Training Week:  1

Jan 6 - Jan 12

1/6/14

Mon-AM: 3mi easy.  

Ran with Jaclyn up through Cary Street and around down Blvd and Monument. Great first run back.  Easy 10/mi pace.  Nasty rain and wind, but warm

PM:  3mi easy

With an easy run this morning I wanted to get a feeling of how I felt at what will be my Key West race pace of 8:45/mi.  Ran down Monument and back through Patterson.  Felt good, but not great.  

1/7/14

Tues-AM: 4mi easy

I wanted to see how 8:45/mi would feel again.  I head down Monument and back Patterson again.  Thats kind of my staple afternoon road course.  Easy traffic signals to navigate and pace to keep.  Felt ok, not great.  I think its just the first few runs back and cob webs to get worked out.  I am though, really happy to feel like I am back to training again. 

1/7/14

Wed-PM: 4+ mi

Finally got back down to the trails.  Ran Buttermilk from the nickel bridge parking lot.  Turned around at the Forest Hill parking lot.  I really like this route, as there isn't really anything flat.  All up and down hills that really test the lungs and heart.  I kept an easy pace, trying to pull back most of the time.  

1/7/14

Thurs-AM: 5.5mi group run

Early morning run with Jimmy and Will.  Love being out this early.  Feels like a ghost town, like you own the city, when everyone else is sleeping and you are training.  This was an easy run.  Couldn't really get warmed up till about 3 miles into the run.  Headed down Blvd to the river and across to other side of Maymont Park.  Ran around the lake on the way back.  Hills really challenged the legs, but felt really good the last mile.  Great running with Jimmy and Will, as always.  

1/7/14

Fri-AM: 2mi easy

Jaclyn and I did 2 easy miles, on our traditional route around our house.  Its a great way to wake up and get the legs warmed up for the day.  

PM: 4 mi - smooth & easy

This was the first run where I felt completely smooth and running an easy effort.  I didn't look at the watch for my pace the whole time, and finished with a 8:32/mi avg.  Very happy with that in this first week.  I am starting to really itch for those long runs though.  

1/7/14

Sat-AM: 3.5mi w Jaclyn

With it pouring rain outside, Jaclyn and I took off for an easy 3.5mi effort.  It was warm out though, so that made the wet clothes a little more tolerable to wear. 60 degrees.  We saw Jimmy flying by extremely fast.  I just have to stay focused on my plan and I too will be running fast soon.  Legs felt great, but I tweaked my knee stretching and can feel some discomfort. 

1/7/14

Sun-AM: 6mi easy/fast

Parked at the Nickel Bridge with Jac and headed out and back on buttermilk nice and easy.  Ran the rest of the way home with a good tempo pace - 7:30/mi.  Felt good.  Knee tweak is feeling ok, need to apply more heat and ice after runs though.  

Totals - 36.3mi - 5:49.16

Week Goals :  First week back from 3 weeks of rest (sort of, I did get some light runs in).  I wanted to get just 35 miles in as I start to ramp up the miles soon.  I tweaked my knee a little, I think while stretching.  Applying heat before runs, and ice after helps a lot.  Nothing major, doesn't hurt while running.  Great first week back.  Happy to be back training again and itching to go further and faster.  In due time.