Today was certainly an off day. I put off going to the gym as long as possible, and when I got there, I just wasn't exerting myself enough. So in 30 minutes, I only burned about 100 calories. I suppose it wasn't a total waste, since I did get some exercise in, but man. Now I need to be sure and make up for it tonight on the stairclimber, which I still haven't used in months.

And to top it off, this morning on the way to work I had not one, but TWO buttermilk bars (donuts). Holy cow, I'm stupid.

Tomorrow.

My normal weekday route, 5.35 miles. After the great Saturday long run, I decided to have a great Monday. I just decided to keep my pace around 9.00/mi, and set out to maintain it. I came close.

Mile 1: 8:42
Mile 2: 8:48
Mile 3: 9:04
Mile 4: 8:59
Mile 5: 9:19

Average Pace: 9:00/mi (woo!)
Average HR: 164bpm (boo!)
Calories Burned: 672

This morning, my breakfast was split so I'd be able to eat before, during, & after this morning's long run.

Before:
Oatmeal: 320
Banana: 109

During:
Gel: 110

After:
Pria Bar: 170
Pancakes: 150

Total: 689

Keep in mind though, this is MUCH more calories than I normally have. If I was sitting on my butt this morning I would have eaten more like 200.

So the long run... same route as last week, same distance, 13.3 miles. Remember earlier in the week I turned auto laps every mile? So now I have splits.

I ran it differently this week and it made a HUGE difference. Remember last week I talked about my calves burning? That didn't happen. I ate a banana before I ran, which likely made a difference. The biggest difference though is that I watched my pace closely early on and kept it strictly at 10 min/mi or slower, and let it dip down to 11 a couple times. As a result, my time was MUCH better than last week. More importantly, I feel great. I'm not exhausted like I was, and have virtually no soreness.

After the halfway point I stepped it up a tiny bit and ran faster, but came to a dead stop when four dogs came out of the trees, barking like crazy. They were obviously not attacking me, but I was still cautious. I walked slowly until they gave up, that's all I needed, having neighborhood dogs chasing me. Even pets can bite on occasion. Once they gave up on me, I started again.

Unlike last Saturday, the last two miles weren't bad at all. In fact, when I got to the Furneaux Rd. sign a mile from my house, I said out loud, "Take THAT, Furneaux!" Last week that was the sign that I just felt MISERABLE at.

Mile 1: 10:04
Mile 2: 10:07
Mile 3: 10:25
Mile 4:10:46
Mile 5: 10:42
Mile 6: 10:09
Mile 7: 10:57
Mile 8: 10:52
Mile 9: 9:32
Mile 10: 10:03
Mile 11: 9:11
Mile 12: 9:33
Mile 13: 9:58

I don't have the mile splits for last week but it's obvious what they looked like. My average pace then was 11:19/mi, THIS week's average was 10:09. Last week I finished in 2:30, this week was 2:15. If I keep working on it, by the time I run my first real half marathon, I just might break 2 hours!

Oh, and on the Garmin 305, the heart rate strap, and how it calculates, I think I just proved it's using the heart rate in calculations. Calories burned were 1689, and last week's was 1684. Almost the same number, even though I was 15 minutes faster. I think that throws my whole time/distance theory out the window. :)

Empirical data GOOD. Fire BAD.

Today I ran 5.35 miles again. My usual route, although I was a bit faster overall. I think though that I need to slow down in the earlier miles so I can be a bit faster in the later ones. Here's the splits:

Mile 1: 9:13
Mile 2: 9:18
Mile 3: 9:39
Mile 4: 10:07
Mile 5: 10:19
Average: 9:43/mi
Total Time: 52:03
Calories Burned: 675

And that's another thing. The Garmin's HRM isn't varying much run to run, so I'm starting to think it's still only going by time & distance. What I should do is wear it and drive 5 miles at 5mph and see what it reads then. Heh.