third run of the week

I went out yesterday for a run and got in 7+km at a decent pace. Stilll feeling great.

I went out this morning and ran 8.3km. Today's run was a bit slower - I felt a biut worn out, but I still felt strong - I didnt havwe to force myself to keep going. Let's see if I can make this a four run week tomorrow, even though it is low mileage.

One of my recent inspirations is a couple of recent interviews I heard with runners, in particular one with Ed Whitaker, the 80+ runner who recently set a record for his age group in a marathon - and it was faster than my personal best. Whitaker spoke about how he runs every day. Forget about distance and speed and timing and nutrition and all that jazz. He runs every day. I heard it from another runner as well in another interview I recently heard. Every day.

I don't know if I will get to running every day, but I do feel that i can run more than I usually do...

getting back to running

It has been about 3 weeks since my last run. Even that run was during a tailspin of lack of running, so I probably hadn't run much in the days before that run either..

the reason for this drought was the Chicago Cubs playing in the playoffs and World Series. I was waking up at 2 or 3am for each game. On the days with no game, I was making up a tiny bit of the sleep I was lacking from the other days. And I did not have enough energy to run at night.

So, now that the World Series is behind us, and I've made up some of my missing sleep over the past few days since the last game, I can get back to running now.

This morning I woke up early to go out for my run. I almost went back to bed claiming to be too tired, but forced myself out. I'm happy I did.

I decided to start slow and go for a short run. I am not worried about fitness or having lost my ability - the amount of time I was not running is minimal, and fitness loss is negligible. However, to avoid injuries, I did not want to start with a 10km at full speed. You have to move back into it slowly.

So, I went out and ran 4km at decent speed. Tomorrow or Wednesday I'll go out for another run, and by next week I'll be back to my full distance and get back to building up again, both distance and speed.

Running for myself

woke up nice and early and got a 13km run in this morning.

13km was longer than I had considered, and a few times I considered ending it but chose to keep going, so that was good. It was a little bit slower than expected, at 6:37mpk, but considering this was a "long" run after yesterday's "speedwork", it is not surprising.

Good running. I like this low-key running just for fitness and enjoyment and personal settling of my mind and body. I am happy to not be training for anything (I only mention it because over the past few days a few people have asked me if I am planning any races or big runs this year).. While I have said I am not training for anything but am open-minded about it if my running goes well enough, I am actually leaning towards ruling out any races (except maybe Jerusalem for charity) and just continuing running the way I am now.

running great

running this morning was awesome. I have not run since that lousy run right after Rosh Hashana, so getting out this morning felt really good.

Unfortunately, for my running, the next couple of weeks is going to be really tough. Between holiday schedules and the Cubs post-season schedule, it is going to be difficult to find time and ability to run.

Went out this morning unsure of how the run would go. Being right after the fast of Yom Kippur and a week and  a half of no running made me suspicious of having to slog through the run, just to get my legs going.

Surprise surprise, I felt strong right from the first step. I ran across Kishon and back, and then out to the end of Road 10 and back. I ran much of it hard, and finished 10km at 1 hour and a few seconds. My average pace on my watch shows as 6:03.

lousy run

post-holiday run was lousy. I felt like I couldn't move. Cramps and random pains and just a very heavy feeling. It probably comes from overeating, and especially from overeating at a very late lunch today just a few hours before..

At least I went out, even struggling through it, and tried.

start to short running week

got a good start to the week. went out and ran 9.5km at a recovery pace, meaning very slow.

nothing exciting or unusual about this run. this week is Rosh Hashana which means little running will happen. I wont run tomorrow morning because I ran tonight. Monday and tuesday will be off for Rosh Hashana. Wednesday is a fast day so I probably wont run. Maybe I'll get a run in on Tuesday night instead.

record week

I made it out nice and early. My long runs still are not all that long, but they are long enough for me right now. Today's long run was 16km. It was very slow, and it had a lot of uphill running in it. I ran up Kishon and down Tzeelim and up to "Gimmel" and around Gimmel for a while, then down and back to RBS A, then up to Hayarden-Hayarqon, then up to Dolev-Dolev (almost) and then back home with some extensions to ensure I would hit 16km.

Today's run gives me five runs for the week totaling 53km!

The coming weeks filled with holidays will surely mean less running.

short over long

I was debating whether to go out this morning for a long run or for a short run.

In favor of a long run would be because:
1. I did not run yesterday and was well rested.
2. who knows what tomorrow might bring
3. running short today might harm my chances for a good long run tomorrow

In favor of a short run would be because:
1. Friday is always more convenient from a scheduling perspective for a long run
2. tradition

In the end I decided that Friday is the long run day, and today would be a short run. I ended up running 10.5km and felt great.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll get a good long run in of maybe 16km or so

So far this week I have run 8, 10, 9, and 10.5. This could still turn into, if plans work out, a 5 run week. Have not had one of those in a long time. I could also set a new high (since my return) for my weekly distance. Anything above 9km tomorrow and I have reached a new high.

base run moves up

Great run this morning. I ran a decent 9km and felt great. I ran a bit slower, after yesterday's quasi-interval workout, but I got past the distance I was looking for, feeling great the whole time.

It seems my base-run has moved up from 5 or 6 km to 8 or 9 km, so I'll consider that an accomplishment.

running hard

Today was an awesome run. I wanted to run in the range of about 10km, so I went out on a standard 10km course - out 5km on the 375 to Tzomet Etziyona and back.

This course has uphill and downward trends in both directions, so it is pretty even.

I wanted to push myself more on this run and I ran with a lot of energy. I ran several intervals through the course where I ran at what I think is my maximum speed.

I finished the course strong and concluded 10km at 1 hour of running time. My watch said the pace was an average of 6:05 per kilometer. I am not sure how that works exactly, as 10km in 60 minutes should be an average pace of 6. so either the watch is doing its calculations wrong or a few seconds off (it was 60 minutes and a few seconds) makes that much of a difference.

if I can do this a few more times, I should start seeing some significant improvement in my average speed.

Saturday night recovery

I did not get to write here much last week, so I apologize for that. I ran a lot, sort of, but it was poorly scheduled.

I ran Saturday night, and then not again until Wednesday. Then I ran Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. So I got 4 runs in, which is a lot for me right now, but they were poorly scheduled. 3 consecutive runs means my legs were tired and none of them were too great.

On Wednesday I ran 12+km while feeling great with an awesome run, on Thursday I ran 8km recovery - very slow, then on Friday I ran 12km again - having hoped for anywhere between 12 and 16km.

I really have to work on better scheduling, so each run can be a better run on stronger legs.

Tonight, Saturday night, I ran 8km recovery. I am actually happy with the distance. I was going to run 7km, then while on the run I was going to bail after 3km as I was struggling and having a hard time breathing. I stopped for a pit stop and then felt better. I figured I would do a full circuit of RBS and then stop, but by then I was feeling good, so I finished my circuit and then did another 3 with some additional extension to complete the 8km.

good start to a new week

I took 3 days off of running after having some pains. I figured I have been running a lot recently, both in frequency relative to what I have been running and in distance, and figured it was time to rest my body. Nobody wants to push through pain and end up injured, especially when I am just running for fitness and not training for a marathon or anything in particular.

So 3 days off it was.

Tonight, after Shabbos, I went out for a slow run. I was looking to run 9km. While out on the run I decided I would run some uphill terrain, and ended up running up to RBS Gimmel, and around some random road sin Gimmel - whichevr road I came across that took me uphill. By the end of the run, by the time I made it back home, I had run a slow 10km, and felt great. No aches or pains, an dI probably could have kept going for a much longer run. I'll save that for later in the week, but am happy to have gotten it off to a good start!

running and bailing

yesterday I ran 10km.

I ran out on Kvish 10, at 4:30am. It was nice and quiet. I felt good.

I was looking forward to running today another 14-16km on the same road, but I just went out and changed my mind immediately. As soon as I started running I felt some pain in my ankle and decided it was prudent to not run today. I don't want to aggravate anything. Hopefully I'll get this one in tomorrow instead.

recovery

recovery run tonight. I ran about 5.5km, very slow, very tough.

Recovery runs are important as they help the muscles recover from the long runs. Hopefully it actually works and my netxt run will be string again

epic run with some great results

Today was an epic one for my return to running...

I went out planning a long run. I decided to do a route that is a circle - the Lamed Hei road - being from RBS out to the 10 - 375 to Tzomet HaElah - 38 to Tzeelim and back up Tzeelim to RBS. This is a route of about 18km. The distance is one aspect of it being epic for me right now, but the commitment is another aspect.

When you run an out and back, even if you add little side detour runs to add distance, you are not really committing, mentally - you figure you can always turn back - if you aren't feeling well, if the run isn't going well, whatever. When you run a circuitous route, at a certain point there is no turning back. Sure, until you get to the point of no return you can change your mind and turn around early, but mentally by choosing to run a circuitous route you have committed and you just go do it.

Just a couple of km into the run I came across the BS running club members out for their 22km run - they were taking a water break. That was nice - I have not seen them in a while nor run with them, and now I did, even if just for a few moments. Then I cut up to another couple of friends who were out for a 12km run, and I ran with them for about 1.5km. Then I was back to running on my own, with the running club out in the distance.

I hit the 10km mark just under the hour mark, which is another point that was epic for me, though the first 10km of this route is mostly a slight downhill. I knew the last 8km would be much more difficult, with both the Zechariya hill and the Tzeelim hill - both 2 and 3km hill climbs that are pretty steep.

At about 10km I finished the water I had been carrying, and then just chugged on. It was a great run. I felt strong until nearly the end. At the end I added a small amount and finished at 18.5km. My average speed was only slightly slower than Tuesday's 15km run, but this was a much hillier route.

So, overall a great run on a beautiful morning.