Long Windy Run and 2005 Review
Today my schedule called for a 17-mile long run, with 14 miles at marathon race pace. However, checking weather.com before heading out told me that in addition to pending rain, I would be facing steady 30 mph winds, with gusts up to 38 mph. Common sense told me to just get in the miles and worry about the faster miles another time. I wish I were smart enough to listen to common sense.
I started out at an easy pace for the first two miles. During the time it took me to run these two miles, I convinced myself that I felt good and that I might be facing similar conditions on race day, so I should try to get in the race pace miles. Plus, at least half of my run should be with the wind at my back. I ran the first mile (with the wind at my back) right at goal pace. Just after starting my second mile, I reached my first turn around and started running into the wind. The second mile was run at a great effort that the first marathon pace mile but was run 25 seconds slower. I expected this and tried to go by effort and not worry about pace. It sounds good; but after five or six hard miles, I was done. I stopped worrying about pace and just logged the rest of my 17 miles. It was a tough run but was worth it as long as I learned how to adjust my runs to suit the weather.
Here's a brief overview of my running for 2005 and a comparison to 2004.
Month, 2004, 2005
January, 129, 190.2
February, 155.1, 180
March, 157.25, 219
April, 170, 200
May, 202, 211.5
June, 160, 104
July, 200, 193.33
August, 137, 250.78
September, 191, 187.05
October, 195, 270.85
November, 169.1, 272.67
December, 166, 197.62
TOTAL, 2031.45, 2477
A few notes on my running in 2005. My family moved from Louisiana to California during the month of June, which accounts for my low total that month. Also, I lost a week of training in September due to a slight injury, and I missed six or seven runs in December due to giving blood, getting sick the next week and then traveling and family commitments over the holidays. Overall, I'm happy with the increase in mileage. I can see that the next step is to improve my consistency.
I started out at an easy pace for the first two miles. During the time it took me to run these two miles, I convinced myself that I felt good and that I might be facing similar conditions on race day, so I should try to get in the race pace miles. Plus, at least half of my run should be with the wind at my back. I ran the first mile (with the wind at my back) right at goal pace. Just after starting my second mile, I reached my first turn around and started running into the wind. The second mile was run at a great effort that the first marathon pace mile but was run 25 seconds slower. I expected this and tried to go by effort and not worry about pace. It sounds good; but after five or six hard miles, I was done. I stopped worrying about pace and just logged the rest of my 17 miles. It was a tough run but was worth it as long as I learned how to adjust my runs to suit the weather.
Here's a brief overview of my running for 2005 and a comparison to 2004.
Month, 2004, 2005
January, 129, 190.2
February, 155.1, 180
March, 157.25, 219
April, 170, 200
May, 202, 211.5
June, 160, 104
July, 200, 193.33
August, 137, 250.78
September, 191, 187.05
October, 195, 270.85
November, 169.1, 272.67
December, 166, 197.62
TOTAL, 2031.45, 2477
A few notes on my running in 2005. My family moved from Louisiana to California during the month of June, which accounts for my low total that month. Also, I lost a week of training in September due to a slight injury, and I missed six or seven runs in December due to giving blood, getting sick the next week and then traveling and family commitments over the holidays. Overall, I'm happy with the increase in mileage. I can see that the next step is to improve my consistency.
posted by Bart at 10:53 PM
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