9 miler! and a month report

This  morning was our Saturday morning running group. Not many showed up so we basically did two groups: the first being the 'fast' guys doing 7:00mm pace and then 'us' which we aren't that slow but slow pokes nontheless compared to them.

The weather was really nothing to complain about for being almost July. When I trained last summer for my September half, it was brutal! This summer, it's been great. Humid, but cloudy and not so warm this morning.

9 miles 8:56ish pace, but the great thing is the last two miles were negative splits, 7:54 and 8:31 - I always love finishing strong. No ITBS! This is the farthest I've run with no pain. So I will keep increasing then kicking back and hoping to do the September half in Chicago for my birthday!

The month of June I have run 103.7 miles! With NO pain :) I will keep up the foam rolling and strength.

5 & 4

Wednesday - ran with my running group this evening. Mostly ran with P and M, good pace, between 8:30 and 8:50 which was fine. Our route was on the streets this week since it's been muggy and buggy in the preserve trails. Had fun after at Grape and Grain - such a nice bunch of people!
5 miles 44:28 8:54 pace

Friday - I almost overslept but C woke me up with "aren't you running this morning"...I rolled out of bed, threw on my running clothes, pony up and went. I ran pretty slow my first few miles, but kicked it up towards then end and started to feel warmed up. but just stuck to 4 miles since tomorrow is our long run.
4 miles 35:48 8:54 pace

I've been running about 23-24 miles each week and have started to run 5 days instead of just 4. So far no ITBS...we will see how the long run goes tomorrow

3 & 3.25

Monday - crazy storm popped out of nowhere right when our running group was meeting for speedwork. So I opted for a quick 3 mile tempo run after the storm passed. I kept my pace even and it was a nice quick run.  3.01 23:56 7:58 pace

Tuesday - I wanted to run an easy 4 but after about 2 miles, I saw flashes of lightning in the distance and decided to just head home before the storm hit! Plus being outside, with my iphone in hand among lightning didn't sound too safe. So that last mile I kicked it up to a 8mm and ended up with 3.25 miles 8:41 pace.

8 at the lake

The girls are at grandma's summer house this weekend, so C and I went out for a little bit on Friday night. I could not sleep Friday night so when 6am rolled around, there was no way I was going to have the energy to meet my running group and run the planned 8.

So....I decided to take the train into the city with C (he has a saturday commitment downtown) and run the lakefront, since I rarely get a chance to do this. I got a later start than I would have liked but it was great.

I started off on Randolf and Michigan, had to zig zag through a few areas that trapped me from the lake so by the time I actually hit the lakefront, I was already at about 2 miles. I ran north up to North Ave then headed looped back south until around Buckingham Fountain. It was cloudy, which was perfect because it was very muggy out. I was feeling tired and thristy so decided to stop at 8 miles. It was great!

6 & 3

Wednesday - our group run which took us into the preserve trails for about 4 miles. I didn't take GPS just my stopwatch. I ran with the 'faster' group. We did it in 50:05 which was great!

Thursday- I did a quick three miler. My legs felt tired and it was hot out. But I didn't do so bad. Negative splits and finished with a 8:28 pace


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speed work + 4.28

Monday night was our speed workout at the track again. It was hot. Very humid. One of the guys brought a cooler full of gateroade which was great!

I did 6 x 800m (varied from 3:43, slowest was 3:49). I wasn't very happy that I couldn't break 3:30 but I was hot,tired and didn't hydrate like I should have. But at least these weren't over 4:00! 3 miles in total of about 21 minutes with 2 mins recovery

Tuesday evening I had a nice 4 mile run. It's funny how 8:15 is becoming an 'easier' pace. I am not sure I can hold that for a long run but I know if it's a race I could.

4.28 miles 8:14 pace :)

7.15

Almost overslept this morning! But made it just in time for our Saturday morning group run. Ran with P, kept pace around 9:30 for her. Then at mile 5 she finished up so I ran last few with M. We finished last mile in 8:00 pace. Good run this morning. Glad I was able to get in that last kick

A month now with over 20 miles per week. Hoping to get my long runs back up to double digits with no pain

I sorta like just running without training for anything. I feel strong. Thanks to my running group.


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another 4

Running club was canceled last night due to the storms that actually hit - they weren't as severe as predicted but we did lose power for a few hours overnight.

I had a nice 9am run after I dropped the kids off at VBC. The weather was perfect.

4 miles 33:50 8:27 pace - negative splits.....nice

4 miler

The kiddos are at VBC this week so it allows me some time in the mornings to work at the church and get some miles in. I had a late start this morning - about 9:22 and it was already hot, but not too bad. I had a nice post speed work run. My legs felt ok, not too tired, but I did push a bit and could not have ran more than the 4 today because I was thirsty!

4.01 34:15 8:33 pace (negative splits! nice especially since I felt like I was slowing down, I always seem to find my pace after the first few miles).

speed work at the track

This was my first time ever doing speed work at the track. I've done it on the treadmill but not an actual hs  track. It was tough but fun. Now I know what to expect and feel like I can push myself more next time. I didn't want to die out in the end so I was a bit conservative. Plus, it hurts! A Lot when you are pushing yourself to run fast.

First, C and I ran to the track from our house at an easy pace - which is a little over a mile

once at the track we did:
5 - 800m repeats with 2 minutes of recovery in between.
my times were 3:35, 3:36, 3:38, 3:41, 3:37
Then I finished with 1 400m at 1:49
According to McMillian I ran pretty much on target for training, but I would like to 3:28 next week.

We ran home to cool down which was another mile

So roughly 4.75 miles today in about 36 minutes.

just about 6 with our running club

Today was our first Saturday running group run. We had a great turn out - about 15 runners! It was my route and I lead it. C ran with the slower group and there were a few in the middle. Very nice weather at 6am for our run.

My knee started to feel tight around 5.5 but I was able to finish up the run. I know what I need to do. But it was a great Saturday and lots of fun to have so many great people to run with.

5.88 we stopped at mile 5 for one of our members potty break so the mm were a bit off b/c my gps did NOT stop! oh well...it was around a 9:10/9:15 pace. Not bad!

almost 6 and almost 9 and almost ITBS pain

Wednesday - our running group is getting bigger! We had an awesome turn out on Wednesday. M changed up our routes a bit and set up a 4 and 6  mile route. We always agree because he maps out runs that always differ from our GPS. So I ran the 6 but it was 5.66 on my GPS. Hey, it was almost 6 and I will take it.

We ran through the forest preserve trails this time which was great. About 4 miles was run through the trails and it was very neat to run together with a big group. The girls and I actually led, only around 8:50/9:00 mm but it felt really good. We ended the night with Trivia game led by our group leader at the local craft beer/wine place we always end up at - it's such a great group I love it!


Friday - I had the chance to do a long run this morning so I decided to try to see if I could run 9 miles without inflicting pain. The run was going great, I felt strong and started to negative split after the second mile.After 7 miles I thought for sure I'd be able to do the full 9. I wasn't even thinking of ITBS. Then after mile 8, I noticed that old familiar, subtle knee tightness. My thoughts for the run turned to panic as I thought "oh no it's back!". I really have been slacking with my rolling and strength, taking for granted my pain free runs for over a month. So after 8.25 I stopped, stretched and walked. It wasn't bad, as bad as I've felt it, but it was enough to make me want to stop before it got worse. I ended up running the last .25 mile home and it was ok. When I rolled I noticed I was tight and vowed tonight to stretch and roll and do my ITBS PT exersizes. You can't take for granted a run with no pain - especially after suffering through ITBS.

Tomorrow we are leading a 6 mile run for our running group. I hope I am in top form

8.5 miles 1:12:22 8:30 mm (I hope I can do the half in September since I know I can PR with my long runs feeling easy at 8;30)

Squash Chips

I will be trying this recipe out tomorrow for sure. Friend said it was very yum.

Squash - slice as thin as possible
Spray cookie sheet with non stick spray
Spread squash out, they can touch but not overlap
sprinkle with salt and pepper - add spicy to one side if you like

bake at 200 for two hours, 30 more mins if you like them crispier

4.25 in the city

Monday I got to run in the city, along the Chicago river next to my mom's house and then through the neighborhood of our old condo. It was a nice run and I always enjoy running in different areas...makes it interesting and the miles go by fast. I ran a pretty fast 4 miler for me - since I was missing my running group's speed work I figured I could push myself a little harder. I ran partly in the big park near our old condo and then along the trails next to my mom's house then in one of my favorite areas in Chicago, Ravenswood Manor - down Wilson by Rockwell I love those houses!

4.26 miles - 34:20 8:03 pace (last mile was 7:55)

7 in an hour!

I didn't quit wake up for a 5am run, but I did head out at 615am and that is still pretty early! Plus it's the weekend so C is home and can stay with the girls, as it was they were up when I left.

It was a nice morning. Very humid but temps were in the upper 60's so very comfortable. The first leg of my run it about 4 miles and it really flew by. Then I run by my house and do another leg. If I had more time I would have liked to have run longer but I had to get home b/c C had an event downtown he had to catch the 8am train for....my last mile I kicked it up since I wanted to try to get 7 miles in within an hour so that last mile I ran in 7:59 - happy with that!

7 miles 1:00:22 8:37 pace