July 30: Run 5 miles

Week 5 (second run): 5 miles

Thursday (5:57am)
Distance: 5.15 miles
Duration: 1:08:56
Pace: 13:22/mile
Shoes: Asics GT2130 Trail
Weather: Partly cloudy, 21C, 95% humidity



I'm the parking lot runner!

When this satellite picture was taken, so happened there was an event at the arena, so the parking lot was rather full. When I started my run this morning there wasn't a single car in the lot. At the end of my run, there were 2 cars in the lot.

I like running around the parking lot. It's quite flat when compared to the roads around here and I can duck underneath the shadow of the trees for some reprieve from the sun. Since all I need is more miles, the parking lot is one way to get that in. And when I run early in the morning, there are hardly any cars there.

As for the run, I kept it slow and steady today. I basically did the run 1 mile: walk 1 minute thing. Ended my run with no extraordinary aches or pain. It was very humid though but the light breeze helped some. I saw the sun rise over the horizon.

July 28: Run 3 miles

Week 5 (first run): 3 miles

Tuesday (7:07am)
Distance: 3.06 miles
Duration: 43:34
Pace: xx:xx/mile
Shoes: Nike Structure Triax+ 12
Weather: Partly cloudy, 19C, 85% humidity

Last night I decided I should add some "speed"work to my running routine. The plan was to run one lap around the track at a faster than usual pace and then walk half a lap and repeat that 4-5 times.

I did a slow jog to the running track and went round the track once to hit 1 mile. The Eagles training camp staff were already there sitting underneath a tent. The blow-up giant stuff for kids were already up. It felt really awkward running there but I was going to stick to my plan. Just as I was starting my first fast lap, a staff came over and told me that the track was closed and kicked me out of the track. I'm beginning to not like the Eagles!

In order to stick to the plan, I used the Garmin to set up intervals of 0.25 mile fast run: 0.13 mile walk and did the running on the cross country trail.

Today's run was a mess.

July 26: Run 9 miles

Week 4 (long run): 9 miles

Friday (7:05am)
Distance: 9.00 miles
Duration: 2:14:05
Pace: 14:53/mile
Shoes: Saucony Omni Ultimate 7
Weather: Cloudy/Light Rain, 22C, 77% humidity



Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe....which of these gels should I take during my long run today?

I chose the Powerbar Vanilla. My very first carbohydrate energy gel. After about an hour of running, I had that with some water. It was salty, sweet, with a slight tinge of medicinal taste. The salty part surprised me most. Not too bad. Now I'll have to wait till next Sunday to choose my next flavor to try.

I kept to the run 9 minutes: walk 1 minute plan. I didn't want to end up with last Sunday's pain on the right foot again so I was doing to my slow shuffle and did not speed up at all. My knees felt sore the first mile and then my shins felt sore the second mile. At the end of the run, my knees were sore again. And 5 hours after the run ended, my calves felt crampy. However I did notice that I wasn't huffing and puffing during this slow shuffle run. And I did manage to keep the metatarsal (ball of foot) pain away or at least I didn't aggravate it.



Lastly, the Philadelphia Eagles have landed on my marathon training ground. For the next 3 weeks, I'll have to end my runs before the Eagles fans start arriving (probably around 8:15am), which is fine during my short runs but I'll have to be out of the house really early for the long runs.

Today, I underestimated my slowness. Went out a little late, took so long to complete 9 miles (elite marathoners would have completed 26.2 miles in that time), and ended up being very late for church.

July 24: Run 5 miles

Week 4 (second run): 5 miles

Friday (6:03am)
Distance: 5.00 miles
Duration: 1:07:08
Pace: 13:25/mile
Shoes: Asics GT2130 Trail
Weather: Cloudy, 17C, 80% humidity

This morning was cloudy, gloomy, misty and humid.

It was a tight squeeze to run 5 miles in the morning before heading off to research work. I'll have to leave even earlier for the run if I am to have enough time to get ready for work.

July 23: Run 3 miles

Week 4 (first run): 3 miles

Thursday (6:12am)
Distance: 3.00 miles
Duration: 38:00
Pace: 12:38/mile
Shoes: Saucony Omni Ultimate 7
Weather: Cloudy, 19C, 77% humidity

After 3 days of rest, my right foot is returning to normal. It's not like it was hurting really bad the past few days, it was just that I didn't want a small ache to develop into something serious.

Today, I ran mostly on the rubberized running track.

These two fawns were right outside my apartment when I came back from the run.

July 21: No run

My right foot was still sore so I decided to skip today's run.

The pain in the ball of foot below the 2 and 3 toes that I was experiencing at the end of Sunday's long run is either Morton's neuroma or Metatarsalgia. I've learned my lesson. I'll take it slow from now on and not set any time goal.

July 19: Run 8 miles (Running Schedule)

Week 3 (long run): 8 miles



Sunday (6:49am)
Distance: 8.01 miles
Duration: 1:44:49
Pace: 13:05/mile
Shoes: Nike Structure Triax+ 12
Weather: Sunny, 17C, 75% humidity

Week 3 completed!

I decided to go back to the Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer program instead of the Higdon. The longest long run in the Non-Runner's program is 18 miles and that should take me about 4 hours and I think that is long enough for me.



But since this program is 16 weeks but I started at 18 weeks before the marathon, I'll have to insert 2 additional weeks of training in there somewhere.

Today's run was ok. For hydration and fuel, I brought along 20oz (600ml) of Gatorade (US version of 100plus) and 3 Clif-shot blocks (energy sugar gummies). I started off really really slow. Ate the 3 Clif-shot blocks around mile 5 and didn't like it much. The gummies were sticking to my teeth.



By the time I passed mile 6, I realized I had to speed it up in order to finish in 1 hour 45 minutes. I don't know where that time limit came out from, I thought I was going to take it easy for long runs. Anyway, my run 5 minute:walk 1 minute strategy went out the window and I just tried to go as fast as I could sustain.

I think I sprained the middle toe on my right foot. The area below the right middle toe still feels sore.

July 17: Run 3 mile

Week 3 (third run): 3 miles

Tuesday (8:30pm)
Distance: 3.00 miles
Duration: 36:45
Pace: 12:13/mile
Shoes: Saucony Omni Ultimate 7
Weather: Partly cloudy, 22C, 78% humidity

Knees felt better today. No discomfort at all.

July 16: Run 4 miles

Week 3 (second run): 4 miles


The sky looked something like this this morning.

Thursday (6:00am)
Distance: 4.00 miles
Duration: 52:37
Pace: 13:08/mile
Shoes: Saucony Ommi Ultimate 7
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 19C, 75% humidity

Hot and humid weather on its way back. Pretty soon I'll have to run only in the early mornings. But the weekday runs will slowly increase in mileage and that would mean I'll have to leave the apartment even earlier if I am to return home by 7am.

My knees, especially the right knee, still feel a little sore from last Sunday's long run. And I could feel blisters developing on both feet and it's always at the exact spot on both feet.

July 14: Run 3 miles

Week 3 (first run): 3 miles

Tuesday (6:43pm)
Distance: 3.00 miles
Duration: 37:09
Pace: 12:22/mile
Shoes: Nike Structure Triax 12
Weather: Sunny, 23C, 38% humidity

July 12: Run 7 miles

Week 2 (long run): 7 miles



Sunday (6:48am)
Distance: 7.00 miles
Duration: 1:35:42
Pace: 13:40/mile
Shoes: Saucony Omni Ultimate 7
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 19C, 77% humidity

Second week of training completed!

It was difficult to get out of bed this morning:

There's going to be many cars on the road (because of the US Women's Open final day) and I may have to run on the trail, and I'll have to run up all those hills and since it rained last night, my shoes are going to get wet...
Maybe I'll run this evening instead...
Maybe I'll run tomorrow morning instead...

Turned out that there were not that many golf fanatics at 7-9am. I could run on the road safely.

Since I ran 6 miles last Sunday, this long run was easier on me psychologically. I knew I would survive it. I had the same strategy as last week: first 2 miles (run 1 mile, walk 1 minute) and last 5 miles (run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute). I told a friend that the "run 5 minutes: walk 1 minute" really helps me because instead of focusing on 5 miles, I just focus on running that 5 minute interval.

Other than 2 moments where I felt some discomfort on my right knee, the run was smooth sailing.

The best part was at the very end when I completed my 7 miles and I turned around and started walking home...I felt like I had accomplished something great!

July 10: Run 3 miles

Week 2 (third run): 3 miles

Friday (10:17am)
Distance: 3.00 miles
Duration: 39:01
Pace: 12:59/mile
Shoes: Nike Structure Triax 12
Weather: Sunny, 20C, 71% humidity

Nothing remarkable about today's run. I finally figured out the cars and school buses that have been roaming the area are here because of the U.S. Women's Open Golf Championship. The cars park in the spectator lot, the school buses take the spectators to the Saucon Valley Country Club. This Sunday will be the final day of the championship. When I go for my long run this Sunday, I'll wear the 2009 U.S. Women's Open cap that I bought for $1 at last year's Move-out sale.

July 9: Run 3 miles

Week 2 (second run): 3 miles



Thursday (6:15am)
Distance: 3.11 miles
Duration: 37:31
Pace: 12:03/mile
Shoes: Saucony Omni Ultimate 7
Weather: Partly cloudy, 14C, 74% humidity

Wonderful weather to run in! No walking breaks today. I felt I could do without it.

I definitely should get to bed earlier if I plan to wake up at 5:45am to run.

I need to be more careful in terms of putting on sunblock (face, ears, neck, arms) before I go running outdoors. A friend of mine who takes long walks and long bike rides just told me that she had some cancerous cells removed from her cheek recently. That sounded really scary.

July 7: Run 3 miles

Week 2 (first run): 3 miles

Tuesday (10:10am)
Distance: 3.00 miles
Duration: 38:12
Pace: 12:43/mile
Shoes: Asics GT2130 Trail
Weather: Mostly cloudy, 21C, 56% humidity

I was planning on an early morning run but when I still couldn't fall asleep at 2am, I knew waking up at 5:45am would be tough, so I decided to go for the run after I returned home from research work.

Nothing remarkable about this run. Legs felt so heavy.

July 5: Run 6 miles

Week 1 (long run): 6 miles

Sunday (7:20am)
Distance: 6.01 miles
Duration: 1:21:59
Pace: 13:38/mile
Shoes: Nike Structure Triax+ 12
Weather: Mostly sunny, 17C, 64% humidity



I survived my first long run thus completed my first week of training!

The first 2 miles was tough. I kept thinking of the miles that I have yet to cover. My legs felt really heavy.

Things started looking up after I covered 3.5 miles. When I hit mile 4, I felt like a load has just been lifted off my shoulders and I picked up my pace a bit.

My strategy for the first 2 miles: run 1 mile, walk 1 minute. For the last 4 miles: run 5 minutes, walk 1 minute.

I was pretty decked up with gadgets during this run: garmin 305, interval timer watch, and iPod. I also brought along a water bottle filled with 16oz of gatorade and took a gulp after every mile.

Maybe I should have ran more and walked less, I don't know. I think I just wanted to complete the 6 miles and end up feeling pretty good, which I did. My legs survived the pounding, no extraordinary pain of any sort.

July 3: Run 3 miles

Week 1 (third run): 3 miles

Friday (6:13am)
Distance: 3.10 miles
Duration: 38:47
Pace: 12:30/mile
Shoes: Nike Structure Triax+ 12
Weather: Partly cloudy, 17C, 94% humidity

Another early morning run, even earlier than the last morning run. This time I left my iPod at home. The use of iPods is discouraged during running events, so I thought I should start weaning myself off music during my training runs. It was quite tough since all I could hear was my labored breathing, I'd rather hear music!

The grass were wet with dew and my shoes and socks ended up being soaked as well.



I'm beginning to really like the Nike Structure Triax+ 12 a lot. I can still remember the intense pain they caused my right foot the first time I wore them. I was almost limping home after the run. And once I was home, I had to ice my foot and I was still limping around for a few hours. Now that I've broken them in, I have to say I feel pretty fast (or not so slow) in them.

July 1: Run 3 miles

Week 1 (second run): 3 miles



Wednesday (5:54pm)
Distance: 3.11 miles
Duration: 41:11
Pace: 13:15/mile
Shoes: Saucony Omni Ultimate 7
Weather: Mostly sunny, 25C, 62% humidity

I hadn't plan to run today. Today was my spinning day but only 2 persons turned up so the instructor canceled the class and gave us a free pass for another class instead. Came home and quickly went out for my second run of week 1. Instead of sticking to the roads, I decided to go on the trail (just for a different gps map photo). The trail has always proved difficult--all the hills and valleys. Look at the elevation "map" below.