RnR: Week 4 Day 2

I have been extremely sleep deprived for the past week. I have been staying up all night 'til the wee hours of the morning working on a project that just seemed like its never going to get done. I realized during today's run just how much lack of sleep has affected my training. I have been feeling tired and sluggish because of it.

Even though I knew this run is going to be hard, I headed out there to get in tonight's scheduled 3.5 miles. I was actually thinking maybe I can make it to 4 but as the run progressed, I was getting more and more tired and more frustrated. My legs were so heavy like I have casts on them and just overall feeling weak and exhausted. It was one of those suckish run that I just had to bail out by mile 3. I did a total of 3.09 miles @ 31:21 minutes and splits at 10:23, 9:56 and 10:00.

Not getting enough sleep is seriously messing up with my mood, energy and endurance. Today's run just made it emphatically clear just how important  a good night's sleep is if I want to run and become a stronger runner.

from Pinterest

RnR: Week 2 Day 2

W2D2: I was in a serious emotional rut all weekend. I managed to pull myself together today, dragged myself to the gym and hooped on the treadmill.  I knew that running can help me feel better and pull me out of a rut.

The schedule for W2D2 is to do a 3 mile run. This run, although just a short 3 mile, seemed like one of the toughest run in recent memory. There was a point when I felt like quitting but I tried really hard to push it through and just continued to run. I toughed it out and made it to 3 miles plus an extra 1/2 mile warmup and 1/2 mile cooldown.

Here's the breakdown:

1/2 mile warmup @ 6:40
Mile 1 - 11:01
Mile 2 - 10:01
Mile 3 - 9:56
1/2 mile cool down @ 5:57

I was such in a funk before I ran but came out on the other side feeling so much better. The emotional anxiety is still there but at least it lifted my mood a little bit after the run. Thanks to endorphins! I wish I can bottle it up and use it whenever needed.

Wordspiration by Dan Cassaro for Poolga.

RnR: Week 1 Day 5

Today's schedule called for a 3 mile run + strength, and that's what I exactly did. I hit the gym earlier than I normally do so I will make it to the Harry Potter and Deathly Hollows - Part 2 showing at 7pm with the family.

Below is the breakdown of my run on the treadmill:
1/2 mile warm up @ 5:45
Mile 1 @ 10:04
Mile 2 @ 10:00
Mile 3 @ 10:27
1/2 mile cool down @ 7:01
Total of 4 miles @ 42:37

For strength training, I did my usual weight routine and did the following:
Chest press 30 lbs 5x 10 reps
Lat pull 50 lbs 5x 10 reps
Leg pull 40 lbs 5x 10 reps
Ab Crunch 40 lbs 5x 12 reps
Bicep Curl 20 lbs 2x 10 reps/ 1x @ 6 reps

I love following up my run at the gym with weight lifting. I believe that by combining cardio and weight training together that I have become a better, stronger runner.

RnR: Week 1 Day 2

W1D2 called for an easy 3 mile run but tweaked it a little bit today. There is a regular weekly Sports Basement group run on Tuesday nights which I decided to participate. I've been to a few Sunday morning group runs with Sports Basement but have never tried the Tuesday night schedule.

Since I went all the way to Sunnyvale to run, I figured I should put in some extra miles to what was called for from today's training schedule. I ran from the Sports Basement at Kern to Agnew Rd and back for a total of 5 miles. My mile splits which includes a few traffic light stops are as follows:

Mile 1: 11:42 min/mile
Mile 2: 9:49 min/mile
Mile 3: 9:51 min/mile
Mile 4: 10:16 min/mile
Mile 5: 10:31 min/mile

My 5 mile route

I was pleasantly surprised to see more runners on a Tuesday night compared to Sunday morning runs. There were probably more or less 2 dozen runners out there tonight with diverse backgrounds, pace and distance goals for the night. The group starts the run together and then you are free to run at your own pace after. There is no pressure to keep up with runners slower or faster than you or to stick with the group. After the run, there is an opportunity to socialize and enjoy the camaraderie with fellow runners. As an added bonus, Sports Basement gives out prizes depending on how many miles you have accumulated while joining in the group runs. I think one of the prizes is a tech shirt which is cool to have.

I was also supposed to meet up with a group of local runners which a Dailymile friend suggested I join in. Unfortunately, I misread the schedule emailed to me and missed them. It was a very good run nonetheless and will probably try to make it to Tuesday evening runs as often as I possibly can.