Goal: Boston

Total: 45:18- Pace 8:28.0

Legs felt tired still from race last weekend.   Ran faster than goal pace of 9:03.

42:13.95

Pace 7:53.5- goal pace 7:48

Still tired but legs felt a little better

Total: 5.35 miles: 40:43.42- average pace 7:36.4

Mile 1: 7:09.86- treshold (goal 7:17)

Mile 2: 7:51.25- MP (goal 7:48)

Mile 3: 7:00.08- theshold

Mile 4: 7:54.02- MP

Mile 5: 7:38.58- MP

Legs tired at first but warmed up fast.  Felt good today.

Total 5.35 in 41:09.36

Average pace: 7:41.5

Mile 1: 7:36.63 MP- goal 7:48

Mile 2: 7:53.95 MP-

Mile 3: 7:12.78 Threshold- goal 7:17

Mile 4: 7:48 MP

Mile 5: 7:41 MP

Ran at lake with Dad.  Ran slow but took hills at MP pace- looped back after finishing hill and then would run it again.

Total running time: 45:30

Hill workout again at the lake.

Ran all hills except big hill that i ran three times

Long run: 7.35 miles- 7:56.19 average pace

Mile one: 8:39.39- easy

Mile two: 9:02-55- easy- very windy

Mile three: 8:41.88- easy- very windy

Mile four: 7:57.69- MP

Mile five: 7:29.12- MP

Mile six: 7:20.96- Threshold

Mile seven (1.35 miles): 9:08.75- 6:45.92 pace

Legs felt very tired at start recovering from consecutive hill workouts.  After I got out of the wind and started to open up my stride at MP pace, felt much better.  Each mile got better as the run progressed.

Recovery from long run yesterday.

Total time: 48:45.64- average pace 9:01.7 sec

Total: 39:54- average pace 8:52

Very tired legs still after long day at work.  Will rest tomorrow for tempo run on Sat.

Tempo run: felt good despite heat

Total time: 34:35.60- Average pace 7:12.29

On call so unfortunately interrupted in the middle for 6 min to return a call.

Focusing more on stretching as well.  Targeting daily stretching at this point to try to stay injury free.

Total time: 47:16.54- average pace 7:56

First mile: 8:36- Recovery

Second mile: 8:27.5- recovery

Third mile: 7:32.63- MP

Next 1.6 miles- 11:35.5- average pace 7:14.4- MP

Next mile: 7:48.73

Shin splints were really bothering me today.  Forgot to wear the compression socks again.  I seem to have a lot more pain when I forget them.  Need to make a point of wearing them.

Kept up with stretching today.

Total time: 47:36.08- average time 8:49

Shin splints still a problem but felt a little better today with the compression socks on.  Need to make sure that I wear them with each run.

Total time: 1:12:56- average pace 8:11

Felt good today after the first several warm up miles.  Shin splints a lot better with the compression socks.  Really enjoyed the run despite the heat.

Total time: 48:31

Felt really tired on second half of run and shins and legs started to hurt like crazy.  I think that I may have ramped up the mileage a little too fast over the last six days.  May need to get new shoes as well.  Now for two days off in a row as we leave for the Smokey Mountains.

Meant to run today but ran out of time on vacation.   Counted the two miles of the hike with Charlie on my back and running the hill at our place x2.

Shins still bothering me. 

Total time 48:24- average time 8:29 down the main strip in Pigeon Forge.  No natural beauty but tons of stuff to see.

Shins felt a little better today. 

Total time: 37:37

Shins feel terrible today.  I am not sure what to do at this point.  I was hoping to be up to 30 miles a week by this point.  May need to hold steady at 25 miles a week for awhile and let my body catch up.  Started doing some strengthening exercises today for the shins which I am hoping will make a difference soon.

Felt good today-shin splint pain was less today after icing like crazy yesterday.  Goal was to break my previous 5.4 mile record- missed it by 24 seconds.  Will probably try again in a couple of weeks.

Warm up: 0.35 miles

Run 5.4 miles- average pace 7:05.6

Warm down: 0.35 miles

Shin splints bothering me again but seemed to be improving somewhat as the run progressed.  Easy recovery run today after the tempo run yesterday.  Legs were pretty tired today

0.35 mile warmup

5.95 mile recovery run- 53:28

Running in Cincinnati and found a nice course that can be extended with some trail runs.  Shins are feeling slowly better but I still need to ice like crazy all day.

Total time: 55:14- average pace 8:22

Total time: 1:07:06- average time 8:35

Shins felt surprisingly good today.  Tried to run on as much grass as possible and ran 1.2 on a trail.  Very nice run to start the week in Cincinnati.

Tired after yesterdays run and babysitting the kids most of the AM.  Still felt good to be out there.  Shins always seem to bother me the day after a long run and today was no exception.

Warm up: 0.35 miles

Marathon pace 5.4 miles- total 42:16- 7:49 pace- legs tired after traveling all day but felt better and better as the run progressed.  Shins hurts all day today but felt better on the run.  Now after the run, there is no pain.

Warm down: 0.35

Had wanted to do a tempo run but legs didn't have it in them today.  Tempo run likely will be on Friday.

0.35 mile warm up

6.3 mile run- easy recovery run.  57:13

0.35 mile warm down

New record run on treadmill:

0.5 mile warm up

5 mile- 33:42- 6:44.4 pace

0.5 mile warm down

I know that I need to work on upping the miles more than the speed but I needed a nice workout like this that felt like I was really moving.  Felt great through the first three miles.  Last two were a bit more painful but kept upping the pace through it.  Really enjoyed this run although I probably will not be doing many like it as I up my miles.

Really starting to feel like I am improving.  Today was a very good day.  I thought that I would be tired from the run yesterday and at the start, my muscles felt a little fatigued but not bad.  Each mile, though, I felt stronger and stronger and really enjoyed this early AM run.  Temp was great, morning sunshine.  Altogether, a really nice enjoyable run. 

Warm up: 0.35 miles

6.3 mile run- easy pace at 8:44

Cool down: 0.35 miles

Also, I went to the festival of miles yesterday and saw some great runners run the mile.  Two guys broke 4 min/mile and I saw Emily Sisson (high schooler) run a 4:48.  Probably the most amazing was a 7th grade girl run a 5:07.  She is going to be something special someday.  Very inspiring.

Finally, I almost feel scared to say this but the shins have been feeling much better.  I have been running more on grass, icing like crazy, doing my strengthening exercises and slowly building up my miles.  I think my body is starting to get more used to the pounding. 

Another early AM run- I am really starting to enjoy the early morning running experience.  I actually had a little trouble falling asleep last night because I was looking forward to the run.  Nice to get it in before most people are even getting up.

Felt really good and smooth during this run.  Shins only felt a little sore but definitely moving in the right direction.  I am feeling like I have started to turn a corner on my workouts and am now starting to get the benefits of the increased mileage.  I am really looking forward to the next several months and increasing my fitness.

Started today's run at the car dealership where I dropped off the car.  Running course was different than my typical runs but still very nice.

Total running time- 1:37:31 for 12 miles.  Just over 8 min/mile pace.  Picked it up nicely at the end.

Recovery run from the long run yesterday.  Ran in early AM again and felt very good.  Shins are feeling better than they ever have after a long run.

Warm up: 0.35 miles

5.4 miles in 46:51- 8:48 pace

Warm down: 0.35 miles

Another nice AM run with shins feeling good.   Exercises, compression socks, icing like crazy and running on grass as much as possible is making a difference.

Warm up: 0.35 miles

Run: 5.4 miles- 8:31 min/mile

Warm down: 0.35 miles

New record today on the 5.4 mile course and finally broke 7 min/mile average for the course!

Ran after work today in the heat (about 85 at the start of the run).  Also ran at the end of my biggest mileage week ever (at least since high school) and after a tempo run less than a week ago.  Despite all that, I felt great and broke 7 min/mile.  Couldn't be happier with the end of this running week.  Now to ice like crazy.

Warm up: 0.35 miles

Run 5.4 miles: total 37:47.25- average pace 6:59.8 (just barely)

Warm down: 0.35 miles

Easy pace at the lake.  As expected, legs were tired, especially on all the hills.  Still, nice to get out early in the mist and fog.   Shins were moderately sore but not surprising after the fast run on Friday.

Then spent a couple hours water skiing- so far a great day.

Felt very tired today and shins were definitely hurting throughout the run.  Probably an effect of decreased icing recently as well as all the recent Memorial weekend activities including a bunch of water skiing.  I am hoping I am ready for my long run tomorrow.

Got my long run in today.  I was a little worried about how I would feel given yesterdays leg fatigue and shin splint pain but I felt pretty good.  Started out with heavy legs but they got looser and lighter as the run progressed.  My goal was never to run for time on this run, only to run for distance and I felt good with that program- ran an average of 8:32.3 for the distance.  Shins actually felt pretty good on the run as well.

Of course there is always a hiccup and that occured about two miles from home.  My intestines all of a sudden began to revolt against me.  At about a mile from home, I had to make a sudden pit stop in the woods and then resumed my running.  Unfortunately, after that, chaffing was a big problem and now I am feeling quite sore and my stomach is still doing backflips on me. 

Fortunately, all the most important components of the run (shins, lungs, leg muscles) came together well.  Everything else was a temporary issue although I am more sore than I can imagine right now.  No more big runs, though, for over a week when I begin my marathon training on Wednesday (18 week program) for my Fall marathon.  Just shorter runs and rest days until then.

Plan for today was to run as slow as I needed to feel replenished after my long run on Tuesday- if possible, to stick to an 8:45 pace.  In the first half mile or so, my legs felt tired but after that, they began to feel better and better.  I had to actually try to slow myself down a little because my legs felt like they wanted to take off and pound out a strong mile or two.  I ended up running an 8:07 pace for the run and felt great.

Shins were a little sore but way less than they usually are after a long run and an amazing amount less than on Monday.  Other than Monday (and my little pit stop Tuesday), it has been a very nice running week for me.

Warm up: 0.35 miles

Run: 5.4 miles at 8:07 pace

Warm down: 0.35 miles

Legs were tired most of the run today- felt looser and lighter at the end again though.  Shins are slightly sore in a new place but not bad.

Warm up- 0.35 miles

Run- 6 miles- 8:28 pace

Cool down- 0.35 miles

Felt crazy tired today- long week, more miles than I have ever done, and on my feet all day made for a really hard run today.  Shins are also bothering me a lot today.  Now, though, I plan to take 4 days off just to rest and recuperate the shins before starting my marathon training.

Warm up- 0.45 miles

Run: 5.4 miles- 47:12- 8:44 pace

Cool down: 0.35 miles

Unfortunately, the leg pain that I was feeling at the end of last week has not been improving much despite the rest.  I started my warm up today knowing that there was a chance I might have to bail on the run and I just couldn't make it 50 feet without limping.  I chose to do the smart thing and head to the gym.  Spent 40 minutes on the recumbent bike at a high level.  Will probably try to cross train over the next three days and see how I am on Sunday.  This still leaves me 18 weeks until the marathon.

Back in the saddle.  Took last week off for injury and recovery.  Shins are feeling much better but not perfect.  I think the two tempo runs in one week plus the increase to 45 miles was a bit too much, too fast for me at this time.  Time to back it off a little bit to stay healthy going into my training.

Felt good today.  6 miles early in the AM.  Have to run early due the heat.  It was 95 with 103 heat index yesterday.  Today will be much of the same.  Still 75 at start of run today and nearly 80 at end.

0.35 miles warm up.

6 miles at 8:21 pace.

0.35 cool down

Got up early (4:30 AM) to get out the door by 5 and beat the heat.  When I left, it was 69 degrees and felt nice.  At the end of the run, it was probably about 75 and still felt pretty good.

First long run of my marathon training plan.  Felt very good with very little shin discomfort.  The rest, new shoes, icing like crazy and running on grass as much as possible has made a big difference.  Legs felt great during the middle 8 or so miles and I kept having to resist the urge to speed up.  I am glad I didn't as I felt a little fatigued (but a good type of fatigued) at the end.  Great way to start the day.

Total time 1:49:04- average 8:15 pace.

Got up early again to get the miles in before work and before it got too hot.  Ran the 7.4 mile loop with a session of 10 x 100 meter sprints at the five mile point.  Legs felt tired at the beginning of the run but loosened up as time went on.

The sprints were fun but I was pretty tired for the last 2.5 miles of the run after them.  As I only have about 2 fast twitch muscle fibers in my entire body, they got a pretty good work out today.

Shins held up pretty good.  A little sore at the beginning but not nearly as sore as I thought they would be on the sprints.  Running the sprints and as much of this run on grass as possible has helped.

Run: 7.4 miles at 8:15 pace

Sprints: 0.6 miles.

Easy 5.4 miles today before I jump on a plane to head on vacation.  Got up at 4:30 AM again to hit the road by 5 AM. 

Hot and humid even though I was running early.  Legs a little weary from the sprints the other day but felt a little stronger at the end.  Did not push the pace at all.  Just found a comfortable rhythm and went with it today.

Run: 5.4 at 8:37 min/mile

Now heading off to the Gulf Coast.  Here's hoping we see white sands and no tar balls.

First day in Florida.  Set an alarm last night but it never went off. By the time I got up, it was already 6:30 AM and the heat was rolling in.  I planned to run about 8 miles but a combination of the heat, not feeling well (my son finally passed me the cough he has been carrying around for a while here), feeling guilty that Lisa was watching both kids with no help, and feeling tired from all the traveling yesterday made it feel like a pretty lousy run.  Right at the 4 mile marker, when I had looped back to the place and was filling up on some fluids, I got medical crisis call from my brother in law.  That pretty much shut the run down at 4 miles.

Later in the day, I started to feel better and, although it was 90 degrees outside, went out for another 3 miles.  This actually felt much better.  Got the total up to 7 miles.

This is acutally on pace to meet my mileage goals for the week, so even though my motivation was low, I got the workouts in.

Run: total 7 miles- elapsed time 57:51 for 8:15 min/mile

AM run on vacatoin. Actually forgot to put on my watch prior to this run and when I was out there to start the run, I thought that it was probably not a bad thing that I was going to be running without timing myself. 

Total run 5 miles.

Tomorrow is my long run for the week- never run very far on vacation here in FL before.  Going to have to get up early to beat the heat.

Today's run was once again on vacation at Panama City.  Got up early this AM to beat the heat.  Unfortunately, no matter what time I would have gotten up, there would have been no beating this heat.  It was in the upper 70's at the start of the run and likely low 80's at the end.

Ran the first 4 miles as a warm up in 7:46 pace.- faster than I planned them to be.  The next 8 miles were to  be at marathon goal pace but ended up being faster as well than I planned them to be- average 7:15 pace/mile.

In total the 12 mile run took 1:29:12 for an average of 7:26 pace.

It was actually pretty amazing how much slower I thought I was going than my times were indicating.  Especially the last 4 miles, I was dragging due to the heat and thought I was going to be way off my target goals but I ended up still being faster.  I would think that the distances were wrong but I measured them out in the car when I got here and my splits for the other runs this week have all been in keeping with the measured distances. 

I guess I am starting to see the fruits of all the harder workouts when these paces don't seem to be as hard as they used to be.

Plan was for a longer run today but my right shin was too painful to finish the run.  Following the run, I have been limping around all day and am feeling shooting pains down both of my legs.  I am scrapping the idea for a run tomorrow and also taking Saturday off as well. 

At this point, I think that I have to seriously consider taking an extended break to allow myself to heal up and at that point, resume training.  I'll know more on Sunday.

No run today.  No run for awhile.  Definitely this shin pain is worse than anything before.  Both shins are hurting but my right shin is worse than the left.  I feel pain with each step I take and I cannot walk without a notable limp.  I am going to start cross training today and see if I can get back to a slow jog in about two weeks.  Was planning on racing a half marathon in four weeks but that is now scrapped.  I am hoping to still run a fall marathon but my plan now should be staying healthy through the training, not qualifing for Boston.

I am completely bummed. 

40 minutes on bike.  35 min at level 14 and 5 min at level 16.

So its official.  Three stress fractures in my R leg, one in my L.  I am out for quite a while here.  I am angry with myself as I have been trying to push myself through pain and have only added to the length of time that I am going to be out.  I am to take at least 8 weeks off once I can begin to walk without pain and I am still limping notably with walking at this time. 

My plan is to focus on my cross-training to see how much fitness I can maintain and then, when my 8 weeks is up, to start back very slowly.  I have been focusing on trying to qualify for Boston- my focus should have been 1) stay healthy, 2) qualify for Boston.  I am going to have to make sure that I learn for these mistakes and train smarter in the future.

Seriously bummed.

This afternoon I spent 40 min on the recumbent bike at level 14 and another 20 min on the stationary bike at levels 11-13.   Felt good to get the exercise especially because I am having so much trouble walking.  Went to the baseball game last night and walked about two miles to and from parking.  My shins have been miserable ever since.

42 min on the recumbent bike today- 35 min level 12 and 7 min level 17.

35 min on recumbent

35 min on recumbent

40 min on recumbent

35 min on recumbent

90 min on recumbent

First run in nearly 7 weeks after recovery from injury.  I have been trying to keep up the cross training but it has been hard.  I could not tell you how much I have been looking forward to this run.  I actually had dreams nearly all night long last night about running. 

Kept it short but it felt great.  The heat was impressive, even at 9 PM, but it felt great to sweat out side again.  I can tell my fitness has suffered somewhat but that is OK.  I am running again.

Still focusing mainly on cross training but got in a nice easy run today.  Temps have nicely cooled off lately and when I ran it was only about 85 degrees. 

It feels so good to get back out there running again.  I find it hard to keep motivated for the cross training and can't stop thinking about when my next run will be.  I am going to increase my mileage and days running slowly (adding only one additional day a week) but this means less and less time in the gym and more out on the road.

As my cross training fitness has increased, I've noticed that my running fitness has definitely suffered a bit.  I think I will be able to get it back quickly, though.  Have to remember, though, to rein myself in a little and let my body get used to the running stress again before I focus on any training.

Ran late tonight after a long day.  Felt good to get out there and stretch out the legs.  My body is adjusting to restarting the runs but it feels great.

Short easy run in Cincinnati.

Hot run today- 90 degrees at start.  Still loving getting out there and running.  I am also loving ramping down the cross-training as the mileage increases.  Next week I plan to run four days a week so it will be almost completely running rather than cross-training.

Easy run trying to slowly bump up the mileage.  The cooler nights have been great for running.

Easy run but felt good.  Tried to run more on my midfoot during the run.  It took a lot of concentration and my calves are tight today because of it.  Still, I am going to try to reduce my stride length and see if that reduces some of the stress that has led to injury in the past.

Slowly ramping up the days running and mileage.  Will be running 4 days this week.

Very hot run today- 88 degrees at start of run.  I sweated like crazy out there today but I am loving being outside for these workouts versus siting inside on the bike or eliptical like I have had to do for several weeks.

I have been adding a day of running per week to my regimen and this week I plan to run four days.  I will probably hold here for at least two weeks and slowly bump up the miles.  So far, so good.

Another easy run today.  Still slowly ramping up the mileage.  This week I will at least hit double digits.

Another easy run today- just upping the mileage.

Weather is already changing.  Was in the 60's today for the run.  Felt great.

After long weekend at the lake, my body is a little tired.  Still got in a nice run tonight and the legs felt great.

Still upping the mileage and have been feeling good.

Just barely able to squeeze this short run in due to all the Uncle Matt wedding festivities.  Tired from several late nights in a row.

Managed to get this in after the long drive back from Cincinnati.  Nice cool evening.  Felt great.

I am having to front load this week with mileage due to Lisa's B-day at the end of the work as well as mutiple work responsibilities.  Really enjoying the cool nights for runs.

Hot night tonight.  Really looking forward to some of the cooler nights coming up for PM runs.  Not sure when I will get my next run in later this week with Lisa's birthday and all on Thursday but I'll just have to find the time.

Had to run early to get this in.  Nice cool AM and the run felt great.  Crazy week this week- I am definitely looking forward to things settling down next week.

Feels like fall out there now.  Really nice run after a long and tiring weekend.  Should be hitting the 20 mile/wk mark this week.  Still feeling grea on the runs.

Longest run yet since returning from injury.  Felt great.  Really enjoying these cooler Fall days.

Another nice evening run.  Starting to think about when I can start putting some speed into these workouts.  I will probably build up to about 30 miles a week before I start doing any such speed workouts but its not too far away at this point.

Easy run over at my parents.  Average pace 8:22.  This should bring me over 20 miles for a week for the first time since my injury.  Slowly but surely getting back up there and still pain free.

Catching up on my logging for the week.  Nice afternoon run on an otherwise crazy day.

Longest run since my injury.  Felt great.

Another nice and cool run today.  Legs were a little tired from yesterday's longer run.  I have definitely lost stamina during my time off for injury but I feel like I am improving notably week to week.  Still pain free.

Short and easy run just to add on a fifth day running for the week.  Still slowly building up the miles.

Really nice run after camping out in the yard.  I have been loving the feeling of getting faster as the run progresses.  I always feel stiff at the start but as the muscles warm up, everything after the first mile feels great.  I think I will get up to about 30 miles a week and hold at that mileage.  At that point, I think that I will plan to introduce some speed back into my workouts.  So far, so good with staying healthy.

Long weekend and was on the go the whole time.  By the time I got to running tonight, my legs were pretty heavy.  Cooled off for the run, though, and I still enjoyed it.  Looking forward to getting up to almost 25 miles this week.  This coming weekend was going to be my marathon in Indianapolis and I was going to try to qualify for Boston.  Even though my injury has prevented that, I am extremely thankful that I am staying healthy as I am ramping up my miles this time.  By the time I really do get to make a run for Boston, I hope to have been running healthy for quite some time.

Nice easy run.

Felt fatigued today as my previous run was late last night and then got up again and ran this AM.  Never quite felt like I got then energy I usually get about a mile or two into the run.  I figured it was good training to push through the fatigue so I felt good about it at the end.  Need to build up that endurance which I believe will come with some longer runs as my regular runs are still a large percentage of my longest run since the injury.  Now that I am at 5 days running a week and will be about 25 miles a week by the end of this week, I think that I can start to add in some longer runs and very light speed workouts.   Looking forward to getting stronger.

Decided to run for time tonight but unfortunately during the run I got stopped by the train at the traintracks.  When I finally could get going again, I forgot to restart my watch so I have no idea what pace I kept up.  Still, I felt great then entire run.  Best run and strongest run that I have had yet since I came back from injury.  I am really excited about how things have been going but I have to reign myself in a bit and keep my eye on staying healthy as I bump up the miles.

Great run tonight.  I was planning on running slow tonight just to finish up the week but I just felt so good that I decided to open it up a little bit.  I actually think that it was "A little less conversation" by Elvis that came on my ipod and got my legs moving a bit faster.  Either way, it felt great.  Ended up finishing in a 7:52 average.  Still way off from where I used to be but for not planning it to be a faster run, I'll take it.

Nice evening run. Legs were a bit heavy on this run but still nice to be out on a beautiful Fall evening.

Great run this AM.  Nice and cool.  Longest run since the injury and legs felt perfect.  I felt strong the entire run but still managed to run at a controlled pace the entire run.  I think that I am ready to start adding in some speed later this week.

Nice cool run this evening.  Legs a little tired from yesterday's run.

Long day and didn't get my run in until late.  Pretty tiring day and the run was no different.  Ready for the weekend.

Early AM run with 10 x 100 m striders on the golf course.

Ran late today and felt tired.  I knew this wasn't going to be the best run as I ran after dinner and had an enourmous dinner of ribs and potatoes.  Running and ribs is never a great combination but then again, how could I be expected to pass up ribs?

Nice AM run.  Windy today with gusts up to 40 mph.  The first half of the run I was running into the wind but the second half was much easier.  Felt strong at the end.

Cross training today: 40 min on the recumbent bike at the Y.

Got in two one-mile repeats at 6:35 pace during the run to start to reintroduce myself to some speed workouts.  Felt great.

Thought I would feel tired after last night's speed workout but felt strong this AM.  Nice cool morning for a run. 

Nice easy early AM run.  Legs felt great at the start but got more tired as the run progressed.  Still nice to be out on a nice Fall day like today.  Happy Halloween.

Wonderful run today.  Got faster as the run progressed with an average of 8:15 pace for the run.  Legs still feel great.

Easy run recovering from the longer run yesterday.  I have been running at least 50% of the runs I have been taking on grass and I am very pleased with my progress so far.  Feeling strong and so far, pain free.  It has been great running without pain as I ran through pain for so long.  Two more weeks of slow addition of speed workouts to my regimen and then I think I am ready to increase the speed focus a bit.

Cool run tonight.  Ran at 8 min/mile pace for the run although finished the last 1/2 mile in a faster clip as it was feeling good to stretch my stride out a little.

Wasn't planning to do this training run today but we are having visitors next week so it will be hard to get a speed workout in next week.  Ran two 1.5 mile repeats at threshold pace (6:50 pace) with a mile in between at 8:50 pace.  Including the warm up and cool down, that brings it to a nice 5.5 mile run to end the week.

Felt strong but I could feel that I was pushing it at the end of the second repeat.  That was pretty humbling because before my injury, I was running my 5.4 mile course in under 7 min/mile.  With that said, I can feel myself getting stronger each week.

We've been having a warm spell here in St. Louis but I didn't run until later in the day so it was nice and cool out there during the run.  Easy 5.4 miles today.

40 min on recumbent bike.

I have decided that I am going to try the Runner's World FIRST training method using their 3 plus 2 workout plan.  I have noticed that as my miles have started to go up, my shin pain has returned.  No concerns about stress fractures at this time but due to my recent history, I am pretty wary about going down that road again.  This method focuses on less miles with only three days running per week.  In addition to that, at least two days are spent cross training.  On the days that I run, I will be focusing on higher yield, higher intesity workouts.  I plan to start this next week but today I decided to give my longer run a try using this workout.  I planned to run the 8.9 miles at 7:44 pace.  I actually felt good all run and actually came in a little faster at about 7:36/mile.  Felt great.  I now plan to cross train tomorrow and get in a tempo-type run later in the week.

Nice run with Rick today.  Cool windy fall day.  7:43 pace.

Started with an easy two miles to begin the run.  Miles 2-5 were run at threshold pace or almost exactly 7 min/mile.  Got me breathing pretty hard but felt strong.

I planned for the pace of this run to be about 7:47 pace for then entire run.  In the end, it ended up being 7:37 but that includes the beginning mile that I was using as a warmup (8:38 pace) and the cool down mile at the end (9 min pace).  When you subtract out those miles, I averaged about 7:05 min/mile for the middle 7.5 miles on a pretty hilly course.  That is strange as I felt stronger for this run than I did two days ago running 3 miles at the same pace.  I guess you never know what kind of day you are going to have but I am very pleased so far with my progress.  I feel my fitness is starting to advance quickly now and my runs are getting stronger and stronger.