Let’s here it for the Goals!

(If you read that to the tune of a little song from Footloose, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa – we are simpatico!)

Last night’s run was awesome.  I had another tech sort of day, followed by some job-hunting tech issues, some more networking, filing some applications, lots of dog walking

(my normal walks with Lucas and some extras to help a neighbor), and despite the dark and the temp (28!) it was super to finally be free and run at the end of the day.

2.04 miles, 8’55” pace

Iron Maiden, another Ratt two-fer, and then RPG “Paralyzed” to get me into the neighborhood, and T-Rex to smooth me on past the two-mile mark.

The conditioning, regular running schedule, incremental but steady increases in reps and distance, is definitely beginning to pay off. I felt stronger while running, and i felt better after the run. I could feel my muscles working, and i do believe that there is less jiggly stuff on my frame already. I will wait at least a month to do the next set of photos for comparison, but i can tell you that i am feeling good.

I am on track to at least meet, if not overcome my frequency goal – only 9 more runs by 3/20.

I am a little behind on the distance right now, but i calculated for 2 mile runs, 14 times by 3/20. This was my first 2+ mile run since i began these challenges.  Perhaps i will make up the difference, perhaps not. I do think i can meet the goal, but not exactly as planned. I will probably have to do at least one extra run to close the gap. We shall see…

Probably my favorite milestone is the pace. I set a goal of 5 runs at 9’/mile pace or better by 3/20 and this is my first notch on that post. I am not doing anything intentional pace-wise during the runs. I do what feels good, and i do try to keep it somewhat even on the hills. But the rest is just instinct.

I want to keep up the program and build steadily and sustainably – but i think i am nearing one of the key goals: at least 20 minutes of cardio exercise at my active heart rate. This last run was about 18 minutes. I was probably at the target heart rate for 12-15 minutes of that. Based on that, it looks like i need to build to at least 3-4 miles at a pace between 8’45”-9’00” to really hit the zone.

Anyway, it feels good and i feel good too.