Month: March 2017

The Day After

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Today is the day after my first day back at running since coming home from vacation and I feel great. I am mentally refreshed, a lot of stress relieved. My muscles feel good; I didn’t overdo it, and I slept very well. My arms feel normal, another sign that I didn’t overdo it. All in all, the reason I run is to be stronger, to have better endurance, and to stay fit. Days like today are a reminder to me that I’m doing the right thing, and that I need to continue to do the right thing. While today is an off-day for running, I look forward to tomorrow’s run. I will likely take it easy to make it a “Fun run.” We’ll see how that goes and if it translates into a longer run or the standard 3 mile run.

Post-Run Report: March 6, 2017

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I had my first run since returning from vacation in Spain. My wife asked me if I had a good run, and I answered her by saying, “Not really, but it had to be done.” Now, don’t get me wrong. I do enjoy running, but today’s run wasn’t pleasant. It was hard work and it was painful at times. I didn’t understand why until after my run when I looked at my stats.

The first half mile, I ran hard because I wanted to beat the 10 minute mile pace. Well, I guess I was a little over-zealous, because my first half-mile pace was an 8:34/mile pace. My second half-mile was at a 9:17/mile pace, and I kept it under a 10 minute/mile for the first two miles. Only the last mile went over by a little bit, but that was to be expected after the lack of running as much as I normally do in the last two weeks.

Overall, I am happy with the average pace being under 10 minutes/mile, though. That did make me happy. Also, I pushed myself to do 65 push ups. Well, not really pushed myself, but I was able to do them without much trouble. I could have pushed to 70 or even 75, but I figured there’s no sense in causing myself arm pain tomorrow. Besides, I’m already over the required 60 push ups in two minutes for my Army APFT, so at this point, I’m working on gravy.

I’ve yet to start my sit ups. I need to do that before my next run on Wednesday. I have my first APFT in April, and I need to do my very best. I want to show the soldiers I’ll be working with that I’m ready for the tasks at hand, and that I take this seriously.

After all is said and done, I’m glad to be back to my routine. My legs felt pretty good, and although I’m a bit tired, I’m more relaxed having run. I actually am already looking forward to my next run. There are things I’ll do a little different (like not start off so blazing fast). I need to even my pace a bit more on my runs.

Post-Run Report: March 1, 2017

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Although I planned on running more while in Spain, I was only able to get in two runs in the 12 days I was on vacation. This was my second run. My first run in Spain was in Barcelona, and this run was in Madrid’s Parque del Retiro. I’m glad I got out there and ran, but I do with I ran more often.

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With that said, the run was actually pretty decent. I had to work pretty hard running up some hills, but that was a good thing. My breathing was okay, and my legs felt pretty good, too. My pace was much slower, though, due to the altitude. I never realized how high Madrid was! All the walking we’ve been doing in Spain made sure my legs were still strong, though. I could definitely feel the lack of cardio coupled with the altitude, though.

My push ups definitely suffered: I’m down to doing 60 instead of my usual 80. No worries, though: I’ll bring those numbers back up over the coming weeks.

I am happy that I ran on vacation, even if it wasn’t as much as I had planned. I made it a priority, and I stuck to it. It was also nice to run in such beautiful places. I will always treasure the memory of running in these locations, and I hope to be able to do so more in the future.