Jan 9

FIT:
8.6 mi in 1:10:45. 8:14 pace. 5pm, 23 deg w/ wc. On feet, 1224's w/ arches; soccer socks and shorts; Philly long tech tee (a bit meshy, so initial wind gusts were brutal); a buff around my neck and mouth for the first mile to keep my hot breath to warm me; Nathan Shadow Pak (first time! See GearGuide); visor and sun glasses; mitten/gloves. The 1224's felt really stiff and uncushioned, which I guess is the point of stability shoes, but it's a lot stiffer than the Progrid, which is prob a motion control shoe, which I'm using now that I've retired my 3's. I do have a new pair of 3's sitting in my closet ready to be recruited, but for now, I'll let my feet play with the other shoes.

Felt kind of stiff today, even after stretching. Probably because PT exercises worked my hips a lot, and I had choppy sleep last night, on top of a week of little sleep. It was also cold.

I went out slowly - appropriate for a long run. Again, from the Dec 19 post on this course, it's a mix of road, grass, and rubber. It's a nice run that goes by a big waterfall (in the middle of the city) and crosses a river a couple of times. There's a woodsy area and other buildings you may expect to see in residential areas of downtown. I decided to repeat the last 2 of 3 legs of the course, to add length to the typically 5.3 mi run. Doing so added 3.3 miles. I was feeling great at around mile 5 and actually sped up. My knees felt a bit poundy at mile 7, but it was okay enough to cruise back to the car at 8.6. I walked a tiny bit barefoot and then ate a sweet potato and a tangerine as I drove back home. No 7 mi chills during the run, but I did get very cold driving back. I was hungry, too, and continued to eat PB and an apple, skim milk, turkey, and popcorn when I got back.

My inner top right knees hurt to walk on immediately after getting out of the car, but it was fine within minutes.

Splits> 8:49 bridge, 6:02 path, 7:16 church <22:08>, 7:21 path (should've taken less time than the prev leg, since this direction is downhill), 6:00 bridge (nice split) <<13:21>>, 5:52 path (sped things up), 7:20 church <<13:12>>, 7:15 path (went by the path many times), 5:46 bridge, 9:00 car (makes sense it's a bit longer than the first leg, due to significant uphill) <22:01>.

I was listening to the Phedip episode about Steve Runner's goal of finishing a 4-hour marathon. The key to that goal would be to train smart and therefore not get injured. So I was thinking, maybe I should care less about trying to get my mileage high and have my source of satisfaction instead be perfectly executing the 10% rule. That thought made it easier to say no to completely doubling today's route, rather than just repeating 2/3 of it. The accomplishment of doubling the route can be something to look forward to for next time. For this time, I can be satisfied by the fact that 8.6 is the farthest continuous run I've done since June. To get back to where I was, I'll just have to double it. To reach my goal, I'll have to triple it. I've already gone from eeking out 1.5 mile runs with difficulty to this rather easy 8.6, so I'm optimistic.

This was my first 'complete' week of the year, since Jan01 was a Friday. Looking back at the runs from Monday, my week has good balance. A 'staple/tempo' run of 5.7 mi at 7:38 pace, a faster 'sprint' run of 3.5 at 7:19 pace, and a 'long run' of 8.6 mi at 8:14 pace. I'll have either 2 S's and 1 rest day, or 1 S and 2 rest days. Maybe I can follow this pattern in the future. Steve Runner's following a moderate consistent plan from the Hanson brothers, but I think there's a lot of value in mixing it up. Hey, what I'm doing is kind of like the Run Less, Run Faster plan developed by GVL's very own FIRST center.

[The Good] LIFE:
MY JOB:
I keep realizing more and more how perfect my job is for me.
1. My job is to document things. I lead/coordinate proposals. I take good notes. I like to format documents so that they're user friendly and pretty. My natural tendencies is to document the daylights out of things. See my blog. See my running logbook. See my spreadsheets tracking my running progress. At school, I would basically record every word the teacher said, fearful that if I didn't get 100% of the wording, I might miss an important nuance later on, or forget about something that ends up on an exam.
2. My job pays well. Most satisfyingly, it enables me to help others. It also funds trips to see my friends. It also funds running books and gear, and will later on fund those pricey halfs and fulls. I don't spend money on much else, though. I don't use AC or heating - my apt is 50 degrees right now, and in the summer, it'll be over 90 degrees. My food is also cheap - healthy is cheap if you do it right. Buy the fruits and veggies that are on sale. Oatmeal and cereal is cheap. Milk is cheap. Stock up on other stuff when it's on sale, like Turkey. I do splurge on Dark Chocolate. You can only do so much about their prices. It ends up saving me money to buy all the Dark Choc that I do, though, since I get satisfied by a bit of that (like $0.75 worth at a time) instead of going through a box of chocolate chip cookies or ice cream, which not only costs more financially but also calorically. And I don't spend money on much else besides that.

MY FREE TIME:
Sometimes, I work overtime, but even then, OT means that I'm really engrossed in what I'm doing and am enjoying it. I don't get paid for OT, but I like doing a good job on stuff. Even with that, though, I still have a decent time at home. The highlight is usually my run, which these days means treadmill work, since it's dark by the time I get home. Once the summer returns, it'll be painfully hot (so enjoy these temps, even though it's dark!), but I can be outside again going on adventures.

TV generally sucks, but I do like The Biggest Loser (usually can only check the end of it, though) and The Office. Jay Leno's okay. Raymond is okay. Ooh, Lost is coming back soon.

On weekends, I can go running outside. I also usually shop at WF, Sam's, Barnes and Noble, Marshalls, Dollar Tree (for food) and TJMaxx. I usually don't buy things other than food. If I see new books, I may look for them online. It's fun just to look at stuff. And by stuff, I almost always mean running stuff. Running clothes or running books. Food fuels my runs.

And then, there's my 'experimentation' and 'research'. By experimentation I mean documenting my running experiences to see what works, in terms of gear, temps, speeds, surfaces, times of day, preparation, fuel, etc. By reseasrch, I mean the fitness and nutrition-related blogs and articles I read. That helps me know what knew things I can experiment with and use to get better. There's also Phedippidations, which I listen to almost every night as I go to sleep. The content is good. At school, I'd listen to him during workouts and on my way back from workouts and sometimes during fueling and as I went to sleep. I know all of the intonnations of his voice so well and think he's just a nice guy who makes you happy listening to him.

It would make my life better to see friends more often. Usually, after work, I just want to veg, but more friending would probably be better.