56 days

56 days = 8 straight weeks of running streak.

I made it through the week with 54 miles to mark the 6st straight week of 50+ miles (and 7th straight of 48+).  I finished up February with 222.42 miles.  

The weather is finally turning and it looks like the last of the snow and ice should melt today.  I got outside yesterday and today.  Still working on getting my road legs back under me.  Yesterday I ran 8 miles at 7:22 average pace.  It was a lot better paced than last Sunday's run, and I kept the miles between 7:23 and 7:33 for the first 6 mile and then ran 7:19, 6:53 for the last 2.  HR was still in the 150s but aerobically I felt ok.  Legs still got tired (especially around my hips) and I haven't quite found my outdoor rhythm yet but I didn't have to stop and stretch out my hip this time either so that's promising. 

Todays 5 miles was at 8:10 pace and felt really easy (though still a bit of mild discomfort in the legs).  

I've been very consistent so far in 2022.  Only thing truly lacking is the long run.  I've had quite a few runs between 9 and 11 miles but haven't gone much farther (one time I hit 12.6 on the treadmill).  I don't want to get hurt as I transition, outside but I almost think I'm running into a bit of a mental barrier.  

One issue is that the few times I have been able to get outside I choose to run fast rather than slow down and run long.  Hopefully as I get out more out more this will resolve itself.

I feel like I'm starting to approach the limits on how many miles I can comfortably fit into a week.  50 miles used to be a push and now it's easy but to hit 60 requires better time management on my part.  I think I can get up to a steady 60 by getting out a little bit earlier and getting my long run back up.  After that I'm starting to get squeezed for time.   

Near time goal is to get 6 straight weeks of 60+ miles and see where that gets me.

Day 53... *only* 5 miles

 Slept in a bit and ran 5 easy miles on the treadmill at 8:24 pace.

5 miles feels like a day off these days so I'm brimming with energy.

I'm just short of 200 miles for the month so I'm basically back at my preinjury mileage level.  the pace has been slowly increasing as well.  Last month I ran 193 miles averaging 8:15 pace and this month I'm averaging 8:04... this isn't something I specifically target but it's interesting to see the time creep down as the exertion level stays the same.  

52 days

At the very least, I can now say that I averaged at least 1 day of running a week this year.

8.5 on the treadmill with ~ 4 miles at 6:40 pace and 3 of those miles at 2% incline.  I was working pretty hard with 20+ minutes of HR exceeding 160... tempo work basically.  The incline definitely made it more difficult to maintain... I feel like I got a good solid training effort in without overdoing it.  

Still just following my slow and steady plan of building mileage and fitness with almost all easy runs and then pushing the pace a bit once or twice a week.  

Today and tomorrow are highs of 27 and 29 but by Saturday the temp is up to 38 and after that we're seeing highs in the 40s and 50s for the rest of the 10 day forecast.  Got a race on March 12... Assuming no rain, I plan to spend everyday after Friday on the roads getting my legs prepped.  Hopefully in a good position by March 12th right before my yearly Day light saving F-over!

9 more miles

 Today I turned 43.  Last year I celebrated with a fast 5 miler and ran my fastest 5 mile to that point with a 6:37 average pace.  I was very happy with that effort but wound up running the same loop in 6:12 a few months later in May and ran a 10K at 6:09 pace soon after that.  

This year it was colder and I just ran 9 easy miles on the treadmill instead.  I'm not sure I'm quite as fit as I was last year at this point but hopefully I will be soon enough.  At least I'm getting the mileage in.  

50 is nifty

 I've now run 50 days in a row (assuming that you count treadmill running as "real" running).

Woke up this morning to a 53 degree day and was all ready to go outside and run at about 6:20.  Had my shorts and shoes on and was headed out the door when the lightning flashed and the thunder crashed.  The weather frickin' hates me!  So back on the treadmill and I only got in 7.5 miles because I started later than normally waiting for it to get light outside.  

Tonight the temp drops down to 13 degrees so I'm probably sticking to the treadmill for at least a few more days.  After wrecking my legs on Sunday running outside I'm really getting desperate to get more road miles in.  I was a lot better about at least getting outside on the weekends last year.  Next year I'm going to have to force myself outside at least once if not twice a week.  I wouldn't imagine it'll take too long to get accustomed to the road but I'm really jonesing right now for some fast paced 8, 9, 10 mile efforts.  

My initial streak goal was 50 and now that I've reached it I'm not sure how to proceed.  I don't really feel like I need to stop at this point and I'm more motivated than ever...  April 13 would mark 100 days.  Not sure I'm needing to do that but we'll see.

7 weeks straight (Day 49)

 Running streak has hit 49 days today... that's 7 straight weeks without a break.  

My last two days I've actually gotten outside for the forth and fifth time this year!

The weather was particularly cold this year and the timing of the weather patterns was fairly unlucky with the coldest and windiest days falling on the weekend and the tolerable days happening during the work week.  Right now I'm regretting not forcing myself out a few more times.  Last year I was out in 10 degrees when my treadmill broke so I don't have a great excuse... I was just being a wimp this year.  It's hard though when the choice is between suffering on the cold, windy, gloomy, icy roads or binging Ozarks in the comforts of your own home on a treadmill.

Now that I'm getting outside again, I'm awakening to the reality that while treadmill miles are a pretty damn close facsimile to running outside, they just aren't 100% the same.  Take yesterday, case and point.

The girls had some early basketball so I saved my run for the afternoon.  By then it was upper 40s and sunny.  I actually got to run in a shorts and t-shirt and felt great.  Almost perfect running weather really (minus the 15 mph wind which wasn't actually that bad since it was a warm day).

I was really excited to finally be out on a nice day and took off too fast.  Ran the first mile in 6:38.  I actually felt reasonably comfortable... like tempo effort.  Wasn't breathing too hard but my HR was fast approaching 160.  Kept pushing mile 2 and ran an even fast 6:33 mile... still relatively comfortable but HR was up to mid 160s.  By the 3rd mile I was starting to slow and pushed to hit 6:42.  After 3 miles I let up a bit but then picked it back up... I finished with a 7:04 split.  I kept going but kept slowing, 5th mile 7:14, 6th mile 7:31 HR still at 165.  At mile 6 I stopped and walked for about 15 seconds and tried to loosen up my left ITB and hip.  Nothing serious going on but there were definitely some muscles in my legs that were not used to working so hard. I walked a bit more at mile 6.5 and wound up with a 8:01 split for 7th mile.  Then rallied and ran a 7:08 for the last mile.

Final Stats:
8 miles
56:54
7:06 pace

Maybe I would have been able to run slightly faster if I didn't start off so hard.  Kind of sucked slowly dying (in all honesty I never felt like I was working too hard and my effort was consistent, I just kept slowing down and my legs felt like trash).

Got back on the road this morning for 5 easy miles at 8:22 pace.  Felt some general fatigue in the legs and hips especially but nothing alarming and the run went well.  It was 34 degrees but sunny and no wind so if felt pretty darn good.  

Right now I feel like I can run forever on the treadmill at low effort but I'm not used to the balancing and pounding of the road.   Looks like another spell of sucky weather coming... I might have to force myself out for at least one day during that time... really need to get my road legs back in order.   Got a 5K coming up in 19 days that I'm not totally optimistic about.  Would like to get an interval session in or two before then to get my legs ready for the pace but I'm not sure I'm up for it yet and also don't want to get hurt.  I think I'm mostly in pretty good shape right now though so maybe with a couple more weeks of work I'll surprise myself.  

DAY 45 mini-workout

 Yesterday I finally got outside.  4 miles on the treadmill then 5 outside.  I ran relatively easy but was still a little disappointed with the 8:07 pace.  Hopefully a week or two of consistently outside running will get me back in the groove.  Of course it's snowing and freezing again today so I'm still a week or two away from truly starting the transition back to outdoor running.  

This morning I felt fairly fatigued again.  I've actually felt pretty good the last few days but today the motivation was lacking. I wound up doing 7.02 miles at 7:46 pace.   Quite a bit of running was at 7:30 pace and I did 3 sets of 4 minutes at 7:30 pace with 6 degree incline.   This kicked my ass more than I would have liked.  It just plain hurt and not really in a good way.  Mostly in my gut, kind of like I was sick.  I did 3 minutes at 9.8 mph near the end of the workout and that felt a lot easier.  Maybe just too much easy treadmill running and I need to get used to higher intensity again or maybe too much easy treadmill running and I need some recovery.  

Need some rest tonight and an easy day tomorrow heading into the weekend.  At 33 miles so far this week with a goal to hit 60 again.

Day 43

 Medium effort run today as I begin to slightly increase the intensity.

9 treadmill miles at an average of 7:25 pace.  I started with a 2 mile warmup and then took the speed up to 7:30 pace and bumped it up by .1 mph every mile.

Cadence was in the low 180s for the whole run and I felt very efficient.  HR didn't ever get over 150 even as I got down close to 7 min miles.  When I really focus on my form I start to feel really efficient and my HR will drop several beats (i.e. 149 to 145 bpm for example).  The thing that I find strange is that I have to focus to hold that efficiency otherwise my form gets more sloppy and my HR will go up.  You'd think that if the running was more efficient then it would take less mental effort to maintain that form.  I suppose the more you practice it the more natural it becomes.  

It's starting to get light outside at a reasonable time... today I could have headed out at 6:25 am and been alright.  I might try to split a run between the treadmill and outdoors tomorrow morning.  I really am itching to get back on the road.  I'm starting to feel really fit so I need to plan my transition to the road so I don't over do it right away and get myself hurt.

6 straight weeks (42 days)

 6th straight week of running everyday.   Last week was a down week... I ran mostly easy and only 50.83 miles (down from 60 the week before).  This week, I'm going after 60 again and hopefully at least a little of that will be on the road.  

My plan right now is to keep the streak alive through my birthday, and possible February.  Then take a day or two off, slightly drop the mileage, transition of the roads, and up the intensity. 

For now I'm holding up but I'm also tired.  I haven't been doing my pushups and pull ups and lack the motivation.  My motivation still remains for the running part and I'm starting to feel really fit (besides the fatigue).  Winter is probably the biggest factor... once I can get some fresh warmer air and sun I think it'll all come together. 

39 days

 Another week, another work trip.  At one point I actually was resigned to the fact that I was going to have to lose my streak.  

Having to be at the mill at 6:30 am for safety training I didn't think I would have time to squeeze in a run.  being that I was already exhausted from driving and working long days I couldn't afford to sacrifice any more sleep in order to run.  I accepted the fact that I wasn't going to get my run in and after gettig over some initial disappointment I came to terms with it.  

The work day went from bad to worse and eventually I realized I wasn't going to be driving home that night but instead checking back into the hotel I had already vacated.  the good news was that I got off work at 5pm and it was 50 degrees in Kentucky!  So I got my run in afterwards... my 2nd outdoor run of the year.

I headed to General Butler State Park which has a huge elevation gain and ran 4 miles (2 miles out an back).  My watch measured 735 feet of gain... 9:30, 7:28, 9:09, 7:10 splits.  Pretty obvious which miles were uphill and which ones were down.  Tried to keep a steady effort.  Had to stop and walk on the hills a few times.  Great workout without working too hard though and good for the legs.  Last time I ran here was October 2020 and this run was almost 2 minutes faster and with less "relative effort" so that's promising.  

I woke up the next morning and did 5 on the hotel treadmill.  At first I was excited because the hotel had a Precor treadmill but I soon figured out that it was either on unlevel ground or someone didn't use all the bolts when putting it together.  The thing was rattley as fuck and I seriously thought I might break it.  I couldn't watch my iphone because it was shaking too much to hold the phone still on the sill.  I still got 5 miles in somehow.

Today, I'm back home and was able to get 8.25 in on my treadmill which was 50 times more comfortable.  It is good to be home and I'm now at 39 straight days of running.  

Of course it's back down to highs of 21 degrees for the weekend.  Hoping this will be the last super cold spell and then it will start to warm up enough that my soft ass will be able to convince myself to get out the door.

35 days

 I always thought I needed at least one day off a week to avoid injury and/or burnout.  Now 35 days in (aka 5 straight weeks) I've had a paradigm shift.  One really easy day (today that was 5.25 miles at 8:46 pace) has replaced my day off and I feel as fit as ever with no really injuries to speak of.

Last week I got my first 60 mile week in for the year.  Lots of easy miles but also some up-tempo as well, all on the treadmill.  My longest run was 11 miles, so it's all mostly steady mileage.  Only my 8th time eclipsing 60 miles for the week so not yet the norm but the fact that I can do it without a long run is promising... add in a long run and a mid-week medium long run and 60 seems pretty doable.

After building mileage the first 5 weeks of the year (35, 48, 51, 53, 60) I plan to step it back some this week.  

2^5 days of running

 My first year of serious running I worked my way up from 3 days of running a week (plus cross-training) to 4 days to 5 days.  I was at 5 days for a while as the distances started getting longer (3-5 miles became 5-8).  Last year it was mostly 6 days a week, but I'd still take that day off.  Now it's been 32 straight days and after fighting through some fatigue in the first couple weeks I'm handling it very well.  I know recovery is important but I can also see how running an extra day every week could definitely lead to more fitness.  

Another 9 miler today (3rd 9 miler of the week) at 7:55 average pace.  Not bad coming off yesterday's workout.  Quite a bit was at 7:41 pace.  It felt easy but wasn't quite recovery pace.  Probably would have run slower if it wasn't for time constraint so I'll try to go extra easy tomorrow.

Day 31: One full month of running

31 days... One full month of running, no matter the month.

Treadmill workout marked the occasion:

3 mile warmup, starting at 6.8 mph (8:49 pace) and working up to 8.3 mph (7:15 pace).

Then 2 miles at 9.8 mph (6:07 pace), .25 mile recovery at 8:49 pace, then another 1.5 miles at 6:07 pace. 

2.25 mile warm-down at 7 mph (8:34 pace),

Cadence was up to 190 during the up-tempo segments.  My cadence was only 180 when I ran a 10K at the same pace so the treadmill doesn't exactly match how I'd react running on the road.  I think the high turnover is probably good work and helps my overall form.

  

Day 30

 I made it an average month without a day off.  I can see how people get into these streaks.  After a certain point, there doesn't seem much reason to take a day off.   

7 miles easy today at 8:46 pace.  Shooting for a 60 mile week this week.  

Day 29

9 miles

1:07:00

7:26 average pace

Started at 6.8 mph and bumped up every .25 miles until I got to 9.0 mph.  Then bumped back down to 8.0 and held until the 9 mile point.

Solid effort didn't have to dig too deep.  Plan to work harder on Thursday but it's nice to mix it up and get some intensity in after all the super easy running I've been doing.  39 more days until my first 5K of the year. 

Still have only been outside once this year.  Snowstorm hitting tonight and then back to frigid conditions so that's not going to chance.  January and February so far have been a bitch!  20 degree highs and windy every damn day.  The few "warm", upper 20 and lower 30 days are never on the weekend.  Hopefully just a couple more weeks of this crap!