Monday, January 30 – 50 minutes easy
After two weeks taking it easy, I could tell that I need to rebuild hill stamina. I really enjoyed the run despite the hills feeling more difficult than usual.

Tuesday, January 31 – 50 minutes easy
Effort wise, I expected a much slower pace than I ended up with. That happened, perhaps, because my mind fixated on an odd tight feeling in my inner thigh close to my knee. This didn’t hurt or change my stride so I kept going.

Wednesday, February 1 – 40 minute progression run
I cut down the time to fit in the run between the faculty meeting I forgot about and life group, which I did not end up going to. I wondered how that inner thigh would fee. (I still have not been able to figure out which muscle it is.) I told myself that I would stop if it gave me problems. Even though I could feel it, it did not interfere. It did make the effort feel a little more difficult. The pace felt doable.

Thursday, February 2 – streak mile
I don’t know what I did for sure but the stretching and foam rolling most likely played a role in that weird tightness disappearing almost completely. The mile itself felt pretty good.

Friday, February 3 – 50 minutes easy
I ended up running on the treadmill after running some errands. I felt really good throughout all the miles and thankful that the weird tightness in my right inner thigh that cropped up unexpectedly on Tuesday did not linger.

Saturday, February 4 – 90 minutes long
Mom and I started later in the afternoon because she had to work in the morning. Thankfully, this gave time for the weather to warm up a little. (I prefer colder weather for my runs but since it comes around so infrequently, I don’t own the proper gear.) We also did something new and ran according to the time, 90 minutes, rather than mileage. I did not calculate our turn around with the same accuracy I can get when we do it by miles so we did end up having a slightly longer than planned cool down walk. Although I could have gotten away with my normal shorts, I wore my new capris, new capris that I probably won’t end up getting as much use out of them as I hoped. Unfortunately, it appears that my waist and my butt/thighs did not communicate with each other when it comes to sizing meaning the pair that I have pulls down with each stride because it fits around my thighs but is too loose around my waist. I rolled it up above my knees and had no further problems. Fitness-wise, my legs felt strong and fit. I really enjoyed the run.

Sunday, February 5 – streak mile
Nothing extraordinary either way about this run. Got it done.

Monday, February 6 – 60 minutes easy
The plan had 70-90 minutes but based on my daily schedule as well as the mileage I ran last week, that did not make sense. I also chose to run inside on the treadmill for no specific reason other than the fact that I didn’t feel like it. This run felt really good. I felt strong. Nothing felt tight or off-balanced. When I reflect, I feel incredibly grateful that all the work I have put in over the past few weeks has brought back a decent level of fitness.

Tuesday, February 7 – 50 minutes easy
I thought about trying to find a “special” place to run my thousandth day but ended up just running from the house. I also after the first mile or so, felt a little more tired than I expected. Around mile 3, I even considered cutting down to 40 minutes. However, after I made a turn and settled back into the pace, I knew I could do it, so I did.

Wednesday, February 8 – streak mile
I had already planned to cut the time down a little but then I started running and my legs reminded me that strength training was leg day yesterday so I switched the runs.

Thursday, February 9 – 50 minute progression
While my legs still felt sore, switching the run made a big difference. It took a little while, but only a little while, to warm up and once I did I felt great. I even felt good during the last ten minutes when I ramped up the pace even when I accidentally hit the emergency stop button with 2 minutes remaining. (Oh, I ran this one on the treadmill, by the way.)

Friday, February 10 – 50 minutes easy
For no reason other than I wanted to, I ran inside on the treadmill. I wore my new shoes that I had just picked up, Guides instead of Rides. I hadn’t planned to switch models but the worker brought out the Guides by mistake. I had tried them on to make sure I had enough room in the toe box. They felt good and they help with pronating aka when your knee comes in, something that I have worked on for a while so I went ahead and purchased them. While on the run, I could feel my glutes working harder. Although that may be solely psychological, I’ll take it. Overall, I felt really good through the whole run.

Saturday, February 11 – GVRR 10 Miler
See race recap.

Sunday, February 12 – streak mile
Nice and easy. Legs felt pretty good.

Monday, February 13 – 70 minutes easy
I don’t know why I don’t feel motivated to run outside but I decided ot run on the treadmill. I felt really solid throughout the entire 70 minutes. The only negative came from that fact that I have a small blister now on the outside of my right big toe. I could feel the rubbing as I ran. I wonder if it happened because I went up a half size to avoid losing my big toe nails and had too much room. Oy vey.

Tuesday, February 14 – 50 minutes easy
I ended up heading directly to Mom and Ellis’ and running on the hills. When I started, I definitely questioned my choice. I also felt a little weird pinch in my inner upper glute. (It’s hard to explain.) Thankfully, after I ran for about ten minutes. I did not feel it any more. I also, after a few miles, finally felt warmed up and actually started to run a little faster.

Wednesday, February 15 – streak mile
Even though switching the days for the streak mile and speedwork means that my final surge app will show red because I did not run the workout, I think that this witch makes the most sense for my schedule since I have strength training on Tuesday as well as life group (usually) on Wednesday. I felt good through the single mile.

Thursday, February 16 – progression run
I planned on the treadmill for this since the hills make the faster pace for the end more difficult. Eventually, I should challenge myself on the hills, but not today. For no reason other than mental stamina, I considered cutting ten then five minutes off my plan but then I planned to not check the time until a particular video finished. I felt so good throughout and really capable for the faster finish.

Friday, February 17 – 50 minutes easy
I finally convinced myself to run outside and really enjoyed it. The temps definitely aided in that enjoyment. I also felt physically strong which aided in the slightly faster pace at the easy effort level. The only thing that bugged me is the sizing issues on my shoes. After the marathon and other long run issues for the toe nails on my big toes, I thought perhaps that going up a size would aid in preventing that. However, although the shoe does not slide around, the right shoe feels loser. Eventually, I’ll figure that out, hopefully.

Saturday, February 18 – 90 minutes
I stayed over at Mom and Ellis’ Friday night since we planned to celebrate Grandpa’s 95th(!) birthday. We had originally thought of going over to Greer City Park but once in the car Mom asked if I just wanted to run in the subdivision. I burst out laughing because I had had a similar thought a little earlier. Thus, we ended up in the rather hilly subdivision for three, three mile loops. i noticed almost immediately that I felt so much better than when I ran these hills on Tuesday. Most likely I felt better for two primary reasons. One, we were running first thing in the morning rather than after work. Two, we had much cooler and more enjoyable temps. I felt good through the entire run and probably could have done the full 100 minutes rather than just 90 but my mind preferred the idea of three complete loops rather than 3 and the start of another.

Sunday, February 19 – streak mile
I felt absolutely fantastic through this whole mile and ready to start the next week of training.

Monday, February 20 – 50 minutes easy
As soon as I started, I wished that I had chosen a sleeveless shirt because 50 degrees felt a lot warmer than I expected. Other than that, I felt pretty good throughout, really good actually. It got a little more difficult when I made the turn thanks to some pretty significant wind. Even that didn’t make the run unpleasant or unenjoyable.

Tuesday, February 21 – 45 minutes easy
I wondered which experience I would get with this run, the tough hills from last Tuesday or the much more manageable hills from Saturday. (I should state that they’re the same hills obviously. The difference comes from how my body responds to them.) I got something in between those two experiences verging closer ot the more manageable effort. I prepped for the warmer weather (not pleased to see that a weird weather pattern might bring 90 degree temps … in February) with a sleeveless shirt and felt good. After my first walk break at mile 2, I made a little bit of an effort to pick up the pace so that the overall pace would fall within the range on my training plan. I more than likely will feel the effort, combined with the strength training completed after the run, tomorrow. Looking forward to it.

Wednesday, February 22 – streak mile
My body felt tired today. I had a slow morning and then when I started the run, I talked myself out of also riding on the stationary bike to take it easy and make this a true rest day.

Thursday, February 23 – 45 minutes easy
Perhaps the ab work I did during strength training Tuesday make my lower back muscles sore. It’s not the same as before, just sore and annoying. It didn’t interfere with the run thankfully. Another thing I do not like? The 75 degree temps thank to that rather weird weather pattern going on throughout the country. (Of course, I would much prefer the snow in other areas.) The effort felt like I was running a lot more slowly than I actually was which made me feel good.

Friday, February 24 – 40 minutes easy
I ended up on the treadmill because not only did the weather app predict rain that would start halfway through my run but the sky also confirmed that prediction by looking slightly dark and ominous. Did the rain actually come? Nope. The treadmill ended up testing my mental stamina. I did not feel like running much and ended up pausing after two miles. I actually went and grabbed a few books for my March TBR before getting back on the treadmill. After i restarted, I contemplated going the full planned 55 minutes rather than cutting down to 40. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that running when tired (which I have been pretty much the whole week) would be counter productive so I ended the run at 40 minutes.

Saturday, February 25 – 105 minutes long run
We planned our long run around getting to the finish line of the Greenville Half around the time a coworker of Mom’s should finish. Since we could run this race because somehow it sold out and hand a hundreds long wait list, we decided to torture ourselves support some friends. We ran four miles to get downtown and to the trail where we ran another mile on the trail going opposite of the racers before turning around. Of course my competitive juices started flowing since the racers at that point were on track for sub 1:40 finish times. Thus, while I waited while Mom took a pit stop, I searched for and found a half marathon for next month. We ran our next mile at a much faster pace than if we had not had all this company. Once we got back to the point where we planned to wait, we had a little bit of time. Both of us must have gotten a bit of extra motivation because when we headed back we chose to run up our least favorite hill rather than walk.

Sunday, February 26 – streak mile
I felt really good throughout this mile and even ran a little faster than I normally do.

Monday, February 27 – 20 minutes warm up, 6 x 2 minutes @ 5k effort, 1 minute recovery, 20 minutes cool down
I planned initially to drive over to the same park where i ran the Resolution Run back in December so I could get the run in before an education department meeting (no need for details about that here). Unfortunately, rain came so I headed home which also meant that I did not have enough time to get the run in and get out to the meeting.
As for the actual run, the warm up felt good, a little more challenging than I expected, so it made me a little more nervous about the 5k pace. In the first interval, I felt comfortable with the pace, challenged a little but i felt like I could do it. Each interval felt increasingly difficult, so difficult that I had to pause before my recovery walk before eventually getting it done. I’m glad I stuck it out.

Tuesday, February 28 – 30 minutes easy
This run got colored by frustration with the journey out to Mom and Ellis’. An accident at an intersection on the way set me back 20 minutes, yeah. Then it seemed like I encountered every other possible delay. By the time I got started on this run, it made a lot more sense to run only 30 minutes so that I could get strength training in as well. Now to the run itself. I did not like the hills, of course, but the effort this week felt much better than a couple weeks ago. As i got warmed up, I felt even better and know I could have gotten those other 20 minutes easy if I’d had the time.

Wednesday, March 1 – streak mile
When I started this mile, I could definitely fell sore soreness from strength training yesterday which I love. The mile itself went by quickly as usual, nothing else out of the ordinary.

Thursday, March 2 – 50 minutes easy
Originally, I had speedwork with hills on the plan. When I started, I immediately considered adapting the run somehow. I tried to combat those thoughts but then a massive side stitch developed which prompted me to stop and try to massage it out. I thought I got it so I started running again but needed to stop again two miles later. In addition to that, my legs still felt the work from Tuesday’s strength training. Thus, when I started again, I decided to switch the workouts for Thursday and Friday. That definitely felt like the right decision.

Friday, March 3 – 20 minutes warm up, 5 x hills 60 seconds, 20 minutes cool down
Since I ended up running this on the treadmill, I likely took too much time on the “downhill” as I had to approximate how long my recovery intervals should last based on the artificial hills. I felt really tired by that point in the week so I’m not really sure how effective this run was.

Saturday, March 4 – 95 minutes long run
Because of Mom’s schedule, we started this run close to one in the afternoon which meant that thanks to weather that has decided to skip winter or any gradual transition into spring, the run felt like an early summer run. When my legs felt rather tired through the first mile or so, I knew two things. One, my body finds warmer temp running more difficult and two, the two speedwork sessions I completed this week took a little bit of a toll, as they should.
After a few miles and a return to the trail, I did rethink the decision to cut the run a little short. In the end, it worked out that we finished our run at 95 minutes, only 10 minutes shorter than originally planned but still within the range prescribed by the plan. Although I feel satisfied with the run, I want to work on bringing the pace down.

Sunday, March 5 – streak mile
I felt great and wanted more which is all I can ask for in a streak mile.

Monday, March 6 – 20 minutes warm up, 5 x 3 minutes at 10k effort with 2 minutes recovery, 20 minutes cool down
I realized when looking up the pace I needed to aim for on the intervals that I somehow really misread my 5k pace and ran that way too fast in last week’s sessions. Oops. When I started running, I was surprised with how good, how strong I felt during the first portion. It felt like all the hard work so far has come together and paid off. The faster intervals felt incredibly doable, challenging but not way too fast like I might fall off the treadmill. It felt really good to get through this run and still feel strong at the end of it.

Tuesday, March 7 – 50 minutes easy
Once again, I felt really strong/fit on this run. I still did not enjoy the hills but I felt much stronger than I expected. I still did not enjoy the hills but I felt much stronger than expected. I did have to make a pit stop a little under halfway through and afterwards felt even better.

Wednesday, March 8 – streak mile
My legs definitely felt the work from the previous two days which I appreciated.

Thursday, March 9 – 20 minute war m up, 8 x hills @ 5k pace, 20 minutes cool down
When I started the run, I could definitely feel the work I’ve put in so far this week. I didn’t doubt my ability to complete the intervals, especially since I figured out the correct pace for the 5k aka not way too fast. The intervals themselves went really well with the exception of one interval when I forgo tot put the incline back up.

Friday, March 10 – 50 minutes easy
I had to cram this run in as soon as school ended so that I could finish with enough time to get home and change before we went out to eat with family. Because of the time crunch, I did not end up writing on the day of the run so my memories are a bit fuzzy. I do remember that this route has significant hills, making it not my favorite and definitely a challenging route. The run ended up surprising me with how relatively fast my pace was compared to how the hills made me feel. I always love that.

Saturday, March 11 – 100 minutes long run
In an effort to bring our long run pace within the suggested range on the plan, I suggested that we walk every other mile instead of each mile. This ended up working really well! We managed to keep the overall pace right around 10 minutes per mile. When we got to the last walk break, I calculated that if we picked up the pace just a little bit for that mile, we could manage a sub 10 pace. Mom eagerly agreed so pick up the pace we did and first accomplished when we finished.

Sunday, March 12 – streak mile
For some reason, a reason that thankfully did not last, I did not really feel all that great so I got the mile down without any walk after. My legs felt good which I’m thankful for.