Running Towards Fitness

Personal Awareness
The ancient Greeks used to believe that a healthy mind and a healthy body not only went together, but were both critical for happiness and a successful life. They were also intertwined, meaning that a weakness in either area would affect the other. When I started this transformation I was overweight and full of excuses. And by overweight I don't mean just a few pounds - I weighed over 70 pounds more than I do now. I finally took my life into my own hands and started exercising. At the time, I had no idea where it would lead - to a stronger body, a happier, more nimble mind, and a chest full of race medals. Healthy mind, healthy body, indeed! It hasn't been easy, or without issues, but I wouldn't trade the experience for the world.

5 x 1K Intervals

I don’t know how much time I’ll have to run tomorrow, so rather than doing my 3 mile basic today I did my 5 miles of speedwork. That gives me three (relatively) hard days in a row, but it doesn’t feel too bad. It was pretty late when I got done with work, so I visited the too-hot-as-always hotel treadmills for some 1km intervals. My McMillan sheet has me doing them in 4:20 for a 7:00 pace. I started out with a half mile warmup at 9:30, did some ITB stretching, then got into it.

The first two were pretty easy. Since I’m still getting back into speedwork, I did the approved 4:20 cooldown between each one - jogging and stretching. At first I was wondering if I was only going to do three, since it was pretty late, but even after that one my breathing was alright (a comfortable 2/2 in the last minute) and my HR was only hitting the low 160s. The fourth one was harder, with my breathing breaking down a little in the last 30 seconds - while I was running it, I told myself that it might well be my last one, especially since that’s the signal I normally use to cut it short. I considered it during the downtime, then went for my fifth one anyway - figuring that even if I only did 3:00 it would still be better than nothing. It was hard, but not too hard, at the end. I could probably have done six in fact, but I wasn’t going to push it (and it was getting pretty late by that point).

A little more stretching, then a cooldown run at between 9:30 and 8:00 paces (intermittent variations to defray boredom) until I hit 5 miles total, then more stretching, then home. All in all, a fun workout. I find it interesting that my lungs are definately worse off than my heart at the moment - I wonder if there’s anything that I can do to target them … then again, maybe I already am.

Tomorrow, I just have to work in three miles before I leave for Vegas. If I get some weights in, so much the better. My current vague plan is to try to get some 400m intervals in on Thursday, and some 800s on next Tuesday, then no more speedwork until my 10k next Sunday. I hope that I can hit my goal, but either way it looks like a solid PR is in the bag.

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About

I'm Richard Stanford, a fit, happy runner. Of course, that wasn't always the case. Dip into the archives to follow my progress from couch potato to sub-four hour marathoner.

I also like to cook, write, code, and play with power tools...

Personal Records

DistanceRaceTimePace
Marathon2006 Freescale3:54:078:56
20 Miles2006 RunTex3:00:089:00
30K2005 RunTex2:42:448:45
Half M2006 3M1:42:577:51
20K2005 Decker1:40:428:06
10 Miles2005 Pervasive1:20:138:01
10K2005 Dublin Dr Pepper48:437:51
5 Miles2005 Turkey Trot37:017:24
5K2005 Margarita Run22:327:15
4K2006 Fila Relays17:247:15
1 Mile2006 Congress Ave6:236:23

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5 total comments, leave your comment.
  1. Great, Richard. Isn’t it gratifying to be recovering so well after being injured? Super!

  2. Thanks Susan - I’m just trying to do my best.

  3. That’s a good workout Richard. Nice job. Has that injury given you any twinges lately or is it pretty good?

  4. My MCL is pretty much healed. My knees are still a little tender, especially the left one, from ramping my mileage up too quickly. Still, last week was the most aggressive jump I’ve done, and my knee is still getting better, so I think its alright. If its not completely healed in a month I’ll - well, I don’t know, but I’ll do something.

  5. That’s excellent Richard. Good to hear!


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Famous Marathon Times

RunnerTimePace
Al Gore4:58:2511:23
Oprah4:29:3010:17
P. Diddy4:14:549:43
Will Ferrell3:56:129:01
George W. Bush3:44:528:35
John Edwards3:30:188:01
Carrie Sapp3:29:067:59
Boston Qualifier3:10:597:17
Lance Armstrong2:59:366:51
Gilbert Tuhabonye2:23:075:28
Paula Radcliffe2:15:255:10
Paul Tegat2:04:554:46

People I Train With

Alex - Addicted to Exercise
Carrie - Tri to be Funny
Erine - Thousand Miles
Frank - Running Blog
Gilbert - Gilbert's Gazelles
Jay - Leotian Blog
Mike - BROTH