Fastest week yet.

Grad school life continues in a very grad school kind of way. I'm still crazy busy, but Heather and I took some time to play hooky yesterday and man was it worth it. After having our backs poked as part of a research study in the morning, we drove out to Holland, MI to meet our buddy Kyle and went on a hike at Saugatuck Dunes with Kona and Kyle's dog, Denali. It's so beautiful out there. Kona and Nali were well behaved pups, and we had a great time. After that, Heather and I treated ourselves to a very nice dinner out - a great day, in all.

Now, to running.

Talking with some running friends lately has boosted my confidence a lot - as shown by my times this week. Here's a recap:

Monday: my usual off day.
Tuesday: 3 miles, 26:00 (8:40 pace) - with Kona
Wednesday: Life got the best of me, off day
Thursday: 5 miles, 9:06 pace
Friday: 3 miles in retired shoes, 8:25 pace, with Kona
Saturday: 2.3 miles early in the cold, 8:39 pace, with Kona
Sunday: 7.8 miles, 9:08 pace.

That's 21.1 miles, average pace something under 8:49 (I calculated it but accidentally left Tuesday's run out). A nice improvement over last week's unplanned cutback week of only 11.4 miles.

It looks like I'll be doing a 5k on Thanksgiving...currently evaluating goals, but I think I'm aiming for 24:03 (7:45 pace).

Thanks for reading.

Found time...

As you might have guessed, things have been c r a z y the past couple weeks. It's been what, 2 weeks since I posted last? I found myself with 20 minutes this morning, so here's a little update.

Running related:

I've had two good, solid weeks. They weren't perfect because I did miss one scheduled run each week, but I was still able to get over 20 miles and increased my mileage appropriately in the second week. Here's the recap:

9/22-9/28
Monday: SDO
Tuesday: 4.5 miles, 9:43 pace, with Kona
Wednesday: 5.2 miles, 10:27 pace. Doug biked along with me and kept me company - not sure why it was so slow
Thursday: USDO - just a crazy schedule day
Friday: 2.5 miles, 9:16 pace
Saturday: 3.0 miles, 9:28 pace, avg HR 163 (67%), with Kona
Sunday: 6.5 miles, 9:42 pace, avg HR about 160 (66%) - my heart rate monitor crapped out. With Kona.
Total: 21.7 miles

9/29-10/5
Monday: SDO
Tuesday: USDO
Wednesday: 4.5 miles, 9:41 pace
Thursday: 3.4 miles, 9:30 pace
Friday: 5.0 miles, 9:07 pace
Saturday: 4.6 miles, 9:28 pace, avg HR 176 (75%) [lowered resting HR for calculations]
Sunday: 7.0 miles, 9:35 pace, avg HR 160 (66%)
Total: 24.5 miles

I'm pleased with those two weeks and finally feeling like I'm back on track. The last few months I've really been stuck around 15 miles per week and it feels really good to get back above that again.

Non-running related, things are crazy. I've had 2 exams that I've been working on pretty much non-stop for the last two weeks, and have one more this Thursday. After that I'm hoping to take a breath - my advisor will be out of town, so that gives me some time to get caught up or ahead on the tasks he's already given me without having any more added, at least for a few days. I feel like I'm adjusting to this workload and schedule, but it's not easy. Not to mention, I miss my friends. Friday I stumbled upon the homecoming parade - I thought it would be later in the day and didn't realize it would block my bike route home. Since I hit it, I stood and watched for 15 minutes or so, and at one point could barely choke back the knot in my throat, homesick for PSU. That hasn't happened in years!