Thanks Tim!

BTW, have you seen the BPRC Kennesaw Trail run series???

March 15 8:00 a.m. 5K
June 7 8:00 a.m. 10K
September 13 8:00 a.m. 15K Aid/hydration station provided
December 7 8:00 a.m. 1/2 Marathon Aid/hydration station provided

Pearl Izumi will be at all runs offering shoes to test drive and other goodies. If you run the entire series, you will be rewarded with a special BPRC/Pearl Izumi T-shirt for your efforts.

These events are not races, but a casual way to enjoy the beautiful trails in our Kennesaw store's backyard. Runners and walkers of all speeds and abilities are welcome to attend.

I mean, seriously? This is my entire year's race strategy. Offered as free group runs. On trails.

Instructions for today's run: 12 minutes as fast as possible. I tried. It was hot (sorry . I couldn't breathe. I felt sick. I slowed down. Average time? 10:30. On a track, but still. Not bad at all for 1.33 miles.

Great run Varda! I don't think I'm ready for the warm humid conditions yet. I was sweating like crazy Wednesday night.

BTW, if your friend is interested in the Suwanee event it starts at 5PM on 3/4. There will be 9 shoe vendors there with tons of shoes to test drive. Also other vendors like Nathan and CEP. I haven't confirmed it yet but I think Mellow Mushroom will be there with BEER. And there will be cake. Lots of cake.

I think I should go ahead and schedule a vacation day for the day after that!

BEER and CAKE and RUNNING SHOES! Definitely would take a vacation day for that!

that;s awesome Lilbee - sounds so fun!

I have pretty much taken this entire week off from running, so tomorrow I will be ready for a run and Sunday - I have been UBER tired and thinking I still have a sinus infection kicking around -

nice runs v, tim and bt.

had an easy recovery run tonight myself

26:00 run @ 8:45 for about 3 miles...

tomorrow is a threshold run i think...i think there are 3 intervals of 15 minutes at my half marathon pace ... (which i think is about 8:34) i think i need to run another 5k and get another good pace baseline, although i am not willing to change this plan tip after my half simply because i think its working!

You are so awesome!

Romy I can’t believe you got the wrong shoes AGAIN! Hope the 3rd pair are correct.

Tim, dang that’s a fast pace going up that hill! Once the roads clear I can’t wait to start getting some hills back into my routine. Typically I just incorporate bigger hills into my route, but I want to do more hill repeats this year. There are a couple of beauties not far from my house.

Seriously I need chocolate covered cashews now. Yum!

Varda, I love your idea of incorporating your calorie target right into the name of your meals. I’m not quite that structured but I should be.

btsinmd you’re so awesome with your stair & office workouts! One of my MFP/Earndit friends does stair runs for charity – like raising money to run up 75 flights of stairs in a giant building in LA. I wish I could remember his exact time but he’s 50+ years old and ran up 75 flights in sub-18. That’s hardcore! He just did one in NYC, and there’s one this fall in Chicago. Sounds like you’re going to be ready for something like that in no time. I don’t think you’re progressing slowly at all. We didn’t all start running at the same time so we can’t compare ourselves to what anybody else is doing. When somebody posts about an “easy” 4 or 5 mile run I wonder how long it’s going to take me to get there. I can run 4 or 5 miles but it sure as heck isn’t easy! And I'm pretty sure at 3F you'd be running stairs, or in the pool, or in a fitness class - I suspect you don't spend a whole lot of time on the couch.

Varda 1.33 miles in 12 minutes when you were feeling hot & sick is astounding. Love to see what you could do when you’re not fighting the heat.

arrseegee congrats on your 10K run! I’ve started front-loading my day with my calories. Used to save too many for evening. Now lunch is my highest calorie meal (usually) and I make sure to get at least an afternoon snack and usually a morning one too. I still want to lose more (and you mentioned not wanting to lose more) but still the strategy usually works well for me.

madmiss it took forever for my sinuses to clear up – at least a couple weeks after I finished my antibiotics. I felt better…but not good. This week I way backed down my runs (1.5 & 1 miles – to meet my Jantastic commitment) and finally feel like I’m healthy again. Both of my short runs I had a hard time finishing because I was so tired but today’s run felt good again. Well normal anyway. Hope your break is what you needed.

Joe your training plan sounds like it keeps things varied! “26:00 run @ 8:45 for about 3 miles...” is a prime example of one of those times where I can’t compare what I’m doing to anyone else. I don’t think I could go half a mile at that pace, much less consider that an easy recovery run!

Joe - the Ravenna is a moderate support shoe while the Ghost is neutral so make sure you are getting the one that matches your pronation. I run in Ravenna 4's for my long runs and really like them. Looking forward to trying version 5 soon. Mine have 200 miles on them and show no wear on the soles yet, but I will pick up a new pair as they get close to 300.

Gosh I have a lot of catching up to do - need to go back & read what everybody has been up to the past few days!

madmiss & Tim post all these nice photos after they run where they look fit and happy. As a counterpoint here's what 7 miles in 20mph winds on a 3 degree day looks like. (The frown is because I'm facing the sun, not because I'm unhappy to be done.)



Edit: My face is shiny from Vaseline. It protects against wind burn when the wind chill is -17.

Tim looks fit and happy, I was simply delusional in my last photo my toes, however were happy!!! You look so bundled and cute you are a rock star for those miles in those conditions!!!

Congrats everyone on your awesome progress this week/end. I went out for 3 - a high 10.something - then mid 11s for the remaining. I really would love to be able to stick in the 10's I just don't have it yet - legs seem fine, lungs just aren't there yet... Sigh... I'm seeing speed work in my future - yuck! Lol I love a nice slow 11-12 minute long run, feel like I could go forever, but anything remotely faster - sub 11 - is kicking my hinder !

Three easy miles. The starbucks giftcard machine was down, so no coffee.

I don't like the Endomondo plan. I can't choose my long run day, so all the days are off and it records the wrong workout on the wrong day and all it could find to do today was nag at me and nag at me and nag at me about how slow I was running. I'm going back to Coach Jenny and a piece of paper. So there.

Nina keeps talking about how slow she was in her last race and how she fell down. She wants to run again though. I showed her this video last night: http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/124-Finish-Line
And talked about it in the context of winning. He fell down. You can see by the sweat on his shirt that he's working hard. He isn't fast. He's tired. But he makes it to the finish line and that means that he wins. Just like when she fell down, she kept running and made it to the finish line and got a medal. I love that running provides so much context for personal success that you can use examples that a 4-year-old can understand. I hope it's a lesson she takes with her.

I'm reading the book "Alignment Matters." It's about Biomechanics. I don't really recommend it - I'm sure there are better texts, and she has a free blog. But one exercise she suggests is to have you line your feet up along a straight edge, like a floor tile. Your feet might feel a little pigeon toed, but that's the right direction for them :ohwell:

When I do that, my knees turn in. So I pulled my knees back out without moving my feet (just trying it on my own). That engages my butt and hips.

Today, each time I started running, I would do that drill, then engage my core and go. It felt really good, really aligned, less effortful from the beginning. I think I'm going to keep doing it. :happy: