Building up the miles

Back to school time!   Orientation was this morning at my university so I had to get up extra early to do my long run.  So a little after 5 AM I was on the road.  Not a bad time to run.  Quiet.  Hardly any cars and few people.  If I could get to bed earlier I might do this more often. 

Well last Saturday night, (August 11),  I ran the Midnight Streak at the Oklahoma City fairgrounds (5k).  Weather was a little cooler than I expected, but still pretty warm, probably around 80 degrees by the time the gun went off.  Tried to stay on my kilometer splits but at times it was hard to read my watch.  So think I was few seconds behind my target pace at the 4 KM marker.  Anyway picked up the pace as I headed toward the space needle.  Then after the space needle I kicked it in to high gear, made the turn to the finish and sprinted it in.  Crossed the finish line in 21:55.  Woohoo!  Finally broke 22:00 in the 5k.  Best time so far in the 3 years that I have been running regularly.  Still have a ways to go to be in the kind of shape I need to be to run a 3:10 marathon.  But feels good to be making progress.  Less than five months to go till Houston. 

The Extensor Tendonitus seems to be pretty much gone.  Still being cautious however.  Wore my Saucony Grid Type A4s on the shorter runs and the Brooks Green Silence on the longer runs.  Haven't worn my Adidas Adizeros in over two weeks now.  And I didn't wear my black dress shoes all week as I wore khaki pants everyday. 

This week I ran 48 miles.  Just a couple of miles short of 50 miles a week.  Need to have a four weeks of 50 plus miles before I try the Pfitz 18/70.  Looks like I will have just three but guess I can count this 48 mile week as one  to fill out the four weeks.  (September 10 is the first day of the 18 week schedule that ends with the Houston marathon on January 13, 2013.)  Takes time to build up to 50 miles a week.  Little bit longer than I planned.  Little injuries along the way,(extensor tendonitus), slowed the progress but now I am almost to the start of my marathon plan.  I can always make a few small adjustments to the marathon plan if needed.

Cooler weather has arrived.  It was cooler this afternoon than it was a 5:30 this morning while I as running.  Guess I will need to wear a shirt in the mornings from here on out.  Hope everyone is enjoying the cool air. 

Peace.