New revamped energy

So its been a while since I have written on here. Let me explain. I ran a 5k about two months ago and I ran a horrible time. I was very discouraged so I just ran very sporadically throughouts the following weeks. Then my sister in law said she would help train me and help me get back into PR shape. That was about 3 weeks ago. Since then I have been doing focused distance with a little bit of long speed mixed in. Last week I did a tempo 5k faster than that race and I also did 1.1 mile repeats in negative splits! My endurance is getting much better and my long speed intervals are turning out times that I am beginning to feel proud of.  This week I have already done an easy 35 minute run and today I have a 45 minute run that will be at a quicker pace than yesterday. I am going to be on here posting about my new mindset and hopefully success!

3/20-3/25 week wrap-up

I only ran tuesday through thursday this week because Olga and I attended the Real Marriage conference with Mark and Grace Driscoll. Extremely life altering by the way. Excellent stuff. The runs this week were very much recovery getting ready for a super tough week full of tempo runs.

Monday 3/19 tempo

Today was the longest tempo as of yet. 22 minutes. When i read that text from my coach (aka Dad) I didnt think I could make it. Here is how the run unfolded:

It started out well. The weather was cool and lovely. My first mile was goofed up due to a car nearly running me off the road and I had to stop momentarily. I hit 6:55 for the first mile (which is 10 seconds slower than planned). At the corner where I hit the home stretch, I am usually 8:50 and today I was 8:55. So I gained 5 seconds that I had lost in the first mile. My best 2.2 miles was 14:54 and today I was at 15:17. Right on pace to finish strong. As I headed up the final hill, I felt strong. About halfway up is when I started flailing. I hit 2.7 miles in 19:05 and was at 22 minutes at 3.18 (6:56 pace for entire run).
The run had its ups and downs (literally and figuratively) but I felt like a champ when I was done!

Calves are so sore!

Sunday 3/18 long run

Did 49 minutes.was cut short so I could do my man chores around the outside of the house.solid pace felt great.still experimenting with different lacing techniques on my left shoe

Friday 3/17 hill workout

Dad and I ran "dolly" which is, other than Brevard, is the hardest and longest hill i've ever run. Did 3 sets of 3 and one extra at the end. Great effort felt great afterwards.

Monday 3/12 mile time trial

This was my first time back on a track for a time trial. This was just to see where I am speed wise (with a little endurance mixed in). Judging by my splits, you can tell I am not so "light on my feet" like I was a couple years ago.
I split 77, 2:44, 4:29, and 5:50. This shows me that I have still have a little speed left in the tank but now I know what I have to work on.

I felt great and followed up with a 15 minute cool down run with dad.

Thursday 3/8 tempo

this week was all out of whack. Today was my first run of the week. It was a19 minute tempo run. I ran the same 2.2 mile course and then some. I ran a PR for the 2.2 miles (14:58) and finished 2.7 miles in 19 minutes.not too shabby.felt great

Saturday 3/3 Run

Since i am still one day off this week, today was just a 3o minute easy run. I must say, I am getting a lot better and finding a decent pace and sticking to it through the entire run. Felt great today. iced the shins when i was done due to slight soreness.

Friday 3/2 fartlek

Today was definitely the hardest workout to date. It very much tested my anaerobic capacity and it hurt a little in the lungs when I was done.

1 min jog, 2min hard, 1 min jog, 1 min hard, 30 sec jog, 30 sec hard (repeat 3 times)

I ran this workout around the park near my house and there are 2 semi long hills. After the third set, I added another 1min jog, 1 min hard, 30 sec jog, and 30 hard so I could finish at my house.

Felt great. Glad i got through this workout!

Thursday 3/1 tempo

Today was another 15 tempo run in the same 2.2 mile course. Last run was finished in 15:09 and tonight was in 15:08. I ran a PR and felt amazing. Heart rate was 180 when I was done.it was a hard effort. Shins were a little bit sore after.

Wednesday 2/29

due to some hectic scheduling at work, today's run was replaced with yesterdays run. I just did 25 minutes easy with baby travis in his stroller. my shins were a tad sore from mondays mile repeat workout. looking forward to  tomorrows 17 minute tempo workout

Monday 2/27 mile repeats

I worked early so I got to the track around 6. Weather was a tad bleak but I was ready to tear up the track regardless!
Workout was 4 mile repeats at tempo pace. My repeats were: 7:05, 6:55, 6:52 & 6:46. Workout executed perfectly!

Saturday 2/25 tempo

Today was supposed to be my long run but it was replaced by yesterdays tempo run. And talk about a perfect run! In Tuesdays tempo run, I did 2.2 miles in 15:37 and today I ran the same 2.2 mile course in 15:09 which equates to 6:52 per mile! My heart rate right after the run was 142. I felt amazing before during and after the run!
Running a new course record always feels good.

Thursday 2/23 hill workout

Today's run actually took place this evening and at the same hill i've been running the past two hill workouts. Shortened my warmup to just 5 minutes due to lack of sunlight. my goal was to do 7 hills, each with more effort than the last until the last was all out. After number 7,I realized I had more in the tank so number 8 was at sprint speed (I tried to outrun a car up the hill). It was a glorious feeling when I was done, until I realized that my hill is too easy.. Time to find a new hill in which to exert my efforts.  Tomorrow is tempo number two for the week.

Wednesday 2/22 easy run

Ran with Travis Jr today. Did 32 minutes at a very relaxed clip. Tomorrow is a hill day so I just took it easy to recover from the tempo run.

Tuesday morning 2/21 tempo

Wow can you say flawless run? Weather was outstanding and after my 10 minute easy warmup jog with active drills, I absolutely murdered my 15 minute tempo! My breathing could not have felt easier and my cadence felt as if I were running a PR. 15 minutes was actually not enough to get to the "finish line" (which was a street sign), so I ended up at 15:37 for 2.2 miles. Which is a pace of roughly 7 minute miles. I know the sound of 7 minute miles is definitely something to shrug off, but the point of the workout was to be consistent. I was not going all out and my HR afterwards was 126.

I feel good about the workout and look forward to Friday's tempo on the same course to see if I can better the pace!

Saturday 2/18

Best run so far. 46 of solid pacing, easy breathing and great stride length. Felt amazing!

Friday 2/17

I missed tuesday wednesday and thursday runs due to illness. this morning I was still coughing up some flem and not feeling 100 percent, so all I could muster up with 34 minutes easy. weather was perfect and travis junior jogged with me while I pushed his stroller. tomorrow will also be very easy but a little bit longer and hopefully I can be fully recovered by monday.

Monday 2/13 first track workout

Today was my first speed workout, but it was far from all out. The object was to find a pace that was non conversational but not all out. workout called for 4 x 1200 but all I could get in was 3 due to lack of light. They were 4:54, 4:57, & 4:44.
Hurt a little bit (hurt my pride more to see how slowI really am)

Friday and Thursday combined run 2/10

due to the fact that I was not able to do my hill repeat workout yesterday, I decided to mix my tempo run with a bunch of hills in order to compensate. The run started off very very cold but I gradually went from a warm up into tempo stage. I warmed up for about 4 minutes, then I tempoed for 15 minutes and then cooled down for another 5 minutes.
I incorporated about 5 hills in the middle of my tempo run. it was a difficult run but very rewarding when I was done. Tomorrow looks to be another long run.

Wednesday 2/8 easy run

Today was supposed to be another hill workout, however I had Travis Jr and his stroller so I did Thursdays workout today and I will so the hill workout tomorrow morning. Today was gorgeous weather and the run was relaxing. Felt great.

Tuesday 2/7 morning fartlek (double part one)

due to the fact that coach did not give me the work out till late last night, today I will be doing a double workout.

this morning was very chilly probably around 35 degrees. the workout was 25 minutes with 90 seconds of fartleks at 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes. it took me about 12 minutes to fully warm up, but I felt the workout was very solid.

I feel that I am becoming a much more stoic type of runner. what I mean by that is I am doing my workout I am not thinking too much, I am just going out there and I'm running the workouts. I know it is taken me a while to find a goal that outweighs the pain of the long road that leads to the goal.
to God be the glory!

Saturday long run/schedule mishap

Due to work schedule issues this week, I've missed two runs this week. Tonight was my long run. Night runs are the best....if there was no traffic! Very evenly paced from start to finish. Ended up at 46 minutes and felt fantastic from start to finish..whats next coach?

Thursday 2/2 hill workout

wow what a perfect day to run outside. today started off with a 20 minute easy jog to loosen up the legs. there is a hill by my house is approximately 200 meters long. the workout was to do 4 repeats with a gradual increase in pace all the way to the end. I felt so good after the first set that I continued to do one more set and added two additional repeats to the end of the workout bringing my total number of hill repeats to 10. the entire workout took 43 minutes and I felt amazing knowing that I had done more than was asked of me by my coach. now it is time for work, relaxation and hanging out with my son and wife.

Wednesday run..NEW SHOES

So today I bought some new running shoes.. Turns out I actually am a slight pronator and I need some support. I tried on many pairs and ended up going with the Saucony Hurricane.  Today was my first run with them. Went 30 minutes with Travis Jr and his stroller. Shoes felt great and the run went smoothly. Tomorrow is the first hill workout.

Monday Fartlek 1/30/12

My gorgeous wife and adorable son joined me on this evenings run. Started out with active warmup for about 5 minutes, then I worked my way in to the 20 minute run. I had fartleks for a minute a piece at 5,10, and 15 minutes.

Had to run this workout at night due to my work schedule. It was a little bit chilly this evening but I was on fire! Felt amazing the whole way. In order to NOT ruin the workout, I had to refrain from going all out. I felt like I could PR this evening. All in all, great run. Ready for more hard workouts!

Saturday long run 1/28

Olga and baby travis ran with me on my 45 minute long run today. I felt good and took it ready during the whole run. Nice way to end the week. Nothing ached or bothered me on this long run. Date night tonight. Looking forward to going hard next week.

friday morning run 1/27

man I tell you what, pushing travis junior in his jogging stroller gets harder everyday. perfect running weather again this morning. I ran for 31 minutes easy around my neighborhood and it felt very good and comfortable. during the first 5 minutes or so, I felt a little tightness on my right ankle were my stress fracture was. after I was fully warmed up, then I was good to go. I am really pumped up for my first long run tomorrow should be exciting to see what happens.

Thursday morning run 1/26

The weather could not have been better these last few days. Today was cool, around 65, and just beautiful. Travis Jr. joined me on my run as I pushed him in his jeep jogging stroller. He loves being outside. Took my legs and ankle (where I had my stress fracture) about 5 minutes to fully loosen up. After that, I was cruising. A very chilled 32 minute run around my neighborhood and local park. Very peaceful out this morning, very enjoyable.

wednesday tempo run

Weather was perfect for thus evening's 20 minute tempo run. Started out with active drills and a 5 minute active warmup jog. The tempo run was done at a loop that is roughly 1.7 miles around.my goal was to get around twice. The run was a tale of two halves.first ten minutes was quick and unevenly paced. The next five minutes were slightly slower but the last 7 (yes I went for 22 minutes) minutes were great.when I got to 20 minutes, I was at the base of a quarter mile incline and I decided to finish at the top and beat the hill. Good solid workout!

tuesday morning run

I woke up this morning at 530. Went out for an easy 30 minute run. oh how I absolutely despise running early in the morning. but champions do what others will not. it was a very foggy morning it was a little chilly not too cold though. the first 5 minutes or so was fairly easy just trying to get warmed up. did some drills before the run however didn't feel 100 percent into the run in till about I hit minute 6. after that I was rolling went through my neighborhood around the school and finished in 33 minutes. All in all solid run great way to start the week.

First week

I have decided to seriously go after my dream of running. With the help of my dad as my coach from afar, I will go after a sub 16 5k.  I recently had a stress fracture on my right ankle and now basically have to start from scratch.  Here is what my first week of practice looks like.

Wed, Jan 18 800 meter warm up jog

Dynamic drills

Main Segment: 20 minute tempo (comfortably hard pace)

Cool down

Core exercises

Thu, Jan 19 800 meter warm up jog

Dynamic drills

Main Segment: 15 easy with 3 hill repeats

Bounding drills up incline (x3)

Core exercises

Fri, Jan 20 800 meter warm up jog

Dynamic drills

Main Segment: 30 minute easy run

Core exercises

Sat, Jan 21 Dynamic drills

Main Segment: 45 minute long, slow run

Yesterday dad and I did 30 minutes easy and he tried to push me at the end....silly man..was at the chiropractor yesterday for back treatment. I'm off til Monday.

Updates soon