So So Day

I didn't run or bike yesterday since I took my parents to the Phillies game and couldn't get up early enough to exercise. That's something I need to work. As it's getting hotter, I'm going to really pay if I try running at noon. Today, I slept in until 10:30 again.

I thought the day off would be a big help. Oddly, I was actually really sore, even early on. It was easy to tell it would be a rough day in the beginning of the run. I did some stretches beforehand, but that didn't help much.

I started at the Art Museum and was really hoping to make it all the way back there. What really threw me off was that there was a high school regatta at the river. I knew about the Dad Vail last weekend, but didn't know about the high school one. That made running tough because I had to weave in and out of people and boats. Doing erratic running certainly didn't help my leg at all. I impacted the ground at so many funny angles.

The leg was bothering me, but I did run through it for about half a mile. It actually felt decent when I stopped, but I was worn out at that point. I didn't make it back to the Girard Ave. Bridge, but still did end up running close to 3 miles anyways. Physically I was actually pretty tired early. I didn't think I pushed that hard at the start, but I guess I did. I was already feeling it about a mile in.

The great thing with my knee acting up is that it prevents me from overdoing it. In the past, I used to set a goal run for the day before going out and I always ran that far no matter what. Some days you just don't have it and it's not worth pushing yourself. This injury keeps me in check and allows me to gradually build up mileage. If not for it, I'd probably be pushing myself to 7 or 8 miles right now. I really do need to pass the 4 mile barrier soon though.

It's funny because I was thinking about how I've been disappointed lately that I'm struggling with 3 or 4 miles runs about three weeks into training. For a lot of people, that's actually an impressive run. I just set the bar pretty high with past performances.

Lately, I've been thinking about what competitive events I want to get into. I'll definitely run a 5-K in June sometime. I'd love to be able to do so running under 25 minutes. I don't wear a watch anymore when I run though, so I really have no idea what pace I'm at these days. Maybe next time I want to hit the track, I'll time myself on a three mile run just to see where I'm at.

Beyond the 5-K, I'm looking into a bunch of things. In the fall, I might run the Philadelphia Half Marathon. Really my progress at about mid July will determine where I'm at for that and other distance events. If I'm making outstanding progress, I might consider starting to train for the Philadelphia Marathon. I'm also possibly thinking about doing the City to the Shore bike ride. It's a 75 mile ride from Philly to the Ocean and another ride back the next day. If you aren't up for riding back, you can take a bus back.

The bike ride requires getting sponsors, but I could probably do that on my website. I've always dreamed big so that's why I'm starting to think about some of these crazy fall events. Ultimately, I'd love to run a marathon and qualify for and then run the Boston Marathon. I need to take a lot of steps at this point to achieve that though. I feel that I'm more disciplined now to do that than when I was a younger runner. If I ever get to the marathon distance, I'm going to have to get some training partners. I'm considering joining a running club. Perhaps I'll do that this summer.

I want to get out and ride on Saturday and then take Sunday off. Next week we're driving out to the Indianapolis 500 so my exercise schedule from mid week on will be hectic. I will definitely get some runs in out there though. One nice thing about that event is that there is actually a lot of down time. I should be able to get some nice runs in. The weather was great today and hopefully will stay that way for awhile now.