Alexander Steed

This has become a pretty standard distance for me. Still need to get my time down. Took me 42 min

I've never run more than 6 miles until this workout. My friend Summertime coached me along and helped a lot. I ended the run having done about 10 minute miles. I was glad to have finished the distance but need to get a faster pace.

Tried to push this short run harder today. Maintained a pace of 8:45 which is still slower than I want but below 9 so close to where I want to be for a marathon pace.

Not going to run in the dark without reflective gear again... looks like it's trails only in the morning until the sun starts coming out earlier.

This morning I was determined to complete my workout on the treadmill because I didn't feel like running in the cold. I have done most of my training over the last couple of years on the treadmill just 2-3 miles at a time at a vigorous pace. My body must be programmed to stop after 25 min on a treadmill because I couldn't make myself do it any longer. So I went straight outside and finished the final 3.7 miles of my run in the cold... in my shorts and T-shirt. Amazing how little the cold gets to you when your heart rate is already up to 180.

My average pace has been over 9 minutes for these longer runs and it frustrates me. I think for now I need to focus on churning out the miles and not get so up tight about the pace.

This has been a tough last week. I got sick, bad weather, and couldn't seem to make time to run when the weather was nice. So then I started getting very discouraged and somehow just gave up on it and accepted that I wasn't going to achieve my goals (horrible, I know).

Then this morning the weather was half way decent and I felt good so I did a nice easy 4 miles to get back into the swing of things. It was really nice and felt great. Glad to be out of that dark place... :-)

Nice early morning run today. Weather was right at 40 so I was happy. Couldn't run out in the country because the sun wasn't up and I couldn't even see the road... but I got creative and was able to run through my neighborhood and a nearby neighborhood.

Had another nice neighborhood run. It felt really good. I felt like I could have churned out another couple of miles if I wanted to... but I had to get to work. My confidence is up and I'm really enjoying these runs.

Churning out miles. Not too impressed with my pace but I'm pretty happy that I'm still training.

Did my longest run ever today. I've realized something. I wear a heart rate monitor to measure my effort and it just goes down continually as my run progresses. I've got to figure out how to keep my effort up. I felt like my muscles and joints were more tired than my heart and lungs. 

Anybody interested in driving in a golf cart ahead of me to set pace? This is a running blog, so you guys would probably rather run and show me how it's done I guess :-)

Decided to focus on speed today. My first mile I tied my personal best at 7:32 and I was pleased with my overall 5k pace. Just need to shave down the pace some.

I've been noticing that starting on mile 6 or so my neck seems really uncomfortable--kind of an achy numb sort of feeling.

Could I be pinching a nerve or could it just be bad form? Thinking about seeing the Chiropractor...

Really enjoyed the run. It's fun to be outside even if the only time I have to run is at the crack of dawn.

Nice 5 miler today. I tried to keep my shoulders loose by wiggling my arms and stretching frequently but right around the 4.5 mile mark I noticed that my shoulders and neck were beginning to tense up again. I've got to figure out how to stop that from happening or it will kill me on my long runs. I have a long one planned for tomorrow so we'll see what happens.

Goal today: 11 miles

Actual run: 3.58 mi

My mom called me in the middle of my run (and of course I answered :-)), and told me she needed help getting my dad to the emergency room. He had some kind of gallbladder attack and needs to have it removed we are told. I'm glad I was able to help out when I was needed even though it came at an inconvenient time. Now I need to get all amped up and try it again another day. 

Good run this morning with Sheridan. I can tell that my stamina has improved since the last time we ran (over a month ago). Last time we ran he did most of the talking. This time I was able to participate more in the conversation.

Halfway through the run we got hit with some pretty serious rain. Didn't get cold really because we were in the middle of a workout but I was soaked.

Really nice to get back out there after a distracting week!

Really nice run today. Beat my farthest run by a quarter mile. Had to get up earlier than usual to have time for a longer run but well worth it. The weather was perfect and the atmosphere was peaceful. It felt wonderful to be outdoors enjoying a spring morning. Thinking about this kind of weather in February and March was about all I had to keep me going. 

Just continuing to churn out miles.

Really great run with Sheridan today. I was hoping to record my farthest run of at least 10 miles and we got it done. Miles 3-7 was a lot of hill climbing so it was tough but but it felt really good. That followed a 3 miles of downhill and flat road so it was a good level to end on. Always feels good to inch that mileage higher. I should be ready for a half marathon soon.

Felt really sluggish today. Got through the run but not sure what wasn't quite right. 

Good run this morning. Still not where I want to be pace-wise but nice run.

Amazing run today. Ran south on Crowley to 21st and looped back around through Iona. I was really feeling it. My pace was great and I hit that hill very strong. It was 54 degrees this morning so perfect for a run and the warmest weather I think I've run in this year since I do most of my running before 7 a.m. 

After about mile 6 I felt an abrupt depletion of energy. I didn't plan well enough to bring water or gatorade with me even though Sheridan gave me some drink tablets to try so I had to finish the last 5 miles pretty low on fuel.

It's been a few days since I ran this one and I am just now recovering. I'm thinking it wasn't wise for a greenie like me to run 6 miles Friday and 11 miles on Saturday. My knees have been sore and at times a little tender--I wasn't sure if it was just tender from an intense run or ripe to get injured so I've rested the last few days.

That run was so fun though. It gave me so much confidence to maintain the pace I did for the first half. I am certain that if I had kept myself hydrated and fueled I would not have finished a lot stronger than I did.

Today's run was really challenging. We stayed at a cattle ranch where my wife's brother works so I thought I'd take advantage of new scenery and do a country run.

I hadn't run since last Saturday in the name of recovery (probably a mistake) and I decided to go a mile longer than last time (probably another big mistake).

We stayed in their house 6 miles from the highway so I decided to run to the highway and back.

The scenery was beautiful--lot's of deer, buffalo, antelope, etc (mostly all behind fences). The course was very hilly so I thought I was getting an even mix up ups and downs. Upon looking at the course after the fact with my Nike running app, it turns out that it trends downhill going toward the highway so on the way back it was a lot tougher.

I brought water mixed with a supplement so I stayed hydrated. The frustrating thing was the last couple of miles. My legs really began to hurt and were begging me to stop. Couldn't really, though, because I DID need to get back to the house at least. I finished the course but it was brutal. Definitely not feeling the same fuzziness that I did after last week's run.

I had the stamina to finish out strong from a heart rate and aerobic perspective... it's just that my legs and joints were shooting out pain. I guess I still haven't developed the kind of strength I need to go those kind of distances. I need to pace myself.

I am golden up to about 10 miles so I think for the next few weeks I'm going to train in the single digits. I could NOT have finished a half marathon today even though I had the bright idea to push it to 13.1 after the halfway point on my planned 12 miler when I was feeling great. The pain, however, had me limping in after 12 miles.

It turns out that the father and son campout has been scheduled for next Saturday so I won't be running the Blackfoot half. After today's run I wouldn't attempt a half marathon until I was reasonably confident that my legs would see me through to the end.

Nice run around the block today. I seem to have recovered from the weekend's long run more quickly this time than I did the previous time so that's encouraging. Pace was a little slower today but I enjoyed the run. My knees started getting tender/sore around mile 4... not sure what is going on here but I didn't have any issues finishing. I'm going to try to build up my knee strength and see if that helps.

Beautiful morning for a run and I was able to finish strong. Knees were a little sore at the end but overall I can't complain.

Well I'm injured, no point in denying it now. I was fine for the first mile and in pain for the next 2. Walked the last one. Asking around friends tell me it's an IT band injury. Pretty discouraged... Going to have to start trying to like biking now I guess. Not exactly sure how best to treat this injury.