It had been almost 3 weeks since I had gone for a run and I was definitely feeling guilty. So after all the holiday shenanigans were over, I decided to see if I could pick up where I’d left off with my training and, if I could hang in there, then I would still run the Austin Marathon in February. I felt pretty good as I started this morning’s run but about two miles into it, I stepped off the curb at South Congress and Lightsey Ave and my right ankle folded underneath me. I was pretty positive I heard a pop and so took a few minutes to assess the situation. I decided that while it didn’t hurt too badly, I was already two miles from home and maybe I should just be safe and make my way back.

By the time I got home, I thought that the ankle might be OK but later that day it was clear that this was something that could not be run on for a while. So as of now, I’m bowing out of any upcoming runs or races and trying to nurse my ankle back to full strength as quickly as possible. I guess that’s why they say “There’s always next year!”. Crap.

We had traveled to Dallas this weekend for an event on Saturday night at Cowboys Stadium that was chaired by my mother-in-law. So I got the chance to run on some very flat land and remind my legs that they don’t always have to be struggling to get up a big ol’ Austin hill. That flat land, coupled with all the new scenery, made the run fly by and took almost a full minute off of my pace. So 7 miles were completed with an average pace of 8′ 54″/mile. Of course, I had forgotten my heart rate monitor so for all I know I was killing myself the whole way but it felt good!

I was initially concerned about how cold it was outside this morning (a balmy 34 degrees) and so dressed in a few layers as well as my hat and gloves to make sure I didn’t freeze. The run started out really great. I was cool but not cold and clocked my second mile almost a full one minute faster than my first one and did so while going up a fairly long incline. As I hit the 2.5 mile mark at the top of the long hill on South 1st street, just before reaching Rt. 71, I realized that I was probably too warm. First thing to go was the gloves. A half-mile later, I took off the hat and opened my running jacket to vent a bit. I kept going like that for the rest of the run and managed to get negative splits in for the last two miles.

All in all I was happy with the run but I definitely need to learn how to dress more appropriately during these cold weather runs. Live and learn I guess.

The weather for this week’s long run of 8 miles was nothing short of spectacular. Mid-50s, good breeze off the lake, really splendid. Of course, that was all countered by the massive hills that plagued this particular route. Elevation varied by more than 150 feet throughout the run and the hills were either long and steady or they were short and steep. I’ve decided that I prefer long and steady.

Overall though the run was good. Average moving pace was 9:35/mile and my average heart rate managed to stay at 168 bpm, which is 89% of max – despite the hills.

I can sum up this morning’s run in one word: cold.

I wound up having to wear so many layers plus gloves and a hat so it really hampered my ability to keep tabs on my progress with my Garmin. Of course, this was slightly liberating too as it allowed me focus more on each step and breath. It’s easy to forget how important good posture, a mid-foot strike, and an even gait is when the distances get long so reinforcing that on the shorter runs is crucial. And, as it turns out, my pace was almost exactly what it’s been on runs when I can check my stats more frequently – 9:39/mile.

The last run of November and definitely one of the better ones. Today I introduced some speedwork into the routine by doing 3 sets of 2 minute aerobic intervals. Since my normal pace is somewhere around 9:40 – 9:45 per mile, I set 8:15 – 8:30 per mile as my target pace for those intervals. When I used to run in NYC, which was mostly flat, I could average 8:45 per mile so I thought a little faster than that would be good. It wasn’t an all-out sprint but it was definitely difficult. Especially so on the way back when the wind was in my face. Overall it was a good run and moved my pace closer to 9:30 per mile while keeping my average BPM at 164. I’d like to run the marathon in February with an average of 10:00 per mile and I’m confident I’m well on my way.

Today’s run was 9 miles of perfect weather. It was my longest run to date in Austin and overall I have to say it went pretty well. I managed to keep my heart rate at an average of 162bpm and still manage an average pace of 09:48 per mile. Starting out on the uphill on South Congress is always a challenge but I must say that the run down from Ben White and S. 1st street back to Town Lake is just this side of awesome. It’s almost all downhill with lots of things to keep your interest along the way. Crossing over Town Lake and running along Cesar Chavez is always great at this time of the morning on the weekend – so many people out and about. It really helps keep me going on the longer distances, or when I’m just feeling fatigued in general. I had to do a little extra back-and-forth to make sure I hit the 9 mile mark since I didn’t do my math correctly initially. Still, I finished on the uphill toward my apartment as I wanted to.

Next week’s mileage total takes a dip as the targeted pace increases slightly so I won’t see this distance again until December 12th at the earliest. But I’m looking forward to practicing some speed work and making sure my turn-over is steadily increasing.

Today’s run was pretty good. It was one of the longer ones I’ve done since moving to Austin and I am still getting used to the hills here. Ultimately I think they’ll make me a better runner but they are definitely tough and seem to go on for miles and miles. The training program that I’m doing has one run per week that’s focused on hills. They want you to start with about four minutes of “total uphill time” (TUT). The thing about running in Austin though is that I wind up with about 50% of my time being “uphill time”. In fact, I would have to go out of my way to go to run around Town Lake in order to avoid hills. I guess some people run there for just that reason but there is definitely an amazing feeling of accomplishment for taking down a good long hill.

So I’ve started running again. This time I’m training for the Austin Marathon on February 20, 2011. I wasn’t sure if I would do another marathon after running NYC’s last year but I guess the memory of the pain that followed that race has diminished enough by now. The training actually started a couple of weeks ago but I’m just now getting into the tracking of the runs so stay tuned for updates here. I’m primarily tracking with my Garmin and their website gives a nice way to embed your runs – see below.