Random Running Ruminations

It's been awhile since I last posted even though I've had the week off for Winter Recess (one of the many perks of being a teacher). Lisa's been sick all week with the flu, so I've been relegated to being Mr. Mom for the week. She's finally feeling better, so I thought that while I have the chance to blog, I should take it. Here's some of the things that have been going on:

* I ran my long run at L.A. Fitness last Saturday. I didn't feel like running outside so I ran 15 miles on the treadmill. Thankfully, ESPN was showing an indoor track and field meet, so the time passed quickly.

15 miles/2:25:00/9:40 pace

* I followed up the 15 miles on the treadmill with another 9 on Tuesday. It was an LT run, and I wanted to run the 4 miles at 8:00 pace so I decided to use the treadmill to make sure I was right on.

9 miles/1:18:10/8:42 pace

* The next day I ran a recovery run of 5 miles. I ran this one outside and I ran it slow and didn't bring my garmin. My legs were pretty shot from the last two runs.

* Thursday, it was beautiful out and I decided to run at Lake Miramar. It's a nice 5 mile loop so I ran it twice. My pacing was a little quicker than I was planning and it turned into an LT run at the end. The last 3 miles were run at 7:5x pace

10 miles/1:22:44/8:17 pace

* My times are getting quicker and I feel my endurance improving. Last year, I remember running my long runs and not being able to walk naturally the next day. Now, I'm able to recover quicker and my legs are used to the longer distances. I'm also developing a blister on the big toe on my right foot. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do about it, besides NOT popping it.

* I got my 2 pairs of Saucony Rides in the mail this week. I labeled them with a sharpie so I don't mix them up. I'm not sure what the best way is to rotate them. I'm thinking about primarily training with 2 of the pairs and seldom using the third pair, saving them for my marathon race in May.

* I got the DVD, Running for My Father, in the mail this past weekend. I watched it with my family and they all loved it. I'll be writing up a review soon to share with everyone. It came with high expectations and certainly lived up to it!

* My family and I almost went on a cruise last second with Carnival Cruise Lines. Because everyone was feeling better, we decided to check the cruise lines to see if there were any last second cruises available leaving from San Diego. There was one today, but they were booked solid and put us on the waiting list. This afternoon (4 hours prior to sailing), a cabin opened up, but it was the Penthouse Suite. It was a more than what we were expecting to pay so we passed it up. If only a cheaper cabin had been available, we might have been sailing on the Pacific Ocean tonight. I thought about running a long run on the deck of the ship. The decks laps are usually 1/3 of a mile long, so for my 17 miler this weekend I would have run 51 times around the deck! That would have made a great story.