A Little Basketball, A Little Less Running

Yesterday, after playing basketball in the morning and a little soccer in the afternoon, I opted out of a long run and instead ran just 5 miles in the evening. Today I did another 5 miles, but on a different route, one with many more hills, and I struggled through 40 minutes.

Speed Work

The distance and time of a run, which I log for every run, does not always accurately reflect the run. Yesterday I ran 5 miles, but with varied effort: 1 mile moderate, 1/2 mile hard, 1/2 mile easy, 1/2 mile hard, 1/2 mile easy, 1/2 mile hard, 1/2 mile easy, 1 mile moderate. The total time was in my usual range for 5 miles, but the workout was very different from my 5 mile runs earlier in the week. I'd like to again better my time at the CVS 5K in September, and to do that I'll have to put in more speed work than I have in past years.

Time to Run Earlier

I feel like I had a poor week of running this week, because I ran only three days instead of four and I failed to make it to a group run as I had hoped. But I did a decent 9.5 miles today, slowly increasing my long run, so it wasn't all bad. On weekdays I have been running almost exclusively in the evening, but in order to keep myself on a more regular schedule on Tuesdays and Thursdays I'm going to begin taking advantage of the early daylight to get my run in early.

First NRA Group Run

Months ago I signed up as a member of the Narragansett Running Association. Last night I finally met up with them for my first run with the group, which gathered at Narragansett Town Beach at 6pm. It's a large group and I was assured by the group's President that I'd find someone to run with who fit my preferred distance and pace. Sure enough I did, though I wound up running longer than I would have on my own. I thought it was a great run; I only hope I didn't hold back the young woman with whom I ran, who seemed fitter and certainly faster than I am. It was good to meet some local runners and to run with a group again. It nothing else, the conversation during the run seems to make the miles go by faster.

Track meet . . . Girl Scout meeting . . . Kids!

I missed my run today and I am none too happy about it. Sometimes life just gets in the way. But I'll make up for it first thing in the morning.

Two in a Row

Many runners run daily, or close to it. Not me. I need rest, so four days per week has typically been the max for me, and today I ran for a second straight day for the first time this year. I felt surprisingly good, running watchless and at a comfortable pace for four miles, after eight miles yesterday. From here on out I hope to run four days per week, as I described a couple of days ago. As I increase mileage and hope to run faster, sleep becomes more important. So I'm off to bed!

Running Longer

Good first long run tonight. Left the watch at the start/finish line. Always feel a little more free running without a watch.

Picking it Up

Took it easy on the run tonight, after going pretty hard the last two. For several weeks I have been running every other day, now it's time to increase it to four days per week, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, as I did much of last year while training for the marathon. Saturday I will do my first "long run," probably 8 miles, then I will run slow and short Sunday as a recovery day, then a fast tempo run Tuesday and intervals Thursday, then over and again, increasing mileage and bettering times. That's the plan anyway. I also want to start running with others again when I can, so I'll probably show up soon to my first Narragansett Running Association group run. I "joined" months ago but have yet to actually run with the NRA. Why did I just see an image of a bunch of gun-toting runners along the seawall in Narragansett?