Best. Tempo. Run. Ever.

So I have to say that I was less than enthused about today's workout.  I did a bunch of errands and had to run all over town, which I find tiring (to give you a sense, I spent about an hour and a half driving....we do not kid about the urban sprawl around these parts).  Also, my stomach was kind of upset.  But today was tempo run day, and I know that tempo runs are important, so I dragged myself onto the treadmill.

A tempo run is a term that evidently draws numerous different definitions.  I am using the one that Hal Higdon provides as part of the training program that I am broadly following:

This is a continuous run with a buildup in the middle to near 10-K race pace. A Tempo Run of 40 to 60 minutes would begin with 10-20 minutes easy running, build for 20-30 minutes near the middle, then 5-10 minutes easy toward the end. The pace buildup should be gradual, not sudden, with peak speed coming about two-thirds into the workout. Hold that peak only for a minute or two. I consider Tempo Runs to be the "Thinking Runner's Workout." A Tempo Run can be as hard or easy as you want to make it, and it has nothing to do with how long (in time) you run or how far. In fact, the times prescribed for Tempo Runs serve mainly as rough guidelines. Feel free to improvise. Improvisation is the heart of doing a Tempo Run correctly.

My basic approach has been to do a 10-minute warm-up, then divide up the tempo run into whatever interval is an even amount of 5 units, then a 10-minute cool-down.  I have been doing these on the treadmill, which makes it really easy to pace what you are doing, but really hard to cheat your speed.  Also, the weather has been very thunderstormy as of late, so the treadmill is probably the better choice anyway.

Today, I got on the treadmill to do a 40-minute run, even though I was really not enthusiastic about things.  I have been starting relatively slowly although for the past two weeks (since I started this plan), I have still not been able to get through the whole workout.  A walk break was required in the middle of the running fast section.  I would like to note, though, that I usually plan for a walk break at some point on the treadmill because otherwise I tend to overheat.  For the tempo runs, I have been limiting these considerably, but still had to take breaks.

Today, I got through my 10-minute warm-up, then concentrated really hard and got through the building up/building down section.  But I did it!  Two minutes of increasing increments for 10 minutes, then 10 minutes of decreasing increments.  And I made it all the way through!  But that was my limit.  I couldn't handle the cool-down.  I walked for a bit, then decided to stop.

So you can imagine my surprise when I looked again at the training plan and learned that today's tempo run was only supposed to be 30 minutes.  Which means I totally rocked it.  And then some.  Best tempo run ever!

Thwarted again by the first 12-mile run

The last time that I was training for a marathon in 2010, I was nearly thwarted during my first 12-mile run.  Basically, everything that could go wrong did go wrong.  Bad navigation, changed ferry schedule, Fleet Week, route change, crowds, and no sourdough chowder (for more, read here).  It was annoying, although I was pleased that despite all of these annoyances, I finished the run.  And I got a fishwich.

Today, I didn't quite have that, although it is the first 12-mile run and things did not go as planned.  As you may recall, I have an awesome foster dog that I am hosting for the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.  However, the foster dog and I disagree on the relative merits of me running on the treadmill.  He is not in favor of it.  For the past couple of runs, I have come up with an ingenious plan of blocking the treadmill with furniture, thereby blocking his route so that he cannot leap onto it in dramatic fashion (and fly off of it in even more dramatic fashion.  I should probably add here that the foster dog is 3-legged and recovering from his amputation surgery).  I tried crating him while I did this, but he was genuinely not in favor of being crated when I was in the house (he is crated when I go out.  I have no idea what his views on this are, but if he feels like barking for hours on end, more power to him.  I don't think that he does, though, because he is never barking when I get home).  For the past two times I have been on the treadmill, he has sat on the couch, at first with annoyance (and some whining), but then reconciling with his fate and taking a nap.  The plan worked well for everyone.

Tonight, I got through 70% of my run before the dog had had enough of this nonsense.  He started whining and I got concerned that he needed to go out--smart dog!  So we went out for a bit which I was hoping would wear him out for the nap.  Yes, that is how slow I am during long runs: so slow that you need to take the dog out for a walk during them.  Anyway, my brilliant plan in no way worked because then he decided not only that he had had enough of this nonsense, but that he would leap off the couch and start becoming very curious about the treadmill.  Blerg.

I figured that I had two choices: risk him leaping on the treadmill or crate him (I tried tempting him with rawhide and a plastic Nylabone: no dice).  I could also have run outside, but it is 75F with 87% humidity and intermittent showers.  Plan 1 was to go run outside in the first place, but there was a serious storm earlier tonight which put the kibosh on that idea.  I opted to crate him.  Bad plan.  He barked.  And barked.  And barked.  And while I know that I am not supposed to give in to him barking on the grounds that he will continue to do so next time since he knows it works, I was concerned that my neighbors in the next unit of my detached building would come and kill me since it was getting late.

I caved.  I gave up at 10.4 of the 12-mile run.  This is super annoying, although I do feel from a physical standpoint that I was capable of running it--it is even more super annoying because I had to end Tuesday's run early due to fatigue (at least I finished Thursday's run without incident!).  However, things are not totally grim.  Next week is another 12-mile run, so I don't feel like this distance is totally out of reach or that I am necessarily missing a key component of training.  I have no idea why me and the 12-mile run have such issues.  Perhaps this will be the motivation I need to get up early and get the long run over with in the great outdoors, thereby ensuring that nary a dog can jump on the treadmill deck.

[I would just get a dog gate--and yes, there are dog gates--except that I think I'll wait to see how long the dog is going to be here before making that investment.  Or scope Craigslist for one.]

Huh

It would appear that things are getting better all around.  Today was 10 miles.  I had these grandiose plans to get up bright and early to run outside, but that didn't happen.

As an aside, I am currently taking care of a wonderful foster dog from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay.  So I need to be up bright and early regardless.  The problem is turning that into actually getting out and running after taking care of the dog, which didn't happen today.

After putting off the treadmill pretty much all day, I finally got around to it.  And you know what?  It wasn't so bad.  In fact, it was remarkably not bad at all--this is not to say that it was easy, I still walked duirng parts of it and had the speed super low (and was super sweaty).  I can think of a few reasons why today was better though:

1) I have been running consistently and competently lately.  Nope.  That's not it.
2) I have finally, finally, finally adapted to the heat (probably).
3) I'm finally over the heat exhaustion from a few weeks ago (also probably a bit).
4) The CrossFit is really paying off (maybe).

I do have to say that I'm really glad the treadmill was not hell.  It will make it much easier the next time I need to use it.

I tried to run on the treadmill on Thursday, but I was worried that the foster dog was going to leap on it.  He is currently recovering from surgery, so I don't want him near the moving parts of machinery.  Today, I put together a nifty fort of furniture around the treadmill so that he couldn't get to it.  Instead, he barked at it during my first interval, then settled down and slept.  Good solution. 

Do you know what else is fun?  This was the long run for this week, meaning that I get two whole guilt-free days off.  Yay!

Getting Back Up on That Treadmill

I did the required 4 miles today.

It was not fast.  It was not pretty.  I walked a lot.  Considering that I am probably still not 100% after the heat exhaustion on Monday, I decided that my best bet was to do it on the treadmill where I could stop easily if necessary.

Even though this was not the hardest workout I have ever done, I got through it.  And that is a good first sign.

What can I do next time?  Up the speed by one notch.  Then another.  Then another.  Until I am back at where I want to be for training runs...which just happens to be three notches away, actually.

Next I can reduce the amount of walking I do.  I suspect that I will have to walk a bit anyway or crank up my A/C possibly beyond its capabilities.  I think I would rather just walk a bit.  When I lived at my old place, there was a fitness center and I always had to walk--plus their gym was kept slightly cooler than my house.  This was the same treadmill I used to train for my PR 5k time, so evidently the walking didn't do that much harm.

What felt really great about tonight was that it was the first time in a long time where I felt like I completed what I set out to do.  Now, what I set out to do was not particularly challenging or particularly tough.  But I did it.  And now I can get better.

Something else I noticed tonight: that 'energy drink' that I had during my Monday run when I got heat exhaustion?  It actually contributed basically nothing and had 0% sodium.  This explains a lot.  Time to find a new actual energy drink.

It has been forever, I know

Some stuff that happened over the past month:

1) A lot of bad runs as the temperature went up/humidity increased.
2) One very bad half-marathon, during which I felt sick around mile 4 and never got better.
3) One really good 6-mile run on a night where the humidity was low.  That was fun!  So it isn't all hopeless, apparently.
4) An 11-mile run on the treadmill, which seemed endless.
5) I BOUGHT A TREADMILL!!!!!!!  Not the same one as the 11-mile run.  But my very own.  So I can run on it and watch the Red Sox.

Stuff that is happening in the future:

1) I am going to Australia.  It's winter there.  I hope that this bodes well for running.
2) I'm doing a 5k in Australia.  Because hey, why not?
3)  Then I get to do the Beach to Beacon 10k.  I am hoping to set a new PR here.  My goal is under 11:00 mile splits.  Doesn't have to be much under them.  Could be 10:59.  But that would still be a PR.  My current PR is 11:15 and I have spent years trying to break that one.
4) All that's left after that is a marathon.  No biggie.

I am trying to stay positive in the face of much negative with running.  Still working off the stomach bug that hit me during the half-marathon and running has not been going so well since then.  Still trying to remember that it is only one glitch and sometimes glitches happen.  Not doing great with all of these sentiments.

I'm sad that the half-marathon didn't go better for a number of reasons.  The conditions were really good for running (in the 50s!).  The course was really good for running: only one real uphill and very scenic besides.  My stepmother would have done very well if we could have just run the course.  So I was very annoyed at the outcome.  At the same time, it's really hard to run when you're sick and there is a bug going around.  I am not the only one to suffer through it.

What doesn't kill you...might almost kill you.

Today was speedwork.  The running plan is going okay.  Not great.  I've had to do lots of reshuffling.  However, reshuffling is better than throwing my hands in the air and giving up, so I'm seeing this as a positive thing.

Anyway, today was speedwork.  And it was not easy.  I went to the gym to use the treadmill.  The workout itself should not have been that hard: it was mostly at a fast speed, but not very far.

I did not feel well.  At all.  Also I was very sweaty.

I was ready to throw in the towel (towels are mandatory at my gym) and concede that I let myself get too out of shape.  Maybe the time had come to hold back on this training plan.  Then I looked at the thermostat.

It was 26C.  I think that they showed it in Celsius so that you wouldn't break down crying right then and there.  That's almost 79F.

That's warmer than I keep my house.

Sure, it didn't kill me, but it felt very close.  The good news: rumor has it that this experience should have made me stronger.  We will see.

Monsoon

Last week's running did not go entirely as planned, but I did get to the long run....even if it, too, did not go entirely as planned.  In part, my plans were disrupted by a monsoon-type storm that made an appearance over the weekend.  In all of my years of running, I think that this is the first time I have run into weather issues for a long run (apart from trips to Arizona, which don't count).  That is pretty impressive.

It wasn't just the monsoon that I was worried about on Sunday, but possible thunderstorms.  I had planned to run out on the Clearwater Causeway (aka the evil hill in an upcoming half-marathon), but I didn't want to get stranded in case of weather.  It was a 10-mile run, so that was going to take me relatively far away.  There is not a lot of shelter out there.  So instead, I decided that I would run on the treadmill.  About half-way through, I decided that there was no point in finishing on the treadmill because I would probably kill myself if I continued, thereby making the whole training moot.  I finished up the remaining 5 miles outside to save myself from this fate.  I also got soaked, thanks to the monsoon, but that was better than the treadmill.  It was possible to make a route that was 2.5 miles without getting too far away from shelter in case of emergency, so that was fine.

The biggest treadmill issue, other than abject boredom, was the temperature in the room.  75F is not a good temperature for running.  I even had a fan right next to me and it was still too warm.  Ah well.

Earlier runs last week were not entirely successful.  I had a good 5 mile to start things off on Tuesday, then didn't get out for my Thursday run due to a number of lousy reasons (mostly bad planning on my part).  Saturday I didn't get in the mileage that I wanted, doing only 3 miles instead of 5.  But it was on that treadmill, so maybe I should see that as some kind of victory.

Update: it really was a monsoon.

Exercise and happiness

Today, the treadmill and I hung out again.  We're still good.  It was a great feeling and what do you know, I can still run 5 miles.  This is great news since on Sunday I am seeking to run 13.1.

I read an interesting article today in Good Housekeeping about exercise.  Before you say anything, I am a MASSIVE fan of Good Housekeeping.  It is one of my favorite magazines.  I'm very cool that way, sort of like your grandmother.  But honestly, I would recommend checking it out if you like....well, girlie stuff for adults.  And great recipes.  And awesome cleaning tips from Heloise.  I'll stop plugging GH now.

Anyway, recently, they hired Gretchen Rubin, who embarked on something that she called the happiness project.  In sum, the happiness project was to find more happiness.  She succeeded.  She now writes a monthly column for the magazine.  This month's was about finding ways to exercise and I wholeheartedly endorse reading the whole thing.  Two of my favorite tips:

4. Remember one of my favorite Secrets of Adulthood, courtesy of Voltaire

Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Don't decide it's worth exercising only if you can run five miles or bike for an hour. A friend of mine falls into this trap. "Just doing the StairMaster for 40 minutes doesn't seem like real exercise to me," she told me. "I like to push myself hard; train for a marathon, or something like that." I felt bad about my easy workouts — until I realized that I exercise regularly, and she never does.

 AWESOME!  Do you want to know why this is awesome?   Because I like to push myself hard and generally I have been very successful with that.  Like training for a marathon.  Bring it.  This made me feel better because it was a good reminder that even though this year has been frustrating, I've accomplished some big goals and stuck with challenges.  Plus I've been good about regular exercise.  These are accomplishments.

The other one that I liked:

5. Consider the context

I used to think that I disliked weight training, but actually, I disliked the guys who hung out in the weight-training area at my gym. Do the grubby showers in your gym distress you? Do you try to run in the mornings, but recoil from going out in the cold? Do you get bored during your swim? Examine the external factors that might be discouraging you from exercising.

No, I'm good with the cold, it's the hot.  I can say that I've never put off exercise over grubby showers or boredom.  Everyone has these barriers.  Even Gretchen, and she's happy!

I will say that many, many years ago, before I started running, I had to have big talks with myself about going to the gym and not caring about what I was wearing.  I was a bit ridiculous, fashion-wise, back then.  And you know what?  Not once did someone at the gym criticize my outfit.  At least not that I overheard.

And now I can go out wearing a 'hydration belt' when I run and feel no shame.  Go me.

In which us Floridians learn that we are not crazy

Two days ago, while I was plugging away at my 5 miles on the treadmill, I heard on the news that 'drier air' was moving into Florida.  I looked at the map and it was not moving into Tampa, but north of the city.  Also, I was very skeptical as to what 'drier air' could do for me, personally, as an individual.  What does this really mean?  How much drier?  It is still Florida in the summer, won't dry air be mobbed and humidified like it is no one's business?

(For those of you who remember that my gym has a 30-minute limit on cardio equipment, here is what I did for the 5 miles: I ran for 30 minutes, stepped off the treadmill, refilled my water bottle, made sure that there wasn't a hoard of people walking in to use the treadmill since all four were free, and stepped right back on the treadmill to finish.  No one really seemed to care).

Then, last night, I finally got out to run a 5-mile-turned-into-a-3-mile-for-various-reasons run.  And let me tell you:

The air was noticeably drier.

So much so, in fact, that I could for real run.  At a respectable for real speed.  And I realized that no, I was not crazy.  The weather has been horrid.

I confirmed this today with a native Floridian who had thought she was not tolerating heat so well any more.  Oh no.  She is tolerating it just fine.  This summer, though, has been intolerable, even for the natives.  How are us northerners supposed to survive, much less run?

Anyway, the drier air stuck around for today, which was fab since I had another 8-mile run.  And let me tell you, it was so unbelievably less awful than last Sunday's 8-mile run, that I was smiling for joy (as opposed to last weekend, when I wanted to lie down on the pavement and cry for a while.  A shady part of the pavement).  I didn't even need to follow the 1.86-mile-loop-around-the-drinking-fountain.  Bliss.

...okay, not bliss.  But definitely more manageable.  We love you, drier air!

Encouraging end to the week

Two encouraging accomplishments to finish up the week of running:

1) 3 x 1M: Friday's run was three one-mile runs, with walking in between.  For a variety of reasons, these had to be done on the treadmill.  So I decided to make it fun, where 'fun' means 'let's see if we can get through this or not.'  I decided to try and do the three at a pace of 10-minute miles.  I don't usually run this fast.  Definitely, in the hot weather, I come nowhere near running this fast.  But everyone should have some 'fun' sometimes.

And I did it!  Of course, there were walk breaks between them, but that was the whole point.  It feel like a major accomplishment even if it did knock me out later.  This was definitely a 'fun' week of running!  Okay, it was actually very challenging.  That is the better word.

2) Long run: this week was 9 miles.  I followed the route suggested by my friend and yes, I did run up the Rocky steps.  I also saw the Rocky statue, along with many other scenic Philly sites.  The run along Ben Franklin Parkway is fantastic! 

And then....and then....and then.... there were boathouses along Boathouse Row (pretty ones too) and I got to watch rowers on the river while I was running.  Yay.  I thought I might run into something, actually, because at times I got pretty obsessed with this.  But it was super nice to have this kind of distraction during a run.

Besides the scenery and the rowing, the route had one more major advantage: strategically placed drinking fountains with cold water.  It was slightly warm this morning, although nowhere near the oppressive ick of Florida.  The temperature was in the 80s but -- get this -- the dewpoint was in the low 60s and the humidity was around 50%.  My GOD.  What a difference these conditions made.  Add in some strategically placed drinking fountains and life is beautiful.

I liked it so much, I ran 9.01 miles.

This run was very encouraging and made things much better after the frustrations earlier in the week.  Also, I think I have solved my running distances in Florida problem.  I shall run strategically planned laps around the drinking fountain! 

A week of ups and downs

Okay, there have maybe not been ups and downs this week, but more 'up' and 'down.'  Here's the breakdown:

Up - treadmill running.  Ran 3 miles yesterday like it was nothing.  No need to walk or anything.  Sweet!  I suspect the gym temperature is more amenable than last summer.

Down - running that takes place outside. 

I decided to modify this week's schedule since I am traveling on Saturday and have to be at the airport relatively early -- too early for me to be motivated to get up and run.  So this week is 5-3-5-3x1, running from Tuesday to Friday.  Tomorrow I have to do the treadmill due to other obligations, but for 3M x 1 that won't be bad at all.  On Sunday, I have my long run, which will be in Philly and I get to run up the Rocky steps.  For real.  It pays to know runners in other cities who can let you know about the best routes!

Back to Tampa: there was some good news about the outside runs that were ick.  Both were 5 miles and both required some walking.  During the first one, I ran into Stephanie, who is famous from my previous blog because I would randomly run into her (Random Stephanie Encounter or RSE).  I'm not sure if our meeting on Tuesday constitutes random since she does live in that neighborhood and takes a walk with her baby in the mornings.  But it was relatively random.  Certainly it was not planned.  Anyway, I used my RSE to walk for a bit, then stood and talked to Stephanie and her husband.  Also, I got to see their dogs, yay!  But anyway, you might think that standing around and talking was ill-advised because it would get too hot, except that while we were standing there, it got much cloudier.  The overcast made a big difference to finish the run.  Sure, there was ominous thunder in the distance, but no bad weather while I was out.

Yesterday, for various reasons, I chose the treadmill.  In part, this was due to the fact that I had scheduled a yoga class for 11am.  The other part is that I can be lazy in the mornings.

This morning I had high hopes since the weather looked somewhat more manageable than most days.  But around the half-way point, I felt the urge to walk, then got super annoyed and tried to figure out why.  The answer came to me when I reached the water fountain at around 4.25 miles, drank about a sports bottle's worth of water, filled my bottle, and managed to finish it during the last 0.75 of my run.  In short, I don't think I'm hydrating enough.  I'm going to try and be better by drinking more water during the day and am currently having a debate with myself as to whether I should try Gatorade again.  Gatorade used to upset my stomach, but I figure if I have it on a semi-regular basis, I should be okay.  I can think this over while I'm running up the Rocky steps in Philly.

The Little Runner Who Could (finally get herself motivated to leave the house)

Today is rainy.  I mean all day, tropical-level rainy.  I thought about running this morning, took at look at the weather radar, and thought again (weirdly, I woke up during one of the few points when it was not raining today).  My next plan was to hit the treadmill, but it was super-downpour rainy.  So I decided to have breakfast instead.

This decision complicated the situation since I'm adding something new to my workout plan, which is lots and lots of yoga.  I got an unlimited membership to a local studio for the next six months.  Because I have more time in the summer, I am going to try to take advantage as much as I can over the next few weeks.  My first class is today.  What does this have to do with running?  It means that I will have to be more careful about scheduling.  I thought about running tonight, but I am doing a class from 4:30 - around 6pm, and this seemed hazardous to leave it until after a yoga class.

Finally, at some point this afternoon, the rain seemed less tropical and more normal, so I finally ventured out from my house and went to the gym (I realize that this is a luxury that not all of us have.  I won't have it always either).  Did three miles on the treadmill, with one walk break.  The treadmill is much more reasonable when it is not in the 90s outside.  I barely overheated, except near the middle (hence the walk break).  I also cheated a bit, since I went over the 30-minute limit at my gym for cardio equipment, but there were two empty treadmills so I really didn't feel too guilty about that.

The gym has a new, wacky treadmill called a Woodway Curve.  There is no motor, so it goes at your speed, which is a bit weird if you are accustomed to normal treadmills.  I tried this for about 0.2 miles or so, but I just couldn't get a feel for it.  I like the principle and maybe with some more practice, it will make more sense to me.  For today, I stuck to the traditional treadmill for the workout.

Hello, treadmill!

It had been quite a while since I last decided to do a treadmill run.  Today's decision was predicated on a few factors, but was mostly driven by the fact that I've been kind of out of it and unmotivated all day.  Totally one of those days when I look at the clock and think, '4pm?  When did that happen?  And what have I done all day?'  Ah, summer.

Anyway, I had this cool plan to get up early and do stuff, but I didn't sleep well and I decided to take advantage of the fact that I didn't have to force myself out of bed early to not force myself out of bed early.  That being said, I was up by 8:30am, so it's not like I was lounging around until 3pm or anything.  The short version of this lengthy digression is that I had already decided that today would be a treadmill day and that I would do my fartlek (actually a pyramid).

The plan was to do three pyramids (15 minutes each), hoping that there would be no one there and I could do so guilt-free.  There is a limit of 30 minutes for cardio equipment at my gym but if no one is around, I tend to ignore that.  Unfortunately, because the day slipped away, I didn't wind up getting there until 4:45pm.  Around 5:10pm, people started filtering in and I felt I should not go over the 30-minute limit.  So I wound up completing only two pyramids, although this is still much better than not running at all.  I kind of wish that I had finished more, but I'm sure that there will be plenty of opportunities to run more this week, so it's okay.

There is a sort-of thunderstorm, so I don't really want to finish up outside.  What I mean by a 'sort-of thunderstorm' is that there is thunder and rain every so often, then it seems to stop.  No idea if it has stopped for good now.  It's the time of year when storms come and go.

You have got to be kidding me

This afternoon, I noticed that I wasn't feeling great: lethargic, not motivated, and tired.  Then my stomach started acting weird.

Not again.

I just cannot handle another bout of this stupid flu!  Enough!

So I refused to accept the flu.  Went to the treadmill and ran my intervals despite the fact that I felt lousy.  Did my 5 x 50m on this week's workout (with a 2-minute RBI).

This might have been a very stupid idea.  I think that if someone came to me and asked what to do in this situation, I would advise taking a rest day.  But I am just not going to be sick again.  And that is final.  You had better be listening, stupid flu.

(That being said, it is entirely possible that I change the schedule to have a day off tomorrow.  I'm going to see how I feel in the morning and play it by ear.  Supposed to be 50 minutes with some hill intervals).

Also, the weather is fabulous for running.  Nice and cool again.  Of course.

In case you're curious, I did finish the Dark Tower and I liked the ending.

Baby steps to the faster pace

When I was sick with the flu, I saw 'What about Bob' again for the first time in years.  Hence the title of this post.  You can achieve anything and everything with baby steps, after all.

Today I broke my streak and managed to run on a day other than Monday (plus it did not even rain).  For some reason, it is unseasonably humid, which is not great.  But today's run was even less (in some respects) than yesterday's, only more brutal (in some respects).  It was four intervals of 'fast' running -- the plan isn't specific, just that it should be 'near the max.'  You do 4 x 50 meters (WHY suddenly meters?!?), then take a 2-minute break in between (labeled as an RBI in the plan, which in this case means a 'run between intervals').  This was tougher than I thought it would be since the distance looked like a little wimpy amount -- it corresponds to 0.3 miles.  That is a ways, though, if you are running fast.

Rather than run outside in the hot and humid, I decided to go on the treadmill.  Those of you who followed my previous blog may recall that I'm not the world's biggest fan.  I have used it in the past to good effect, but it's just not all that fun.  Plus the room at my local gym also gets humid, which is almost like an insult to injury.  However, I can see that the treadmill might come in handy for this running plan.  One thing that is really good about a treadmill is how you must run evenly on it since it stays at the same pace.  I noticed during yesterday's run that my pace varied pretty extensively during my run.  To get back in the even pace habit, I think that the treadmill will be helpful.

I'm finding myself annoyed because I want to be running faster than my current paces.  However, I keep trying to remind myself that just because I ran a long distance for my last race, it's different running a fast pace.  Eventually, this will sink in, plus the reason that you do a running plan in the first place is to get better.  There are still 6.5 weeks to go.  That's lots of time to improve.

(But it is still annoying).