02/01/17: 3.16 mi; 25'33"; 8'04" avg. pace
02/05/17: 3.16 mi; 24'05"; 7'37" avg. pace
02/06/17: 4.84 mi; 42'19"; 8'44" avg. pace
02/13/17: 3.12 mi; 24'45"; 7'56" avg. pace
02/20/17: 3.12 mi; 22'43"; 7'17" avg. pace
02/22/17: 2.92 mi; 34'57"; 11'57" avg. pace (hill intervals)
02/27/17: 3.11 mi; 23'34"; 7'34" avg. pace
February started with a nice day for running and I took advantage of it. That run was a 5k interval training effort with five, fast paced segments and jogging in between them. Four days later, on Super Bowl Sunday, I ran another 5k at a constant pace. I almost finished that one under the 24-minute mark and neared 7'30" miles on average. It was not quite as exciting as the game that night, but it did justify a lot of game time snacking. The next day I decided to do a longer run with hills. I had never ran on the Carriage Trail next to Bridge Road, so I decided to jog down MacCorkle before ascending it. It certainly reduced me to a slow pace and had me sucking plenty of wind. I hit the trail summit and snapped a quick picture on the way down.
To get a bit more hill training, I jogged less than a quarter mile up Bridge Road before returning to MacCorkle Ave. On the way home, I got hit with acute stomach pain. My lower intestines were bouncing around and screaming at me to get home. I managed to keep jogging to reduce the time spent in pain though it probably did not help the intensity of the pain. I hadn't had a bad running experience with stomach issues like that for a while. Let's hope it was an aberration.
The weather intervened for the next week with only a short bike ride on Feb. 11th allowing me to get outside. The next Monday I did manage to run another 5k interval. I got my time down to under eight-minute miles for that effort. Then, another week passed before I could hit the pavement again. But the rest may have been behind my awesome pace on Feb. 20th. With temperatures in the mid-60s, I ran a 5k that day under 23 minutes. I was shocked at how much I had improved in only a month of training. Two days later, I decided to do a "long hill sprints" exercise. I ran up the Carriage Trail for one minute and noted my stopping point. After jogging back down hill and recovering, I did five more sprint efforts up the hill, ending at the same point each time. The result was 557 vertical feet of climbing and some sore legs.
The next day, I took a break from running and went on a bike ride. I decided to test out Mount Alpha for the first time this year. To my surprise, I recorded my best time on the "Mt Alpha to Whispering Woods" segment according to Strava. I had trouble with my easiest gear at the beginning of the hill and that caused me to stand up on the pedals and work harder. I still didn't think it would be my best time but you never know until you look at the results.
My last run of the month was a little sobering, but still very promising. In colder weather I could not match the 7'17" avg. pace for a 5k that I ran earlier in the month. Still, I toughed out a 5k at 23'34" which is a good pace. I am well on my way to running a 5k under 22 minutes. It will take a couple more months, better weather, and good training. Eyes on the prize.
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