Uping the Ante

The cool temps we've been getting lately have definitely made running much easier which in turn makes it more enjoyable. Which makes it easier to run more.

The past couple of weeks have been going well and I feel I've established a good training routine. At the moment, my goal is to run 60-65 miles, get in 2 long quality workouts (Wednesday and Friday), and spend 2-3 hours a week on the elliptical each week.

This morning I was able to get in a good 800m repeat workout. My legs were feeling pretty tired and unresponsive during the warm up. I almost bailed on the workout this morning with the intention of doing it this evening, but I thought I should at least try a few reps to see how it went. My legs never loosened up, but after two reps I was able to find a rhythm and I was amazed at how good I felt aerobically and how I was able to run my best 800m workout of the season, despite my legs feeling dead. I averaged 3:16.5 per rep w/2 min rest (200m jog during the 2 min rest). I could have easily averaged a little faster, but my second rep was in 3:24. Other than that rep I didn't have any one slower than 3:16.

The only thing I'm still trying to establish in my training routine is a good weekly (or at least bi-monthly) long run. I haven't run over 12.5 miles in one run since the end of August. I hope to start getting in some good 15-milers soon, so that I can work my way up to a bi-monthly 20-miler by November. Other than that, things are going great. I've registered for the Houston Half-Marathon toward the end of October. Hopefully I can run a bit faster there this year than I did last year.