Running Report 2/21 through 2/25

02/21/2015  Saturday
I ran five miles.  Half mile splits with two back to back mile splits:

1. 5.21
2. 4.20
3. 4.36
4. 9.10
5. 9.10
6. 4.26
7. 4.29
8. 4.33

Total time 46.09 average of 9.14 minutes per mile.
This Week: 16
This Month: 26
This Year: 80.5

02/23/15 Monday
I ran three miles.  Half mile splits:

1. 4.08
2. 4.01
3. 3.55
4. 3.56
5. 3.53
6. 3.52

Total time 23.49 average of 7.57 per mile. 
This Week: 3
This Month: 29
This Year: 83.5

02/24/15 Tuesday
I ran three miles.  Half mile splits:

1. 4.40
2. 4.29
3. 4.29
4. 4.32
5. 4.27
6. 4.30

Total time 27.10 average of 9.03 per mile.  Slight shin splint pain the last two minutes of the run.

This Week: 6
This Month: 32
This Year: 86.5

On 02/25/15 I ran four miles untimed.  I did and interval workout where I would run half a mlle slow and then half a mile fast, repeated four times for a total of four miles.  No walking in between.  It would have been nice to know what my splits were.  I wasn't so much interested in my overall time but I was focused on alternating between slow and fast to get my heart rate and breathing up and then bring it down on the reovery part and the repeating the process.  Slight shin splint run the last half mile of this run.  I need to be better about strengthening all of my muscles that are attached to the shin, and stretching the calf muscles.  I am hopping that with the new shoes that I have the shin splints will go away. 

This Week: 10
This Month: 36
This Year: 90.5

Opposition In All Things

I think this video has some valuable insights into why people put themselves through the torture time and time again by running ultramarathons.  At some point it becomes spiritual.  The physical demands break down our bodies, and with the realization that our body is weak and frail the mind takes over and we realize that our minds are not weak and frail, if trained properly.  At that point we begin to realize that there is something bigger than ourselves, however you choose to label it.  The prolonged physical exertion strips away pretense, and our outward shell and allows introspection, questioning, and choices to be made with painful consequences.  At the end of the video the videographer (sp?) quotes Kaklil Gibran in his work "The Prophet"

"The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain."

Warning there is one swear word at the 3.42 mark of the video. 

 

 

This reminds me of what Lehi says in 2 Nephi Chapter 2 of the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ
Verse 11"For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things".  How are we to know the joy of accomplishment without the bitter sting of defeat?  Hence the need for opposition in all things.  Without opposition things just wouldn't make sense and this life would be meaningless.  Indeed as Lehi continues in verse 11"...If not so, my firstborn in the wilderness, righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad.  Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor courruption, nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility.
12. Wherefore, it must needs have been created for a thing of naught; wherfore there would have been no purpose in the end of its creation.  Wherefore, this thing must needs destroy the wisdom of God and his eternal purposes. and also the power, and the mercy, and the justice of God."

No wonder when some people finish an exhausting physical task they say "I have never felt more alive". 

Time to get off the couch, set down the electronics.  Time to get out of the warm comfortable bed, get out the door, watch the sunrise on my early morning runs and feel the life and meaning that opposition brings.   

Running Report 02/20/15

I did not run on Thursday 02/19/15
Today, Friday 02/20/15 I ran three miles.  Here are the half mile splites: 1)4.31  2)4.06  3)4.14  4)4.26  5)4.12  6)4.13  Total time 25.45 average of 8.28 per mile.  Unknown heart rate at finishing. 

This Week: 11 miles
This Month: 21 miles
This Year: 75.5 miles

Running Report 2/18/2015

Ran three miles today.  Half mile splits: 1)4.11  2)4.01  3)4.03  4)4.08  5)4.03  6)3.59
Total time 24.27.  Average of 8.09 minutes per mile.  Unknown heart rate upon finishing.
I am very pleased with this run because while I timed my run I ran blind, or in other words I did not look at my watch until the very end.  I ran the first half mile and then I decided to try and run each half mile at that same pace without looking at my watch.  I didn't even know the first half mile split.  So I am happy about the results. 

This Week: 8 miles
This Month: 18 miles
This Year: 72.5 miles

Running Report 2/17/2015

On February 3, I ran three miles, untimed.
 
On February 12, I ran three miles, untimed.

On February 13 I ran four miles.  Here are my half mile splits.  1)4.33  2)4.17  3)3.55  4)3.40  5)3.35  6)3.49  7)4.10  8)4.38.  I ran this with the idea of slowly increasing the pace to about the middle and slowly decreasing the pace. 

On February 16 I ran three miles.  Half mile splits are as follows: 1)4.31  2)4.14  3)4.11  4)4.22  5)4.16  6)4.24.  Total time 26.00 minutes.  Average of about 8.40 per mile.  100 beats per minute upon finishing. 

On February 17 I ran two miles.  I ran this on a treadmill with a 5% incline.  The following pace, or miles per minute So I started at a 9 minute pace and then the second quarter mile I increased to a 8.30 pace etc.  1)9.00  2)8.30  3)8.00  4)7.30  5)7.00  6)6.30  7)6.00  8)8.30.  I had a short amount of time hence the short workout.  Once the pace got to seven and faster I was breathing hard though. 

This Week: 5 miles
This month: 15 miles
This Year: 69.5 miles