned four intervals (used to negative split off of that pace). Felt good to do though, will get back to where I was.
and it was. I did 4 x 800 w about 4 min rest (jog) between. was consistent within them and averaged 3:21 per 800m.
If ever you wanted to do the ice test, you would crush it.
last half marathon of the season is on Sunday, itās on the trails of the hilly state park near my house. Looking to complete, run all of the downhills and flats, and at least jog 75% of the uphill portions. Got some new trail running shoes (my first!) yesterday so Iām hoping this is a better experience than last Sunday when I went training and almost slipped a couple of times due. Target time is 3 hours or less, a good 2 minutes per mile slower than the road races due to 1) uphills that are hard to go fast because itās uphill, and 2) downhills that are hard to go fast because theyāre dangerous if you do.
I havenāt ran since my half (almost two weeks ago). I need to get into it but I also feel like I need motivation or a goal to strive for to make myself run.
Iām in the same boat. I did get out 2x this week so far.
I started to think about the Music City HM in April 2026.
Other than that - Turkey Day 5K training.
My next reasonable half wouldnāt be until next June. Thereās a Hypothermic Half I could run in February but that seems unwise.
im about to run in the rain. light rain, but all the same. hit every day this month! monthly mileage ofā¦150 after today. no runs shorter than 3 or longer than 7. wish I felt like running longer but once i head out, i figure 5 is plenty
Final half-marathon of the season today, on the State Park trails near my house. 2 loops, three substantial climbs each loop with descents that can get tricky (unstable large gravel) or slippery (leaves), with a fair amount of relatively benign flats as well. It was 36 degrees (F) at the start and foggy, everyone was layered up. There was also a 30k race at the same time with three 10k loops that share 95% of the route, so about 10 miles in Iām getting passed by 30k leaders who are at 15 miles.
The first 3 miles or so there are several people around, but after that we start stringing out and only occasionally passing others or getting passed. I did see 2 wipeouts, one early on when a dude hit a little āankle breakerā (miniature stump that didnāt get fully cleaned out when they cleared off some volunteer shoots earlier this year) and rolled. And then one about 2 miles from the finish, two twenty-something girls were walking on a downslope ahead of me and one of them just went down.
Intended to run up more inclines than I did, but I still finished in 2:50, 10 minutes shorter than target time, and pretty happy about it!
Placing: overall 78 / 97, male 54 / 59, age group (40-49) 16 / 18. Those were very consistent, from the first timing check at 3 miles I was in places 76, 54, and 15. I would like to be in the top half of my age group again, I used to be in the top 30%, I feel like if I can drop 30 pounds I may be able to do it again.
Feet are sore, got a bit of an āorthopedic massageā afterwards where the PT guy didnāt like do one of those soft, relaxing massages but rather some intense pressure targeted at removing the tension in some of my places. We discussed some pains Iāve been having and he pointed out that the excess tension in my right side is probably due to the left side being weaker and therefore Iām overcompensating on the right, plus foot pain being due to (1) too-small toebox in the shoes, and (2) weak muscles on the outside of my shin. I will take a couple of weeks to recover, then probably start up again and see if I can find some PT exercises to strengthen some of the things he told me about. I donāt remember all of it, naturally, so Iām already thinking that if I donāt feel good next spring, I may schedule some sessions.
Anyway, happy with progress! Looking forward to next year.
excited for new shoes tomorrow. i think i rode the last pair too long
Saturday morning I went out to a rather āeasyā trail, albeit one that I havenāt run on before, and wouldnāt you know it, twisted the same (left) ankle. Only about half a mile in, too. I didnāt even feel like it was on a root or a rock or anything specifically uneven, it almost felt like I just came down at a 45-degree angle (which is weird), and then the tendons just gave out. Shouted āfuck!ā and then an even louder āFUCK!ā while slamming my water bottle. Hobbled for another mile to see if it would sort of loosen up, but it didnāt.
I think Iām going to need some PT to give me some guidance to strengthen this thing so I donāt keep repeating the same mistakes.
Iāve been using some pretty heavy duty inserts in my shoes. I feel like this makes shoes last a lot longer than using them without inserts (where the foam in the sole wears out and then thereās no support). But Iām a heavy, plodding runner, so maybe thatās why thatās the case.
some inserts help the plant/roll/ride match up better with how shoes are constructed (to match ānormalā orthopedic gait). without them, some people blow them out fast w their unique stride
ran some 400ās on the trail today. had ~400m jog rest between. averaged 94seconds for them. felt good. one of my two events each year is coming up - i need some pacing help
Did a 10k run yesterday. Not organized, it just ended up that distance. Felt fine. Didnāt try to go fast.
Do you overpronate? A quick Youtube video will help answer this. Look for stability running shoes if you do.
Registration opened today for the only full marathon my area offers. Iām on the fence about whether I should register for the full or the half. Iāve only run one half before and thinking about doubling that distance feels extremely daunting.
In my limited, perhaps not relevant, experience, a marathon is really different from a half. Iāve run quite a few halfs in years past. Iāve trained for a couple of fulls, and never made even one. Every time I train for a full, I get almost there and then I injure myself. I donāt seem to be able to train for a full without that happening. Granted, Iām an XL which may be the real problem.
My daughter ran a full, but it was a bucket list thing. Sheās more a regular size than I am lol.
Either way, itās a huge time commitment. EVeryone else doing stuff, youāre on the treadmill for half the day every saturday.