- My last 5 runs have been on my sister-in-law's treadmill. Like most of the rest of the country, northeastern NC has been colder than usual. My time to run is either early morning before work or in the evenings after work, both of which are in the dark and when the temps have dropped even more. I know many of you are accustomed to running in the 20s and even colder, but a) I'm essentially a wuss when it comes to the cold and b) my cold weather gear isn't really for temps that low, especially my socks. So, the treadmill it is ...
- Which leads me to this, why on earth do I find myself going slower on the treadmill than outside? My only theory is that, ironically, I'm having to adjust to being warm again while running on the treadmill since it's a comfy 72 degrees in her house. I do like being able to maintain a steady pace on the treadmill, but I'm now back to 13:00+ minute miles. I'm confident that my measured routes on the farm are accurate so the 12:00 or so minute miles averaged in December should be accurate as well. The google my tracks app on my phone corresponds with my measurements using my GIS software. This seriously makes me want a Garmin even more now, but that's another story altogether.
- The half-marathon training is still going well. I just need to add in some cross-training twice a week but am not sure what to do. What do you readers think? Would adding in 2 or 3 days of Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred be good for cross-training?
I have a few minutes to blog while everybody else is otherwise occupied. Taylor and his sisters are with their mother shopping. Kate is hanging out with her Papa. Will is playing with the Wii. So I've decided to geek out a little bit and look at my online log from Buckeye Outdoors more closely.I've thought about Monday's post a lot and realized I was way too critical of myself. 2009 was a very good running year for me. It was the first complete year of running and I did improve a lot even though I had some lazy times during the year when I just didn't want to do anything at all. Here's a colorful look at December 2008 vs. 2009.Running Summary - Dec. 2008 Dec. 2009
Runs: 4 13
Avg. Time: 00:21:55 00:30:54
Total Time:01:27:43 06:41:54
Avg. Speed: 4.7 MPH 4.9 MPH
Avg. Mi Pace: 12:53 12:21
Avg. Dist.: 1.7 Mi 2.5 Mi
Total Dist.: 6.8 Mi 32.5 MiI improved in all of those categories, especially the number of runs and total distance. December 2009 was much more consistent and I am very proud of that. My speed even improved (I know I shouldn't even be thinking about speed, but it's hard not to!). At least three of the 2009 runs were with Kate and I let her dictate the run/walk intervals. If I take those runs out, I actually averaged slightly under 12:00 minute miles.I'm excited about what it will look like next year when I have another year of running under my belt, so to speak. Giving myself credit for my accomplishments is something that I need to do more often, so I'm glad I took the time to geek out a little this afternoon.Here's to a great 2010! Now, back to the Wii ...
