Monday, January 28, 2008

The Weekend - lRunning and Otherwise

Otherwise first: Went to BW to witness another concert by Bob Mayerovich with the Elysium trio. Sunday went to the builders home improvement show with Kathy and Mike. Learned a lot about kitchen countertops. I'm also having big time problems with my new printer - so I bought another one!

Runningwise I did 3 on the mill and 15 on the towpath Saturday. For some reason I get really beat up towards the end of these runs - don't know why. Should have been easy on me with the snow on the towpath and the slow pace. Yesterday I did a really really lousy fast 20 on the mill. Way too much holding on and stopping. Not good at all. Today I ran slow (8:45 pace) but steady for 10 miles - better than expected.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

In and Out

I ran out in the cold for 7 at a 9+ pace. That cold (13F with sub-zero wind chill) seemed to zap my strength, but I was tired anyway. So I followed up with 3 on the mill in 22 minutes. I was still tired, but it went well.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Sudden Snow

I weighed myself for the first time in quite a while: 161. Not so good. Debbie and I are back on the ww diet, so I've got high hopes.

Yesterday I did 10 very tired miles on the mill. Many stops for various reasons. I was hoping today would be better.

It wasn't - or if it was, it wasn't by much. I did the Substation 11 mile route, fighting the wind and cold. I was pretty steady at 8 1/2 pace. At mile 8 I ran into a sudden snowstorm. I guess you'd call it a squall. That made it challenging, but at least I was running with the wind at that point. The other thing that made it challenging was the %$# traffic. I gotta find other places to go.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

long dreadmill run

I managed a pretty good long dreadmill run today: 20 in 2:25, with the last 5 at MP. This was especially good after yesterday's long trip. It's cold out - I may be on the mill for a while.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Running in Budapest

Back to Budapest. This is my third time here. I thoroughly enjoyed the other two. I don't see why I won't do so again. One difference: the weather is pretty durn cold and yuchy out there - temps around freezing most of the time, and a bit of ice and snow around. Pretty gloomy too.

01/10/08 - The ice was a factor in today's run. I did the run that I've done many times before: over to Margarite Island, around twice, and back. By travelling on the Buda side, and by going around the longest way, it's about 12 miles. I confirmed that with my GPS today. I started slow (extremely slow), especially over the icy and slushy spots, especially on the way there. The tartan turf on the island's path was mostly clear, but there were some bad spots on the west side. I got moving faster during the 2nd time around. Even so, this was a PW at 1:49 - just over 9 minutes per mile. I'd better get moving better.

01/11/08 - The ice was worse today. I did the same run again, but the ice on the route to the island was treacherous this time. Once I got there, however, things were a bit better than yesterday. I did the usual 2 loops - 29 and 27.5 minutes, and then headed home for a total of 1:44.5. Slightly better than yesterday, but still slow.

01/12/08 - I did the same route for the third day in a row, and this one was by far the best yet. It was warmer (mid-30s) but there was still that black ice on the way over. The path on the island was better though. It broke down this way: 24 to the island, then loops of 27, 26.5, 23 back. 1:40 altogether. I finally reached 8 mpm whilst on the island - I was checking my time by the km markings.

01/13/08 - When I’m in a new place, I usually explore a great deal by running, often returning to interesting areas later to explore more fully. I was clued into the good place to run in Budapest (Margaret Island) right from the start, and I’ve hardly run anywhere else. It’s great for running, and the other areas pale by comparison. But on low-traffic Sunday I decided to explore more, and I managed to see some areas that were new to me. The most important of these is Obudai Island. It’s north of Margaret Island, and tougher to get to. Much of it was deserted, and there was ice on the paths and even the roads. I turned back but then found a second bridge onto the island and found a small village at that part. I hadn’t heard of this island until the previous day, but I think it will be more important to Budapest in the future as it will be developed much more. 70% will be left as a park however. Most of this run was excrutiatingly slow. I came back through Margaret Island and picked it up a bit for those last 3. 13 in 2:06. Felt like about 19. Ouch.

01/14/08 - Back to Margaret Island. Back to normal. In fact, this was the best run yet: 96 minutes. I achieved eightness. It wasn't easy - this time the frost was slippery. And once again I started on the slow side. The interesting thing is that I can keep doing this without a day of rest. I'll need one one of these days, but I'll keep going whilst I can.

01/15/08 - As noted, with that soft surface on the island, I don't seem to have any trouble with recovery. I've been able to run every day, and hope to continue. I've also been able to continue to get faster each day; always a good thing. It's bound to get tougher though. Today was especially good. I got the the island fast, and found the sub-8 minute pace on the first lap especially easy, so I thought I'd attempt a tempo for the 2ns one. It's been a long time since I've done an outdoor tempo. There's even been some failures. But this was a gem: 3 miles in 20 flat. 21 to the island, loops of 26, 23.5, 22.5 back. 93 minutes altogether.

01/16/08 - How long can this go on? I somehow managed to get faster still. This was in spite of being tired and running slightly slower (20:17) for the tempo and the early miles. I said slower, but it wasn't that much slower. The last part was stronger than yesterday, and that made the difference. 92 minutes.

01/17/08 - Well I did it. I wondered if it was possible to improve further. And it wasn't easy. I got to the island in 21.5 minutes and immediately started at tempo pace. For the previous two runs, I had waited until the 2nd loop. It was tough and I had some doubts, but I did just manage to do the tempo - 3 in 20:33. I finished that loop in 24, and then began another tempo - this time a bit faster in 20:17. I completed that lap in 23.5 and the trip home in 21.5. The result was 90:40, a PR for the course - no small feat.

01/18/08 - This would be my last run for this trip - I only wanted to do 9, and so that's what I wound up with. This time I stayed in Pest until the far bridge, and started on the island there. I stopped to place my hands on what I think may be the "lucky tree" to make a wish. And then I headed home. 9 slow ones - in 82. My next run should be from home.

Monday, January 07, 2008

Home Runs

My plans had been to travel directly to Hungary from Florida. My plans changed. Now I'll have a couple days at home before heading out again.

On Monday, I managed to get another long run in - loops of 11, 6 and 3. The weather was unseasonably warm - mid 50s. Actually, it was warmer than several of my Florida runs. And I ran well. Very well - my best long run in quite a while. Strong and steady the whole way. My splits fot the above loops were: 92.5, 50.5 and 25 for an overall time of 2:48. Not bad.

I didn't sleep well on Monday night - the late OSU game didn't help. So I stuck to the mill for the first run. At least I made it a speed workout - 8 x 1200 @ 4:44 @ 0% elevation. I did really well for the first half of the run, but then had to hold on more and more. Later in the morning I went out for another run - 3 on the Presidents streets at 8 minute pace. Unbelievable weather - it's been in the 60s!

Now I'm about ready to go.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Running on Marco Island

1/1/08 – I was one of the first people out on the streets of Marco Island. I hadn’t even stayed up till midnight, so when I awoke at 5am, I felt fine. I did a whole lot of exploring on the island, eventually heading over the bridge at the western end. Altogether I did 21 miles on (and off) the island in 3:03. Although it was very warm (mid 70s) I was very strong and steady till the end. A very good start to the year.

1/2/08 – This time I decided to run on the beach. It was 30 degrees colder (mid 40s) and the wind was wicked. But it was clear, and the sunrise was beautiful. I ran to the south end of the beach, for 3+, then ran to the desolate north end, turning at about 8. Altogether I did 11 in 100 minutes, which isn’t bad for beach running whilst getting sand-blasted. And whilst carrying a heavy coconut for the last 2.

1/4/08 - Yesterday saw record low temps and cold winds, so I took it off. Today I did 11 in 96 minutes, mostly around the south end of the island. I had started slow - with an 11 minute mile on the beach. But I got going fairly nicely on those quiet, rich streets. It's finally beginning to warm up again. Not much yet, but it's getting there.

1/5/08 - It was only a bit warmer, and still windy.. I needed 16 to get 70 for the week, and I managed to do 17. The first 11 were on the roads, exploring the area to the north, including access to tigertail beach and some restaurants on bald eagle. Those were slow - I just couldn't get moving at all. Only about 9+ minute per mile pace. Then I hit the beach for the last 6, and surprise - they were faster! Don't know how that happened, but it is a good beach for running. Those averaged about 8.5 minutes.