running for my mind

45 min on spin bike. I have some thoughts about it. I will share them tomorrow. 

8 

I have never really cared for New Year's resolutions. I have always been the "if you want to set a goal or make a change just do it now and don't wait until the new year" kind of guy. However, I often find myself lost in contemplation. The beginning of a new year is as good a time as any to take a look back. I am constantly evaluating where I stand in regards to running. The following is where I stand today.

Three years ago I decided to buy my first pair of running shoes. Running changed my life. I can say that on here, this blog, because you fellow runners will understand, certainly more than others, what that means. If you need more of an explanation, join me for a long run and I would be happy to explain. 

I have made some significant improvements and have achieved things I never thought I would in those three years. Yet, I feel like I am just being introduced to this mammoth beast known as running. I am a rookie with high hopes for the future. I finished 2014 off strong with just shy of 2500 miles and a solid base to roll into the new year. I have a goal to run my fastest marathon to date at Ogden in May. It is going to take a lot of work, but I feel like I have the necessary tools to do the work. 

I am trying to see where I can work a little harder and tweak my training here and there. Typically, I run 6 days a week. 99.9% of the time I only run once a day. 6 days a week without any doubles (and a full-time job and family) naturally caps the number of miles I can log. So, I am trying to see where I can make adjustments to take the next step up.

I have never "cross-trained." It  is not that I don't think I could benefit from it. I am sure I would. It is just that the time I have carved out for running, I dedicate to running. I enjoy one day off a week. I feel like it helps me mentally. I am starting to wonder if I really need it though. Occasionally I log some easy miles on Sunday to loosen up from a strenuous long Saturday run or workout. I have found that I still get my mental break, but also start the week off with 4-5 miles. Yesterday, I hopped on the spin bike for 45 minutes. Again, there was no mental strain in deciding to hop on or not. It was quite refreshing to do something physical other than running. And, it didn't cut into my running time.

Perhaps, I am simply writing this to digest it all for myself. Here seemed like a good place to do so. So, now I look forward. Here's to another year.

10 - 7:08

Met Fritz, JP, and Dan at HHS and ran the park loop south loop. Was a nice clear temperate morning.

Met Fritz and JP at HHS and warmed up over to Liberty for a workout of 4 x (4min on 2min off).

I wanted to start at about a 5:55 pace and maybe work down a little each repeat if I felt alright. We all stuck pretty close together on the first loop and then JP and Fritz dropped their pace. I started feeling it on the second repeat and had to give myself a little pep talk. I knew it was a little too fast as well. I backed off on the third a little and then slowed even more on the last one. I wanted to see how the last one would feel right at about 6:05 to see if I could feel relatively comfortable at that pace. All in all, it was a good workout though I would have liked to have felt better at the end.

The average paces for the 4 repeats were 5:52, 5:43, 5:51, 6:06.

10 - 7:16

Easier run with Fritz and JP south from HHS with a loop around Sugar House to finish it off. 

6 in the fog. visibility was only about 20-30 yards. it made for a fun run and it felt nice to have a little easier day. took a solid 3 miles before i felt like i was loosened up. i think i need to schedule some time with the foam roller.

16 - 7:11 - 739ft

Downtown and Avenues loop from Liberty with Daniel.