Thursday, September 13, 2007

So far so good!

Wednesday 9.0 miles/1:17:30/8:37 average pace

Fall has officially arrived here in the bay area, and that means absolutely perfect running weather. Yesterday I had a bit of a headache all afternoon, so I wasn't really looking forward to my run, but once I was out there I was in heaven. It was cool and cloudy- in the 60's and just really nice. I wore my new running skirt, a new top, and the socks Zach got me for my b-day, so I was feeling spiffy. It was also really nice to run without hat or sunglasses, as those things can seem so cumbersome and constricting. Feeling the freedom of the day, I also chose to run without my iPod. I brought it along, but I never felt like putting the headphones on. I really enjoyed listening to the sound of my steps and my breathing, along with the birds, the traffic, and the people. It was a great run! I also had a very good pace, which felt pretty easy the whole time.

9:09, 8:39, 8:30, 8:32, 8:41, 8:49, 8:45, 8:36, 7:49.

I looked back in my log and comparing this first week of training with my last training cycle for CIM (run #1, run #2), I have been running a lot faster, like 45 seconds+ per mile. I know a couple of training runs don't mean much, but I feel stronger and faster and more confident than last year (and I was feeling good last year, so that's saying something!). I guess we'll really see where I'm at when I start doing Speed Intervals and long runs. But so far (ha ha, halfway through week one!) I am feeling like my GOAL marathon time of 3:35 could really happen. :)

Also, you will notice my cross training entries are going to get kinda pushed to the bottom of running posts, like this:

Tuesday BIKE: 7 miles/35 minutes-ish/12 MPH
It was an unplanned ride, born of a confusing and totally my fault commute/drop-off/pick-up/who-has-the-keys type situation. Basically I could have stood around for 45 minutes or ride my bike around in my work clothes (jeans and a sweater. A SWEATER.) It was luckily cool out, but still, yuck. Oh well, got a ride in. :)

Thursday SWIM: 750 m in 14:51
YIPEE!!!!!!!!! I wish I could have made this a whole post on its own, because I DID IT! I finally got my goal of under 1 minute per lap. I was swimming very strong and felt comfortable, when who appears like an angel asking to share my lane? That's right, my swim crush. I finally talked to her, even if it was just to say "Oh ya, come on in!" or whatever I said. :) Ya, we're buddies now.

Giant shout out to Maritza who is making this Pfitz thing look way too easy. She's really motivating me since she's 4 weeks or so ahead of me in the schedule and has set the bar pretty high! You rock Maritza!!! :)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice freakin swim and splits on the run (7:49 for mile 9!!!) - guess it just goes to show what a little commitment to training can do for you :).

Marathon Maritza said...

YEAH! Great job! And don't sell yourself short, as every run counts, so if you are running faster this time around with Pfitz, then you deserve all the credit....so giant pat on the back to you! YOU rock!

*herky*

Unknown said...

Those are some very nice run splits. I wish fall would break here, still way too freaking hot!

With your training focus being the marathon, your bike and swim workouts should become all about crosstraining and recovery only. The focus would have to be on your running. Good job!

Debbie said...

Nice splits! Very jealous about your weather conditions.