Cash - what happened?

I'd love to see the toe knitting video

Good pace for building, Dave

Ran 3 easy yesterday, like Perry (well, not easy like Perry's easy would be, but you get the idea).  Supposed to run a bit faster today, but we'll see (see above regarding tired legs).

This week starts the final acceptance test for the project we've been trying to sell off for quite a while now.  If anything, my hours are going to get crazier for a couple of weeks (hopefully only a couple of weeks).

Much cooler this morning.  My weather widget on my computer says 53, but sporttracks said the run was between 48-50.  It did feel that cool.

So I was able to run relatively fast, with 8.25 @ 8:04, including 10 striders.  Felt great!

 That's cool.  I still need to buy the first one.

Why is it called that?

Well, the short answer is because my name is Paul, not Lou.  But the real reason is because my daughter - when she was younger - couldn't say her "y"s right and they came out with an "l" sound.  So it was all "I love lou" and "Lou funny, Daddy."  Lots of times I'd laugh and say, "Who's this Lou guy anyway?  My name's not Lou!" and she thought that was hysterical.  Anyway, there's a story about that at the beginning of the book and again at the end.  The title just seemed obvious given the background.

By the way, good running lately.  Love these cooler temps.  I did just over 5.5 miles this morning when it was 59F.  

Erika,

Wow, that is one really fast 21 miles.

 

Checkin, Been Busy, Been Running Easy. The worry wart in me is in full control right now. Lots of little random taper pains freaking me out. Hamstring better shut-up because one run I could feel it, but not really pain either. I've been stretching, foam rolling, but not wanting to over stretch anything too. Then when one little thing hurts I freak that I did too much. Anxiously awaiting weather forecasts, humid here (and in Duluth) this week.

 

One decesion to be made is to wear the compression socks. My graston doc was shocked to see how good my lower legs were after 23 miles with compression socks, being seeing him every 2-3 weeks just for follow up. He wants me to wear for marathon. Probably won't decide until I get to the starting line.

Can you wear them with the red and white stripes sort of like Pippi Longstockings?  And take pictures?

No reason.  Just askin .

 

Can you wear them with the red and white stripes sort of like Pippi Longstockings?  And take pictures?

 

No reason.  Just askin .

The options are black or white socks depending on other outfit choices. Can't decide if I want the Green Club Gear Outfit or the white and blue under armour tank that makes my chest disappear but should be able to hold several cups of ice in the bra. And no I'm taking pictures of that either.

 And no I'm taking pictures of that either.

Anyway, little fiver this morning at recovery pace

It was spectactular, I have to admit.

I took yesterday off with some REALLY sore legs.  That's probably a good thing since not running had left me with fresh legs but at least it means I'm getting back to training.

Heading out in a half hour for 4 somewhat rainy miles.  I'm looking forward to it.

Paul, your base has to be really solid now and it looks like you're adding tempo into the mix.  What kind of pace are you running your tempo miles at?  How does it feel?

 Paul, your base has to be really solid now and it looks like you're adding tempo into the mix.  What kind of pace are you running your tempo miles at?  How does it feel?

Dave - I'm getting pretty comfortable running 35 mpw, and without a plan telling me what to run, at that.  Feels like I've got a decent idea what to do right now, and that's nice.  

My tempo pace varies and let me explain what i mean, cuz if I'm doing something that could injure me, please give me feedback.  You guys know so much more than I do.  Some runs are specifically tempo runs - you know, the basic 10 minute warm up, 20-30 minute tempo, and 10 minute cooldown.  On those runs, my tempo pace is around 8:15-8:45, although a couple weeks ago I had a mile at 7:25.  But I normally shoot to run those tempos a little slower than a 5k pace (which for me would be in the 7:45-8:10 range).

Today was the first time I threw the tempo into the middle of a longish run, and I only did 3 miles.  2 were in the middle and one was at the end.  I didn't really have a "goal" pace, but thought I'd work on the stride, breathing, trying to teach my body how to hold a faster pace without feeling like I was going to die.  Those miles ended up being closer to HM pace, so they were 9:03, 8:50, and 9:03 for that mile at the end of the long run.

As far as how I feel, well, that varies a lot by the obvious things like heat, humidity, sleep, etc.  But for the most part I'd say I love the way I feel during the tempo portions.  I like them a lot more than intervals, for sure.  When I ran that 7:25 the other day, I was surprised because I wasn't trying to watch my pace, but was just trying to run it by feel and I felt awesome.  I was thrilled by that.

The payoff, it seems, for this bigger base I'm building is that when I look at a page of my workout log now, I see a lot more 9s and 10s in the pace column whereas I used to see 10s and 11s.  Someday I hope to join the rest of you all in the 8s and 9s.

That's was way too long of an answer.  I guess I could have just said most tempos are between 8:20-8:50 and been done with it, but I really value the input from the group.