In good form

My running is going well. The last two days have been good. Yesterday, Friday, I ran 45 minutes (my longest to date for this session) out the airport road to eastlake (19 minutes), around the driving range and soccer fields (7 minutes) and back home (18 minutes). 4.7 miles.

Today, I felt wonderful. I got up and felt light and strong. So this afternoon, on a terribly humid aftgernoon, I drove to the track and ran 12 laps in lane 8. 2 laps warmup, then 2 laps on (about 8:20 pace) and 2 laps easy (9:20 pace). It was 30 plus minutes. 3.4 miles. Then three 100-meter strides.

I've just been doing a good job of building up to this, not missing any days and running well.
I believe I am about at 40-42 VDOT (about 24 minutes for 5K). I want to continue to run consistently and lose some more weight and get down in the 22s for 5K this summer.

Good run with kids

Taylor and Kara joined me tonight on the Columbus City loop. We were cooking pretty well -- a little bit beyond my typical run. But I hung in there. On the way back, we ran through the cemetery hoping to get a drink (water fountain not on). We stretched, then made it back to the school. I ran two laps on the track after I got back (the last lap in 2:02) for about a 3.5-mile run in 30:39. I think I was 8:20 or so on the loop. Good run, good to get out of my comfort zone a little.

Wednesday, I'm going to try a 40-minute run. Easy ...

total for week 3.5

Intense Saturday run

This morning I ran 2 laps of Eastlake to warm up, then I ran three 3-minute uptempo runs (with about a 1-minute rest) on the driving range. Then an 8-minute cooldown for 30 minutes.

It was hard, but it gives me confidence I can improve a lot.

3 months to get ready for the Watermelon run.

-- Mostly distance this month -- get it up to about a 50-55 minute run.

-- At least one anarobic threshold run a week June 20-July 20.

-- At least one interval workout a week from July 20-Aug. 20.

Solid running

Tonight, I biked to Eastlake -- 10 minutes. Then I ran an easy park loop for warmup -- 6 minutes -- and another steady loop. 12 minutes.

Then I tackled a solid 8-minute run on the Frisbee golf trails. I did one full loop in 4:19 and almost made another full loop. Very strong. I was not completely dead, but it was a nice hard threshold-type run.

Then I did 12 more minutes, four laps of the nice soccer field and back down to where my bike was parked.

• Sunday, 38 minutes. Everything was fine -- ran to Eastlake and ran a loop, then back on the trail and around the high school. That was about 35 minutes. Then ran 11/2 minutes up the Linden Road hill and back. I really hit the hills strongly. I think these hills are getting me into shape.



• Last Friday, on a real cold and windy day, 30 minutes. Just got through it.

Probably about 14 miles for the week.

On a pretty good roll

Today, I warmed up on the Columbus track, then joined the 4x800 girls for a run downtown and back. That was very nice. I was at the 25-minute mark when I got back to the school. I finished my run with two laps on the track. The first one, I just decided to run it a little harder and did it in 1:52 (7:28 pace), and the last one I jogged as a cooldown. A 32:30 run.

Monday morning was outstanding, too. I got up, ran 2.4 miles down to Hardee's and back, then up the Linden Drive Hill past the little shelter and pond and then back home. 35 minutes.

Almost 7 miles so far this week.

A couple of tough days

Yesterday, I set out to do a 38-minute long run as I up my long runs by 10% each week. I ran the marshy trail of Eastlake and then set out on the airport road. I got down the road fine, but coming back was hard. It was about 80 degrees and I hadn't drunk enough water. Plus, I had mowed the yard before I ran. So I was parched and very tired. I ran part of the way and walked part of the way. I managed to accumulate 30 minutes, which was fine.

On Thursday, it was a 24:45 run around the bike trail around the high school. I ran in the morning and it was a little rough, but I made it fine.

Morning run

It was cold yesterday morning, about 30 degrees, but I got out and made it 30 minutes before school. Up to Eastlake, two laps on the road in 5:40 each, and home in about 9 minutes. It was a good run. I felt loose and fast.