I should lower my grade even more, for posting this thing 2 days late. Anyway, better late than never, I suppose. Grade for the week= C-. I started out the week well, but as can be seen above, I only did 10 miles of the 17 mile run that was scheduled for Saturday. Granted, I was on vacation– but still.. I had intentions of running the full distance. But, I was on a treadmill, and the ipod died after 3 or 4 miles and it was just wayyyyyyyyyyyy too boring. Plus I was missing out on fun activities. I’m predicting another poor grade, this week. I say that because I didn’t run at all Sunday, and now I have come down with a cold, so I’m missing Monday, too. Win some, lose some.

This week I earned an A. If there were such thing as an A+, I may have even been a candidate for that. Why? It was a very challenging week, for me, in terms of motivation. Wednesday, it was raining so hard that I thought that I was going to have to miss my 9 mile run. But, the clouds broke just long enough in the evening for me to get out and do it. Today’s 15 mile run was done in almost 90 degree weather. I really didn’t want to do it. But I ended up turning out a good pace. Also, I have had no ipod for almost 2 weeks, now. I’m still waiting for Reagan to buy some cling wrap, so I don’t kill it with my sweat.

Stats for the week: 43.85 total miles; 7′ 01″ average pace per mile.

Other good news: I bought some new sweat bands this week, and I have been loving them. It is so nice to be able to wipe the sweat out of my eyes with brand new sweatbands that are as soft as cotton balls. I only have a bit over 60 miles before I hit the 500 mile mark, for this year. so, I should cross that threshold at some point week after next. If I stay on track, I may log close to 1000 miles, this year. Next weekend we will be in the Carolinas. I’m looking forward to mixing up the scenery for my long Saturday run.

This week, I earned a B+. I missed a 4 mile run at the beginning of the week. But I almost made up for it, by going extra distance on Thursday, and today. Plus, the 17 and change that I ran today was my furthest run so far, in 2010. I was pretty pleased with my pace, also– even though I really started tapering off at the end. Another reason that I gave myself such a good grade, even after missing a run, is because it has been unbearably hot. Not just hot for running. It is the kind of heat that it uncomfortable to even be outside in. As a result, I have been sweating like CRAZY. People say “sweating buckets.” I probably could literally fill a small bucket with the amount of sweat that I exuded during the hot runs this week. It is one of those things where, when I’m cooling down (such a relative term) at the end of a run, and start to breathe through my nose, again, I have that same smell in my nose that I get the first time my head comes above water after jumping in a lake. Anyway, today’s weather was much more doable. I went in the evening . It was low 80′s and overcast. Total miles for the week are just under 44. Only 17 weeks to go! Hahahaha

PS, I started breaking in some new sneaks this week. Excited about them.

This week, I earned a B-. I slept in on Thursday and ended up missing a 4 mile run because I also had to work late. Not only that, but my runs at the beginning of the week were really only half hearted. I didn’t push myself at all. I was just kind of going through the motions, until Wednesday. But my run this morning kind of redeemed it a bit. I felt great the whole time, and I had a great pace. My total mileage this week was only 35.44. It would have been a smaller mileage week, anyway, but missing that run didn’t help. I only have about 150 more miles to reach the 500 mark, this year. So I should hit that in about 3 more weeks. That’s kind of exciting.

This week’s grade= A. Total distance for the week was 41.6. I broke 800 miles on my Nike profile, this week, and I am now only 189 miles away from completing my goal of running 500 miles before next January. Highlights for the week include the Father’s day 5 mile race, and the Wall Street 3 Mile race. As of last Sunday, I now have enough race credits for automatic entry to next year’s NYC Marathon. I have to say that I’m feeling like it was a pretty productive week, in terms of running. April, I’m still working on the nerdy graph to make people like running. Hopefully it will be finished soon. Hahaha.

Hello, I’m happy to report that I earned an A, this week. It was my first week of training for this year’s NYC Marathon (only 19 more weeks to go, hehe). Training started Monday, So I could have slacked Sunday. But notice, I didn’t. Also, most of the routes that I do nearby my house, are loops, so I don’t always have the exact distance that I need. As a result, I did an extra half mile both Monday and Tuesday. The graphic below represents my scheduled runs (in light blue) with my actual run overlaid (in darker blue). This morning I woke up at 5:30 to get my blood going before tackling the 14 mile run. I was planning on taking it easy. I felt so good right from the start, that I ended up being almost at race pace, averaging 7:07 minute miles. Plus, the weather was so beautiful this morning, it was really hard not to be excited about being out there running. I’m only scheduled to run 3 miles tomorrow. Too bad I’m registered for a 5 mile race! Hahaha. I plan on taking it easy though. Yay, my first A! Hahahaha

First of all, I didn’t even score myself last week, because I didn’t run at all. Since I earned an F-, there wasn’t really anything to evaluate. This week, I did slightly better. The weather was a lot cooler, so I had no excuses. Otherwise, I may have earned a little bit better than the D+ that I’m slapping onto this week. The two midweek runs were really short, and Today’s run was half-hearted. This will be the last week of anything below a C, though, unless I’m injured. I say this, because Monday I start a 20 week training program for the NYC Marathon in the fall. So, I’ll be running 4 times a week, at a minimum with at least one of them being 14+ miles. It is a pretty lengthy training period, I know. But I have never formally trained for any of the marathons that I have completed, so far. So, I figured that I may as well go for it. Let’s see if I still like running when November rolls around. Hehe.

Since we are on the subject of running– Today was an NYRR club points race, for the ladies only. It was a lot of fun to just go and cheer on Reagan and the rest of the ladies on our team. Below: Reagan in the finish straight.

Below: Paula Radcliffe coming out of the starting gate (not competing, just showing support for the ladies)

Here are a couple of fun shots of our female teammates with Kara and Paula. It as a really fun day.

Ok, first of all– I hit a few milestones this week. I broke 700 miles on my Nike profile. Second, I broke 200 miles, on my goal to run 500 miles between Jan. ’10 and Jan ’11. I ran 5 days this week. Even though my pace was not as good as it could have been, I’m still giving myself a B+. I especially earned this grade because it was like 98 degrees and 98 percent humidity on Wednesday, and I still slugged out 6 miles.

This week was another one full of bad weather and blisters. Ah, excuses. I only ran today (because it was a race), and Monday. Grade=D. The only reason that I didn’t earn an F, was because of my 5k split time in the the race this morning. Any 5k under 20 mins makes me feel pretty good. I am really really hoping that my blister situation is under control, by next weekend. 13 miles is a little bit harder to tough-it through with a painful situation going on in the shoes.

This is my weekly running evaluation, that should have actually been posted yesterday. But, we have family in town. So, you know…  Anyway, I have decided that it will be easier to follow the normal Sunday to Saturday week, since that way Nike adds my totals for me. I may post it on Saturday, maybe Sunday (I know that people are super worried about it) Hahahahaha.

I have climbed out of the F- grade, with a couple of pretty decent outings last week. I only got out three times. But one of them was a 10+ miler. So that counts for a few extra points. My new shoes have still been giving me blister grief, to a degree, and we have family in town. So, given all of those factors, I earned a C+, this week. We have the Healthy Kidney 10k coming up on the 15th, and the Brooklyn Half Marathon, the following weekend. My goals for both: HK10k: 40 mins, or faster; Bk Half: 1:30 or better.