December 31, 2013
Happy New Year!! Yay! I'm finished! 365 days of running in 2013! 365 days of writing blogs! 365 days of running through rain, snow, sleet and hail! Ok, that is a bit of an exaggeration since it doesn't really snow, sleet or hail in Florida, but what difference does it make because I am DONE!
Today is January 1st, 2014. I am enjoying my first day of rest from running in a year. I kind of don't know what to do with myself though. I am planning on taking a break from all exercise for at least a week, but I will start doing some workouts next week, just not running. I will take a 2 to 3 week break from that, depending on how my body feels.
So, how did my last run go? Did I ignore my good advice and run fast or did I take it easy? If you have been reading my blog for a while, you probably know the answer. I always ignore good advice, especially my own.
Here are my numbers:
Time: 30:00
Distance: 4.21 miles
Pace: 7:07/m
Max Pace: 5:47/m
Calories: 448
Avg HR: 162
Max HR: 174Honey rolled with me on my last run as well. It seemed only fitting that she bookend my year by at least accompanying me for my last run, even if she could not run herself. She kept me motivated. My pace of 7:07 was the fastest of the year! My average HR was well into the anaerobic zone and my max even higher. I think my max was probably higher than 174 because right after I finished, my watch said 130 which was impossible. I ran the last .21 miles at a 6:21 pace, so my heart must have been racing. I believe the battery in my HR monitor is going. In either case, 174 is high enough.
It was hard, but not as hard as I expected. My pace for each mile was 7:06, 7:11, 7:13, 7:07 & 6:21 for the last .21 miles. I was fairly steady throughout the run which is what you want to do in a short race. I found myself often going faster than 7:00 and I would slow down because I didn't want to burn out and I only need to beat 7:19. I banked seconds each mile which I kept track of in case I needed the rest. I didn't and I would say, if this was a race and I was properly prepared, that I could have gone a bit faster...just a bit. My 5k time would be around 22:15, although I didn't keep track of it. Also, if I was just running a 5k (3.1 miles) I could have run faster. This is good to know when I start my normal training up again because I need to know how fast I should run my intervals. I think 7:00 pace or slightly faster is a good place to start based on this time trial. I am considering doing a 5k time trial to get an even better result and one that represents my ability once I am rested.
Ok, enough of that. Let's take a look at the monthly/yearly numbers:
Total Miles | Total Time
January 52.24 | 9:25:00
February 52.01 | 8:40:07
March 74.57 | 11:30:00
April 75.59 | 12:00:16
May 79.51 | 12:31:00
June 82.35 | 12:40:19
July 92.09 | 15:01:00
August 100.52 | 16:15:00
September 87.29 | 14:21:21
October 102.79 | 15:45:00
November 100.29 | 15:13:14
December 104.16 | 15:51:00
Total 1,003.41 159:13:17
Here is a week by week breakdown:
Steve's Total Miles Logged: 104.16
Partial Week 1: 6.58
Week 2: 22.79
Week 3: 24.21
Week 4: 23.55
Week 5: 22.82
Partial Week 6: 4.21
Total Running Time: 15:51:00
I logged the most miles of any month this month and I finished with just over 1,000 miles for the year! I ran for 159+ hours! That is a lot of time, not to mention the prep time and the showers and the resting. This goal took a big chunk of my time, but I have no regrets (yet...I have a sinking suspicion that I will end up injured all year due to my exuberance this past year!) and I may even try this again at some point. Maybe I will try to ride my bike every day or more likely, swim every day. I would need a pool close by to do that. Perhaps I will have my own pool one day. I'd love to have an Endless Pool at my home. If I had one of those, I would swim every day.
As I wrap up my final blog of the year, I want to thank everyone who encouraged or helped or read my blog or just put up with my daily run. First, and foremost, I have to thank Honey, my loving wife. The fact that she ran with me at all was a blessing. I would never have been able to do it without her help. I was saddened by her injury and mentally, it hurt in the last month to have to run alone. I will of course encourage her to run in 2014! Are you ready Honey!
I want to thank the rest of my family: Mom, Derek, Ayla, Kaylee, Joshua, Cinthia, Fabio (aka Fluffy) my training partners Mike and Daryll and all the people I waved to every day while I ran. I would NOT like to thank the dogs that chased me though. You are just lucky I am nice and I didn't kick you in the face!
Lastly, and very importantly, I want to thank you all who read my blog. Whether you read one day or all 365 days, I was and continue to be thrilled to entertain you. Not counting this blog, I had 7,881 views. That comes out to 21.65 views per blog! Not too bad. Not enough to get my paid or get a job writing anything other than my grocery list, but still something I am proud of!
I will continue to blog throughout 2014, but it will most likely be a weekly blog. I hope you come back and continue to read. Until then....you know...
Run for Life!!
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| Excited about my last day of running |
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| On your mark, get set....GO!!! |
