The Running Librarian

In 2004, I ran my first marathon in 4hrs36min. 12 years later, I'm going to attempt my second marathon. I just hope to finish it...

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Yesterday was a rest day after the long run on Sunday. Today is a tempo 6k and I'm up early to get that done. I'm glad I'm running today. It's going to feel good to sweat and get my heart pounding fast. Yesterday was hard - being Valentine's Day and all.

The weather was horrid - freezing rain all day long - it reflected how I feel inside. He called me and we chatted for a while. I was glad to hear his voice even though I know it sets me back a bit towards missing him. This weekend is going to be realy tough. I'll have to get my long run out of the way on Saturday because I have a moving company meeting me in Guelph at 9am on Sunday.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

[13.6k outside]
I had a great run today. The weather was perfect, and the roads were dry. The birds were singing to me out on the county roads in Delaware. I did 10 and 1s and I felt strong for the whole distance. One thing I do need to start paying more attention to is my diet. I need to focus on meat. For me, getting enough iron has always been difficult, so if I try to sneak in as much meat as I can, I should be okay. Finding the time to cook a proper meal is another problem...but it's probably more of an excuse.

Thursday, February 10, 2005

[10k on treadmill at 10.4/h]
I had a good run today on the treadmill. I think 10k is probably the max I would ever try to do on a treadmill. It's almost mandatory to use the mp3 player AND to ensure the right songs are loaded up on it. Some people think treadmill running is torture. At the gym where I run, there are about 20 treadmills lined up and they are usually quite busy. Having this many people running at once like this, almost always guarantees for a humorous mishap here and there - good entertainment. I haven't fallen off yet, but shirts tied around my waist have gone flying.

The knee seems to be holding out so far. This weekend will be a bit of a test. I won't be running tomorrow, but I'm going to try to do 16k on the weekend. I would imagine that my knee will let me know after that run whether it wants to continue pushing through with this training.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

[6km on treadmill at 10.9 k/h]
A good run today. My knee feels good. Weight training yesterday must have helped strengthen it a bit. I'll keep up the weights. I'm getting more comfortable with a new running style that involves bringing my hips down and straightening my back. It's a bit tricky to run like this and I have to conciously think about it, but as I say, it's starting to feel a bit more natural. I'm hoping this will help the knee problems. Tomorrow is a 10k - but I might have to skip it as I haven't been sleeping well. The running is helping to keep the sadness at bay - but once in a while it wins out.

Sunday, February 06, 2005

My friend's fiancee had to cancel our ski plans on Saturday because she had to take her fiancee to the hospital where he had emergency surgery to remove his appendix. I decided to do my long run on Saturday - but this was only 10k. My knee is acting up again, I'm afraid. I don't know if it's going to be able to take me through this again. I'll try some weight training tomorrow to see if it just needs a little strengthening. I figure if it aches at 10k - I'm in trouble.

Friday, February 04, 2005

On Wednesday I ran 6km faster than I intended to. That's the tricky thing about treadmill running - I tend to set it to a certain speed and try to keep steady for the whole distance. I ran this in 33 minutes. I know I was probaby running that fast last year, but I was also in a lot better shape last year! Maybe it's a good sign. I won't be running again until Sunday and I think I'll run with the Guelph group again. I'm not sure if it's 10k or 13k. I'm supposed to run 6k tomorrow but I'll be skiing tomorrow (if the snow has not completely melted), so that should suffice.

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

I was supposed to run 6k today - but didn't. Sore legs made it easy to talk myself out of running - that and some tedious errands that I had to do. Hopefully, I'll have no excuses tomorrow. That's all I have to say today - just wanted to confess my sin.