Week in Training: Jan 12-Jan18

I'm going to get the negative news out of the way. First off I've not been getting in control of my cross training. I think I've had such an addiction to running and simply can't get through my thick skull that I need to do other things than run. So far I've committed to training less, by training I mean running. According to Bill Pierce and Scott Murr it's all possible. I've not read the book, but according to the title, you can even be faster. No, really, the reason that I'm running less is so I don't continue to have issues with my IT band. I had committed while training for my marathon to run 3 days per week and cross train 2 days per week which were reserved for yoga and core work. So far, I've done yoga once and never anything else except for running. I really need to work on that in the coming weeks.

That being said, my training really has gone quite well given the temperatures I've been training in and the paces I've been running.  The week started out on Saturday with a 5-miler in some abnormal weather for the Chicagoland area.  We had a 50 degree day and with my run already planned, there was no chance in hell I was going to miss out on this run.  I've also been trying to mix up the routes so I dont get bored. Part of the problem is that there are only 3 ways out of my neighborhood, two of which are right next to each other and one is right by my house.  The three of them really lead to only 2 main roads so I have to mix it up somewhere else around the route.

5-Mile Run - January 12, 2013

I felt a little too good I think heading out clocking my first mile at 8:52 and slowing it down partially due to ice for the next 2 miles clocked at 9:46 and 9:23 respectively.  I felt the burnout in the fourth mile with a 10:17 pace, most likely from heading out a bit too quickly and finally back down to 9:45 for the fifth mile.  You'll see the large fluctuations represented in the yellow/orange colors in the map.

4-Mile Run  - January 14, 2013

I went out well on Monday for my 4-miler, this time through the heart of downtown Grayslake.    I seemed to have learned my lesson from my previous run keeping that first mile down to 9:54 and just tipping the 10:00 mark for the second and back down to 9:39 for the third and 9:50 for the last mile.  I'm sure the 10 degree weather played a part in me not going out so quickly.  A bit of a roller coaster ride some may think but I've always had trouble keeping a consistent pace throughout any distance and this is about as close as I've come to consistency between miles.

5-Miler - January 17, 2013

Thursday was quite the adventure.  I haven't run through the forest preserve much this winter, especially since I've just started resuming training.  With a sub-freezing temperature at 23 degrees I was just hoping to finish the 5 miles and still be able to feel my extremities and vitals.  I intentionally tried to keep the pace to what is a light run for me and did a rather fine job at it.  My first 2 miles was just over 10 minutes and the middle mile 3 at 9:38, ending the last 2 miles at 10:00 and 9:45.  I had no complaints about this run considering the trails and sidewalks were pretty well iced over still with light dusting of snow on top.  I had to be really careful so I avoided injuring myself again.  I slipped a few times and stopped once to tie my shoe.

I'm looking forward to making a commitment during this next week to really get doing yoga and core training.  Hopefully having to write about this will help with motivation.