ROTD Run Of The Day : post yours

[RRGGMM]

Today was an easy 10-mile trail run with 650 feet of elevation gain. Yesterday's five-mile run was also an easy pace. Tomorrow is an off day, and then Tuesday will be tempo, speed work, or fartleck, depending on how I feel.

@MrSpeedy, excellent work on your 5k! I'd have to dig deep to try and run 3.1 miles in 25 minutes, and I don't know if I could get there.

I am in the middle of training, which is always an interesting place to be. Following a plan, I have found good and bad days, and sticking to the plan and grinding through can be challenging. Most of the time, I feel like I suck, and occasionally I'll surprise myself. Usually, I am too focused on trying to get faster, which has happened after several months of consistent running, but never fast enough to satisfy me. But I feel good, my health is good, and having a goal is fun. Sort-of. I've done a lot of training, so I am familiar with the ebb and flow, but running is f'n hard!

 

[MrSpeedy]

Today was an easy 10-mile trail run with 650 feet of elevation gain. Yesterday's five-mile run was also an easy pace. Tomorrow is an off day, and then Tuesday will be tempo, speed work, or fartleck, depending on how I feel.

@MrSpeedy, excellent work on your 5k! I'd have to dig deep to try and run 3.1 miles in 25 minutes, and I don't know if I could get there.

I am in the middle of training, which is always an interesting place to be. Following a plan, I have found good and bad days, and sticking to the plan and grinding through can be challenging. Most of the time, I feel like I suck, and occasionally I'll surprise myself. Usually, I am too focused on trying to get faster, which has happened after several months of consistent running, but never fast enough to satisfy me. But I feel good, my health is good, and having a goal is fun. Sort-of. I've done a lot of training, so I am familiar with the ebb and flow, but running is f'n hard!

You're lucky to be in an area where there are lots of great trails! All my trails are sandy and buggy. I was in Sisters this past summer and enjoyed the area.

I know I could be faster for a 5K but that's not my focus right now. For the summer I'm looking to maintain or slightly gain running fitness as a head towards starting my training cycle in late summer/early fall for my December trail 19 mile race. I figure 3 runs per week with some cross-training (swimming, lifting) plus any outdoor activities I do, such as kayaking.

 

[RRGGMM]

You're lucky to be in an area where there are lots of great trails! All my trails are sandy and buggy. I was in Sisters this past summer and enjoyed the area.

I know I could be faster for a 5K but that's not my focus right now. For the summer I'm looking to maintain or slightly gain running fitness as a head towards starting my training cycle in late summer/early fall for my December trail 19 mile race. I figure 3 runs per week with some cross-training (swimming, lifting) plus any outdoor activities I do, such as kayaking.

I have toyed around with the idea of a marathon, but I don't want to run that far—at least not from where my fitness is today. A 19-mile trail run sounds huge! Congratulations on that goal.

Today was a "speed work" day, in quotations, because I am anything but fast. With @MrSpeedy in mind, I decided to run a 5k as fast as possible after warming up. My previous fastest 5k was 28:10, but that wasn't an attempt at a personal best, just part of a longer tempo run. Today, I ran my 5k at 26:27, and it hurt! Of course, I went out too hard and ran the first mile at 8:07, a pace I soon realized I could not maintain. Regarding training, the shorter, harder effort will fit well with where I am in this cycle, so there is no harm.

Central Oregon has some nice trail options in the trees that provide shade but can also get pretty dusty.

Most of my competitive background was in Alpine Skiing and Mountain Biking, the latter of which was in the ultra-endurance realm for quite a while. Suffering on a bike differs from running, and I am still pretty new to this. When I am not running, I have big ideas, but once I start a workout, reality sets in, and I wonder what I was thinking. It has been fun to gain fitness, but I tend to always reach for nearly unattainable goals, and the suffering involved becomes a burden. Even now, I have a love-hate opinion about the half-marathons I am signed up for.

 

[MrSpeedy]

I have toyed around with the idea of a marathon, but I don't want to run that far—at least not from where my fitness is today. A 19-mile trail run sounds huge! Congratulations on that goal.

Today was a "speed work" day, in quotations, because I am anything but fast. With @MrSpeedy in mind, I decided to run a 5k as fast as possible after warming up. My previous fastest 5k was 28:10, but that wasn't an attempt at a personal best, just part of a longer tempo run. Today, I ran my 5k at 26:27, and it hurt! Of course, I went out too hard and ran the first mile at 8:07, a pace I soon realized I could not maintain. Regarding training, the shorter, harder effort will fit well with where I am in this cycle, so there is no harm.

Central Oregon has some nice trail options in the trees that provide shade but can also get pretty dusty.

Most of my competitive background was in Alpine Skiing and Mountain Biking, the latter of which was in the ultra-endurance realm for quite a while. Suffering on a bike differs from running, and I am still pretty new to this. When I am not running, I have big ideas, but once I start a workout, reality sets in, and I wonder what I was thinking. It has been fun to gain fitness, but I tend to always reach for nearly unattainable goals, and the suffering involved becomes a burden. Even now, I have a love-hate opinion about the half-marathons I am signed up for.

Wow - great job on that 5K! That's a solid effort. I regard the half-marathon as about the perfect distance. It requires good endurance but without sacrificing speed. You can train for one without it taking over your life - unlike a marathon.

 

[MrSpeedy]

I ran 3 miles on Tuesday, and 1.5 miles (with my track team) on Wednesday. We had a meet on Thursday and I didn't run yesterday. Planning to go out for a run later today, and likely a "long" run tomorrow morning.

At the track meet, the girls distance runners I coach did amazing! They finished 1-2-3 in the 1600, so they all qualified for the city championship on Monday. One of my 800 runners also qualified. None of the boys qualified - they had very stiff competition - but a bunch of them ran personal bests in both the 1600 and 800.