Sunday, April 30, 2006

10 weeks in the bag ...

... or 20 weeks half in the bag, whichever.

I've been slacking on my blogging for a few days. I finally got a new computer, and I've been getting it set up in my free time. There were about 45 critical updates, and a number of service packs to install. It has basically taken all weekend to get it fully up and running all the software that I use. But it's nice, and it's much faster than my old Frankenstein computer, which was about 8 years old, and had various upgrades and hacks running on it, some of which were made for other computers, so this one is much more stable, and much faster.

I ran two laps on Señor Bridgio, partly with America's own Joe! Then another 4 miler on Friday, that I can no longer remember any details of, except that I saw two dead birds and I convinced myself that they had the birdflu and that I probably have it now. Say that reminds me, I read a paper about the 1918 Influenza pandemic that killed millions of people and how there are some key mutations to that virus that enabled it to infect humans and cause a pandemic, and the H5N1 birdflu already has 6 out of those same 10 mutations! So we're probably all gonna die from it. YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST!

Anyways, where was I, ah yes, Saturday. I ran 8.2 with some folks from the club, and I have to say it was a bit of a struggle. I'm not sure why, maybe because it was warm, or maybe because the people I was trying to keep up with were taking breaks every so often, but when they were running, it was faster than I usually go on longer runs. But, at least in Clear Lake, there was no problem with the weather, unlike those who tried to run the Bayou Bash. It threatened for a little while, but it waited to start until about an hour after we finished. And this morning, another 4 miler, on the trails. No dead birds.

I've done some brainstorming about the 'state of the union,' as it pertains to my training.

And here are the positive aspects.
  • 10 weeks running every day.
  • I'm improving in fitness.
  • Confidence is returning - 4 milers, and even 8 milers are not intimidating at all.
  • Losing weight, although not as fast as I'd have guessed.

    Here are the negatives.
  • Occasional discomfort in my left foot. This is the most upsetting thing right now, since it could severly limit my training like it did towards the end of last year.
  • Once or twice per week struggles with the 'whybothers.' So far, I've come up with enough reasons to get my butt out the door.
  • It's getting hot. The melting point for motivation is 82F.


    And here's the general outline for the next ten weeks.
  • Continue the running streak.
  • Increase mileage. I've been doing daily runs of 3, now 4, miles, with one day where I go twice as far. I plan to continue that pattern, running 5, then 6, miles per day, with long runs of 10, and 12, miles respectively. I'll do one more week at 4 miles per day (for 5 weeks total), then bump.
  • Maintain my ice cream free streak, and do better with my snack cracker free streak.

    So, ten weeks from now is July 9th, and by then I'll be at 6 miles per day, with a long run of 12, for 4 weeks or so, which will be about 48 miles per week. It sounds like a lot of miles, but the daily runs seem to inflate that number a bit. Hmm. I'm just crunching some numbers here. Just a sec. July 9 is 4 months before the San Antonio Marathon, which is looking like the first marathon for our run at the TMC. It seems like that's too long a time. I ran some 50 mile weeks in preparation for the NYCM, but if I tried to maintain ~50 mpw for four months, I might just crash and burn. Maybe I should ramp up more slowly. I always start preparing too early and then crash and burn. Okay, so maybe I'll run 5 and 6 miles per day for 6 weeks each, instead of 4 weeks. But then, it still might be too ambitious ... okay, I don't know what I'm going to do.

    Keith out.
  • 3 comments:

    Jessica, a Austin Runner AND triathlete said...

    i must say it's very inspiring to read about your streaks. i am seriously thinking about starting some sort of 'active' streak, like where on the days i don't run (3 days a week) i do 'something' for 30 minutes that is active, like bike, swim, weights, CORE, etc. i know for some people this isn't a big deal, but for me it wil take all my strength!

    Unknown said...

    That way certainly does seem more reasonable than running every day. I'd do it like that, but I don't really like that other stuff.

    I like the consistency. Rest days throw off my rhythm, and make it harder for me to get moving on the other days.

    Keith.

    -zuhenff - not bad.

    Workstations said...

    That is great! Keep going! I love running also!