The past week of running was a good one. Here it is Monday morning and I'm finally getting around to scribbling down (I guess scribbling is more a way to say that this is rushed and not thought out than to indicate that I am doing something other than typing) what I ran.

The track on Wednesday night was a solid workout. I ran 8 x 800s and felt like I exerted myself quite hard. There were a lot of people in our group who opted out at six or seven. I pushed myself hard on the last four, clocking in somewhere in the 2:49-2:53 mark on each of them.

Thursday was a short recovery run, though it was really cold so I kept the pace right around 8 minute miles. I am still not fully capable of slowing myself down for a nice, easy recovery.

Friday morning's 6 mile run was good and Saturday's 9 miler was done at a sub 8 minute pace. I had to push myself quite hard on that run and I could feel the burn as I wound down the run. The last mile was up the Harvard Street hill and my legs were letting me know that I've been working them recently.

I was able to take yesterday off from running, though I got in one of the best workouts of the year thus far at the gym. I was able to focus a bit more on my chest and biceps than I have been up until now.

Finally, this morning I went out for a 7 mile tempo run. My legs were feeling this one, too, but all in all I feel revived and elated to be pushing myself. I signed up for the National Half Marathon here in DC in March and still plan to complete the Vancouver Marathon in early May. I do hope to pull it back just a bit tomorrow and then we'll see what Wednesday holds. It's not only Valentine's day, but we're expecting inclement weather (snow/wintry mix) so I'm unsure how that will affect the track workout. There's a possibility I will just get up and run hills that morning.

I ran on a treadmill today. I'd wanted to get up around 7am and go for a run outside, but the windchill was hovering around zero degrees Farenheit, and I wasn't willing to freeze my tuckus in order to get in a good workout. I'm not opposed to running on a treadmill, though I am convinced that people's times tend to be quicker there than out in the elements.

To test this theory I took my iPod w/the Nike transmitter with me. Not only did it allow for me to listen to music, but it also gave me an alternate way to measure my distance and time. According to the treadmill I did a 6 mile run in about 44 minutes. I started out running just over 8 minute miles. I then increased the pace on the treadmill to around 7:30/mile for miles two and three. Miles four and five were done at around 7:15 and I dipped slightly under 7:00 for the final mile. My iPod indicated that I'd only run 5.46 miles, however. I wonder where the discrepancy lies?

If it's not too cold on Wednesday I will try to re-calibrate my device, but the weather forecast for the week is looking less and less formidable each time I go back to it. I ordered a new wind breaker/running jacket online this weekend, but until that shows up I'm not sure how many runs I will be able to tolerate. That said, i do plan to go out for 3 miles early tomorrow. Nevertheless, until i can calibrate the device and re-test it, I'll wonder if the treadmill's distance was too short or if for all of these long, outdoor runs?

Whew, it was cold outside this morning. I've recently been told that I'm a walking meteorologist, however I failed to answer what the barometer was going to be like. I'm not sure what my status was reduced to. The bottom line is, I'm a skinny guy without much body fat. The cold tends to seep into my bones and stay there until I'm able to warm myself again. That's usually not until I'm home and have had a long, hot shower.

I woke up this morning and checked weather.com. It indicated that while the temperature was 25 degrees, the windchill would make it feel like it was 15. Learning from the other morning that the addition of my sweat pants and my summit series North Face made me too warm, I donned by typical winter gear and prepared myself mentally for today's run.

Though I was up by 7:15, I made a cup of coffee and relaxed a bit; I gave myself until 8am to get out the door. A few minutes prior to the hour of my deadline I was ready to go. I opened the front door and was quickly hit with a blast of the cold air. I realized I should grab my sunglasses and stepped back inside to retrieve them. For a brief minute I considered ditching the entire ordeal. Nevertheless, I knew that the run would make me feel accomplished upon completion, so I headed out.

I've decided that I am going to run the Vancouver Marathon on May 6th. My buddy Chris is running one sometime in early June and forward me a training plan. I sat down last night and backtracked from race day to where I should be on the current schedule. I'm already at the long run for week 5, which meant that I needed to go out for 12 miles.

Though I haven't been running with a goal or any true consistency in regards to marathoning, I am comfortable with the idea of picking up part way through the training, though.

The run itself was decent, and I averaged 8 minute miles over the 12.75 miles that I ran. I stuck to a pretty standard route for me, heading down to the Capital, behind the Jeffereson Memorial and up Rock Creek Parkway. The stretch by the river was quite challenging because of the wind blowing off the water. It was a tad daunting, but my mind can push my body to persevere. My hands, though gloved, were a tad chilly. It amazes me that I will see other runners out with no hats or gloves. It's well below freezing!

I'm excited about training for another marathon, hoping to break a 3:10 time period. It's 2007 (though a month in) and I'm excited about new challenges, even if it means enduring the cold, windy winter.

It's not often that I put an entry in when I haven't done a run. I really did consider getting up early this morning, but seeing as I ran the track Wednesday night and then did a 4 mile recovery run yesterday morning, I thought I could use some rest. Of course, that means that I will surely have to make up for it by going for a long run tomorrow. It was in the cards, regardless, but now I will have to make an extra effort and probably go a bit longer.

I've been waking up with a really dry throat lately, and this morning I had a bit of phlegm as well. I haven't been feeling great. On top of that, I actually woke up around 5:30am, and was up for a bit of time. I finally was able to fall back asleep and wasn't eager to wake up at 6:30 for a run.

That said, I've been feeling particularly good about the running I've been doing. The track workout Wednesday night was really good. We did mile repeats (1600m) with a one lap jog in between the intervals. I was able to complete four of the repeats and each of them were right around 6:00 minute/mile pace. My recovery run Thursday morning had me feeling a bit tight, but I was able to run 4 miles at a comfortable pace.

Now I need to go and figure out what runs I need to do this weekend and from here on out. I'm thining a long run on Saturdays, a tempo run Mondays, the track workout on Wednesdays and fill Tuesday and Thursday with recovery runs. Friday can be off and Sunday can either be an easy run or even a cross train day.