Long Run

I braved the concrete again this morning. I headed out around 10am and took the run to almost to the end of the Greenway. The pace started out slow... 8/mile and then ended up closer to 7 minutes per mile on the way back.

Running a negative split was a surprise. The hills have been giving me a little trouble, but I am beginning to believe that this is more of a psychological problem than a physical one. I need to start wrapping my brain around the fact that the hills are my friends and not the enemy.

I am getting strong. That is not in my mind. The hills are scary... that's all in my head.

Total Miles: 9 Miles

Rollerblade Cross Train

I gave a new pair of Rollerblades to Jordan today. She loved them and we immediately put them on and headed out the door for a quick roll. They were great on the hills... downhill that is... Uphill was another story and I could tell they would be a good way for me to add a few miles to my legs without the stress of pounding concrete.

Today I found a new weapon to crush the hills with. I'm looking forward for the next time I can get a workout on the skates. Maybe Sunday. Long run tomorrow morning.

Total Miles: Cross Training

Happy Hour

No run tonight. I had a run planned... but today we went off to celebrate with a coworker and well... the Stout Beer was delicious...

Total Miles: 0

Treadmill Run

Today I needed to put a few miles in on the treadmill. I knew I needed to pick up the pace, but the concrete has been a bit brutal and the treadmill would be exactly what I needed to focus on my form.

Jordan and I made it to the apartment gym tonight for a quick workout. I put 5 miles in on the treadmill at a pyramid pace starting around 8 and getting up to about 7 minutes per mile.

The run felt good and I was able to get in a quick massage afterwards. My legs are starting to feel stronger and I am trying to stretch and massage my IT Bands as much as possible. The knees are still feeling good too!

Total Miles: 5

Tuesday - 4 Miles

I decided to hit the Greenway again. The concrete is starting to bother me but I haven't been able to find another running trail with a softer path.

The run went well. I felt good and no real issues with the knees. Keeping my pace around 7:45 to 7:30 has been pretty easy. Tomorrow I have some speed work... I will probably take it to the treadmill!

Total Miles: 4

First day of the NEW plan

Workout
Easy Run
Dist: 4mi

So, I have been wrestling with a new running plan. I finally put one together last night. It's pretty generic but it should do the trick. My problem is all the hills around this town. They are everywhere and my legs can feel it. The good thing is that I know I am getting stronger. The bad thing is that I don't have a choice unless I go throw a few miles down on the treadmill but that's not going to happen. Not when I can walk out my front door, jog around a wildlife refuge, and enjoy some beautiful trails. Nope, not likely.

At any rate, I made it out on the first day of the plan. Four miles at an easy pace. Not a hard sell because these hills have done something wicked to my pace. Last Saturday I kept an even pace around 7 to 7:45 per mile. Today was a bit slower and I could feel those 7 miles still lingering in my legs. Or maybe it as the hill repeats I did on the bike. Either way, the legs are feeling sluggish but I'm loving the hell out of these miles.

The run felt good and I felt like I was keeping good form. Though the pace was slow I knew the miles were good for me. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's workout. 4 more miles, but this time I might take it to the streets.

Training Plan: Week 1

X-Training... The Big Red Bike

I love my bike. Red... light... and Fast. Today I took it out to do a little exploring and to see if I could find a hill or two for a couple of heart pounding repeats.

The exploration was a bit boring and slow because of the kids, dogs, and roller bladers on the Greenway, but I was able to find a nice hill that took the breath away. After three hard efforts I thought I would call it a day but not before sprinting the last 3k to the house.

It was a good day. The weather was beautiful and the suffering was minimal. Maybe more suffering tomorrow when my first day of the new plan begins.

1/2 a Long Run

Today I took it upon myself to go for a long run. I haven't done one it a while and I figured I could put 7-10 miles in. This is a far cry from a true long run, but these days, in these hills, 7 miles would put some solid miles on my fresh legs.

The run ended up being 7 miles. In fact, I used gmap-pedometer.com to create my run route. 7 miles was easy to come by with all the trails around here. I felt the concrete beneath my feet and it began to wear on my knees by the end of the run.

I need to find a new route to put these miles down on. I have heard there is a nice dirt trail down in the metro area. I might give that a shot next Saturday... Road Trip!

Quick 4

Jordan's dad is in town. Not much time to run or blog. Picked up 4 miles between work and dinner. Felt good. Beer after the run tasted great. Looking forward to getting back out there. The concrete is starting to become a bit annoying... Concrete vs. Asphalt I have my idea about what is better for the knees.

Alpharetta Asphalt.. here I come...

A Nice Walk in the Woods

Today Jordan and I decided to take a quick walk through the woods. We made it about a three mile walk including a quick spin around the pond. Not too many birds or other wildlife out today. It was very quite but it was great to have some time together on the trail. Its not often that we get to do this together. I enjoyed it... even though walking is a word I just added to my limited vocabulary.

First Steps

Today I ventured out on my first run. It had been a great first week at work and I had a lot of energy to blow off. I headed out the door in the hopes that I would find a nice trail just off the pond near the apartment. I never would have guessed I would run into a 12 foot wide concret path straight through the woods.

The Big Creek Greenway is a nice trail with a ton of wildlife that includes deer, geese, rabbits, and squirrls. I saw all of these on this initial run so I am excited to see what the later spring days will bring. Snakes... maybe.

Anyway, the run was great. I ended up taking about a 4 mile jog to get the legs moving. The concret path is a little too much for the knees so I know I will need to find a new running path soon.

This place is AWESOME!

Home Sweet Home

Atlanta is amazing. The road trip here was actually quite easy and our furniture arrived without incident. The hills are all over the place and I can't imagine what it is going to be like to run in this town.

Ducks, and Geese, and Deer... Oh my...

The Trip Home

Today was rough. Went out late last night. Thankfully today was a rest day with no run planned. It was all I could do to stay awake on the flight. Thinking about a new training plan helped. I think I will start Sunday with a short run, and then get on the path to long distance with speed.

Trip to Atlanta

No run today. Got on the plan at 6:45am and headed out to Atlanta. Weather was bad and delayed the flight. I'm looking forward to training in this new environment. Cool weather, hills, lots and lots of trees. It reminds me a lot of North Austin.

The next phase will be to pick a race in the future and start training for it. Probably a marathon. Need to come up with a new training plan that will incorporate a lot of miles with plenty of hills.