Drip, Drip, Drop!

I thought about running on the treadmill because it was raining, but instead I put on my hat and ran 6 miles outside. There were only twelve runners on the normally crowded park trail, but I have never seen so many smiling runners.

Like a little kid, I ran through small puddles and around big ones. The peaceful and nearly empty path was quiet except for the sound of the rain falling down around me. I had forgotten how nice a run in the rain can be.

Templates at Shel's Scraps

Yep, you're really at Gotta Run Now! I changed my blog template. The cheerful yellow rays remind me of sunshine. The vines remind me of being outside where I do most of my running.

If you'd like to see the other free blog templates at Shel's Scraps, just click on today's post title.

I ran an easy five miles today and then came home to pick up Zoe, my dog, who ran a mile with me. I'm almost over a cold I've had all week. Fortunately, it hasn't stopped me from running 'cause that would be no fun, no fun at all. : )

Garmin Velcro Wrist Band

The wrist band that came with my Garmin Forerunner 205 was knocking against my wrist bone and bruising it. Ouch! My husband found one for me at Amazon.com for about $20, including shipping.

Because the new band is Velcro, I can adjust it to fit my wrist. I don't have to remove the strap to load my workout onto my computer, but it's quick to remove (now that I've done it a few times) and I do have to take it off to wash it.

When I noticed the wrist bruise I did some experimenting. To keep the heavy watch face from hitting my wrist bone, I twisted my watch around so that it faced me. Since then, I always wear my watch backwards. It's easier for me to look at the inside of my wrist than the outside while I'm running.

Pic: That's my Garmin Forerunner 205 with the Velcro wrist band and my dog waiting for her doggy treat. Good dog!

5 Mile Tempo Run

Time for another tempo run... Once again, I tried to get down to 7:52 for four miles.

I started out with a two mile warm-up. Then I sped up hoping to run four fast miles. In the first tempo mile I only got down to 8:15 so I decided to run five fast miles instead of only four. It sounds like some kind of punishment, but it really wasn't!

Then I ran the second tempo mile at 7:51. This was good, but it was hard to do. The last part of the mile I had one thought: stop at the next water fountain. That helped.

Word of the day? Persevere! I reminded myself to keep going, not to stop. Per-se-vere! Per-se-vere!

Tempo miles 3 and 4 were run at 8:01 and 8:16. When I saw the 8:16, it made me try really hard to speed up.

I can do anything for 8 minutes. I can run fast for 6 minutes. I can do this for four minutes. The last and fifth tempo mile was tough. Pace: 7:49.

So I ran two goal pace miles this week. Not my goal, but it's two miles better than I did last week so that's good.

Pic: Please pardon the trail dirt! Just wanted to show how I had to adjust my shoe last week - tucking the shoe tongue under the laces so that it wouldn't rub on a tiny scab on my leg. The scab is nearly healed now and I didn't have to tuck the tongue in today.

How To Put a Smile On Your Face

Set a goal. Make it doable, but challenging. Mine was to run 20 miles today at a 9:15 pace or better. That's about 30 seconds slower than my goal marathon pace.

Be prepared. I've slowly added miles to my workouts. I was pretty sure that I could run 20.

Eat. I took a tangerine Powerbar gel at miles 5, 10 and 15. I like the taste and this sweaty runner likes that it has 200 mg. of sodium, too. Today's temperature was 60- 70. I drank water every 2-3 miles.

Towards the end, when you know you will accomplish your goal, just try to wipe that smile off your face! : )

Pre-run: cinnamon raisin toast
Post-run: hot chocolate
Average pace: 9:09/mi.

Ladder Speedwork

The ladder workout I did this morning was fun. It was hard, but I liked the variety in distance. I was glad that the distances became progressively shorter.

2 x (800m-600m-400m-200m at 5K - 10K pace w/1 min. recovery)
5 min. recovery between sets

The second time I ran the 600m was the toughest of all. I could hear myself breathing loudly and I should have relaxed my arms. My left arm was sore for about 15 minutes afterwards.

Today is Veterans Day. God bless America! Land that I love! Thank you to all who have served and are serving our great country!

4 Mile Tempo Run

I did a four mile tempo run today - four miles at half marathon pace without stopping.

I had hoped to get down to 10K pace (7:52), but I was happy that at least I got down to 1/2 MP (8:20). I was probably running a step or two below all-out - like I think I should for a tempo run. I've tried to think of some good excuses for my lack of rapidity.

But I couldn't come up with one. That's okay. : ) Maybe next week I'll get down to 10K pace for a tempo run.

Pic: I ran on this trail on the way to my usual park trail loop over the weekend.