The Free Market Jogger

6.12 milesin 57:49.55.  Fastest: 9:09/mi; Slowest: 10:00/mi.

It's been almost a year since my last post, but for the one to two people who have ever commented on my blog, I want you to be assured that, yes, I have been jogging.  Today, I ran around East Rock Park for roughly 6 miles.  Fastest pace: 8:00/mi; Slowest: 9:40/mi.

Took 1:03:18 to jog 6.68 miles. Fastest: 8:36/mi; Slowest: 10:20/mi. 

After 19th Century French writer Stendahl ate his first bite ever of ice cream, he said: "What a pity this isn't a sin."  I second that view. 

2 miles @9:24/mi pace.

3.6 miles @ 9:05/mi.

2 miles @ 8:52/mi pace

5 miles @ 9:16/mi pace.

5.3 miles @9:23/mi

My old running route in Medfield, MA: 3.3 miles @ 9:31/mi.  Humidity was oppressive today.  

Very busy day: only had time for a quick 2 miler.  Avg: 9:08/mi.

6.2 miles @ 9:20/mi.

Hot & Humid in New Haven, CT = 5.0m @ 9:57/mi 

4.61 miles @ 9:46/mi.  Fastest, 8:49/mi.

3.74 miles @ 9:00/mi.  Fastest, 8:48/mi.

2.18 miles @ 9:12/mi.

2.17 miles @ 9:04/mi.

3.13 miles @ 9:33/mi.

2.53 miles @ 9:35/mi.

2.94 miles @ 11:33/mi.

2.47 miles @ 9:13/mi.

3.66 @ 8:48/mi.  Fastest mile, 8:23.

3.5 miles @ 9:42/mi.  Fastest mile = 8:31

2.51 @ 9:19/mi.

5.86 @ 9:49/mi.

2.87 m @ 10:07/mi

5 miles @ 9:25/mi

3.7 miles @ 8:45/mi

2.92 miles @ 9:35/mi.

2.11 miles @ 9:27/mi.

5.34 miles @ 9:30/mi.  Fastest: 9:12/mi.

3.24 miles @ 9:10/mi.  Fastest: 8:46/mi.

5.37 miles @ 9:39/mi.  Fastest: 9:17

I decided at noon on Sunday to run in my local 5K.  This was my second run in three weeks as I never jogged during a great three-week trip to San Pedro, Guatemala.  I was hoping that all that walking in San Pedro plus the high attitude would propel me through this 5K. 

So, I ran the 5K in 25:24 (avg. 8:16/mi).  I think I beat my PR by 1 second.  Ha. 

I didn't bring my garmin but my first mile was roughly a 7:10/mi.  I haven't pulled a stunt like that in a race in years.  That's ridiculously fast for me.   

 So the plan is to run a 5K under 25 minutes.  Baby steps, Matt  

3.18 minutes @ 8:08/mi.  Total time: 25:50.

3.16 miles @ 8:04/mi.  Total time: 25:26.

Jog 2 miles with Willa.

3 miles in 24 minutes.  Avg 8:12/mi.  

5 miles around the hills of Westville.  My first mile was a 9:30 min/mi and the last was 7:58 min/mi.  

I've been running exclusively in my FiveFingers for the last two months and my knees, namely the right one, have never felt better.   I'm cautiously optimistic that I can increase my weekly running load a bit without sustaining an injury.  

 So, in short, I'm loving barefoot running.    

Jogged up and down the hills of Westville for about an hour.  Beautiful fall day here in New Haven, CT.     

Ran 7x400m with a light one lap jog between each 400.  My wife joined me which was a pleasant surprise.  Besides some strong gusts, the weather was a perfectly compatible for some sprinting. 

Ran a test 5K for an upcoming race on Oct 15.  3.2 miles at an average pace of 7:55, which equals 24:35 for a 5K. 

Squeezed in 3 miles at noon.

4 miles in the wind and the rain without shoes.  

Between work and making a blueberry pie for a potluck, I jogged 3.1 miles around Edgewood Park.  

Six miles, each mile progressively faster. 

A practice 5K @ 7:52/mi.

7 miles on a beautiful fall day.   Ran up and down two big, big hills.  Average pace: just under 9:00/mi.  

3 slow miles at 9:00/mi and then 3.6 faster miles at slightly under 8:00/mi. 

Two miles of warmup and 4 1/2 miles at roughly a 8:30/mi pace.   Another beautiful autumn day here in CT.

The goal was 2 slow miles and a practice 5K at a fast pace; however, my legs only wanted to run 3 easy miles (AP of 8:30).  

I ran 3.1 hard (for me) miles at an AP of 7:39.  If I want to get faster, I think I need to commit to more regular core conditioning.  My abs seem to burn more than my legs when I pick up the pace.  Unfortunately, I'm terrible at engaging my core and all that other stuff involved with pilates and/or joga.  

4 1/2 slow miles in the rain.  

My planned 8 mile run was cut short by thunder and heavy ran.  Ran 3.5 before calling it quits.

Ran 6.8 miles at a slower than slower than usual AP of 9:00.  I did have major stomach issues during the last two miles.  Woof.  

4.5 slow miles @ AP of 8:36  & 2 faster miles just under 8:00 pace.

I've transformed from an exclusively treadmill runner to now an exclusively outdoors runner. Unfortunately, it's rained for a week straight in CT so I've had no time to fit in running without getting drenched.  Thus, 3 miles in a rain.  

5 1/2 slow miles on a beautiful fall day.

Training for a 5K so ran 3.1 miles today.  It's getting chilly in the northeast. AP of 7:40.

Another beautiful fall day in the northeast.  2 easy miles at 9:00/mi and 3 fast(-er) miles at 7:50/mi.  

3 slow miles and 2 fast miles.  Last mile took 7:15, one of my faster miles. 

I ran a 5K on Sunday through the beautiful Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, CT.  The race helped raised money for The Cove, a peer support group that helps children deal with the loss of a family member (http://www.covect.org/).  

Due to the opaque google map instructions, my wife and I arrived at the parking lot at 10:25 for the 10:30 am start.  Accordingly, I ran to the registration tables, abruptly turned around and ran to the table with the bib numbers, ran back to the registration tables, got my number,  hopped to the starting line as I was trying to put on my fivefingers while Willa was trying to pin the number of the front of my shirt.  I ducked under some police tape, stretched my calves for 10/15 seconds and then heard the gun.  23:09 minutes later, I ran a PR, beating my previous PR by over 2 minutes.  

1 fast/4 slow miles @ AP of 8:30.

3.5 slow miles & 2 big hills with my wife.  

3 slow miles in the dark.  I need to change up my running routes b/c they're getting stale.

Another slow 3 miles: this time in the rain.  I need a pick it up tomorrow.

4.5 slow miles @ AP 9:00.  

9 total barefoot miles: 3 fast, 6 slow.  AP of 8:20.   Jogged in the afternoon on one of the nicest autumn days of the year in CT.   

3.5 miles in my new Saucony Grid Type A5s.  

Squeezed in 3 miles during lunch.  

A practice 5K before the brunt of Hurricane Sandy.  With the wind at my back, I jogged the 2nd mile at 6:55 (one, if not, my fastest mile ever).  At 20 mph winds, I might need to add an asterisk next to that record.

5 slow am miles after Sandy.  The damage to my section of New Haven was less than anticipated, but with that said, there's still a lot of down trees and limbs.  Two homes on my block were partially destroyed by trees.  We never lost power which was a pleasant surprise; however, there's a big limb resting on a power line across the street from my house.  In sum, happy to be dry and safe. 

3.5 fast miles, AP of 7:43.  Fastest mile, 7:00.  

3.5 miles @ AP of 8:18.

Ran 10 miles at an average pace of 8:08 on a beautiful fall afternoon in New Haven/Woodbridge area.  Jogged up and down three big hills, saw the carnage from Sandy, ran next to a few wild turkeys, and possibly witnessed a drug deal.

Here are my splits:

A 5k barefoot jog on a pitch-black evening (at 6:15, thanks DST).  AP of 7:50.   

7 slow miles on a cold, dark evening in CT.  Had some pain in my right heel (originally wrote hell instead of heel, an obvious Freudian slip) which slowed me down to a crawl.  On my way to a hot bath after some additional stretching.   

A fairly random snowstorm hit the NE today.  I was utterly unprepared for this.  After waiting for 30-45 minutes in the wind and snow for a bus to take me from downtown New Haven to my house (ca. 3 miles), I grew impatient, tightened my backpack and jogged home in the snow and slush.  I'll probably jog back to downtown New Haven tomorrow to pick up my bike.  

Tried something new today : I took care of my grocery shopping by jogging to and from the supermarket.  4 total miles, 2 of which with 5 lbs of food in my backpack.  I actually think the gear helped my form b/c I typically look down when I run; however, today, I had no choice but to run upright.  Certainly would not call it a tempo run. 

5 miles with two large hills and one very long downhill.  Average pace of 8:00.

1 warmup and 3 mils @ 8:00ish pace.

2 warmup miles, then 3 faster miles at pace of 7:30 before a dentist appointment.  

Check out this video of a Scottish runner whose planning to run an impressive number of miles in a week.  The thoughts of his wife were entertaining.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20317720

3 fast miles at roughly 7:30/mi, then 2 cd miles.  First jog this week in the beautiful glory of the sun.

Same as yesterday: 2 or so warmup miles and a 5K at a 7:40/mi pace.  Legs are feeling strong.

5 miles during another beautiful late afternoon in CT.  Mostly slow, 1 fast mile at 7:30.

8 miles: 6 at 8:30/mi pace, and the last 2 miles at very slow 9:30/mi pace.   Woof, my legs were spent.

I picked this race because it was the closest to my father's house where my wife and I were spending thanksgiving.  A beautiful course through the backroads and farms of Medway.  Finished with a personal best for a 5K of 21:32.  I ran this with my wife who doesn't jog regularly but finished with a respectful time of 25:00 minutes.  

I think I can eventually run a 5K under 20 minutes.. we'll see.

5 easy miles (avg pace of 8:30/mi) around the hills of Westville, CT.      

6.5 easy miles around the hills of New Haven, CT.  Attended two presentations on American Indian living standards, one from the point of view of an economic historian and the other by a physician.  Both quite different and both insightful.  All in all, a good day.

5 total miles, two of which at a 7:50/mi pace, in the snow and slush.   

First barefoot run in a while (i.e., three weeks, maybe four).  

Ran 5 out of a planned 8 miles.  3 warmup miles, which included 3 tough (for me) hills, and then 2 faster miles, one at a pace of 7:42 mm and the other at 7:50 mm.  I cut the jog short because as much as my knees and muscles love barefoot running, my right foot hates the strap on my Bikilas.  Completely forgot about my pre-run ritual of dressing my foot with various band-aids and the like.  Whoops. 

3 slow miles and 1 mile under 8:00 in the dark.  Fit in the jog between work and babysitting and given that I'm working on less than 3 hours of sleep, I'm thrilled to manage 4 miles today.

5 barefoot miles.  Great afternoon, weather-wise, for a jog.

Ran 8 miles at an AP of 8:22.  I reached a bit of a milestone day.  This is the first week since I've started blogging that I've broken the 30 total miles in a week mark.  In fact, I rocked it by accumulating 34 miles.  Legs feel strong so maybe 40 total miles/week is just down the road (lame pun intended).

2 miles at 8:13/mi, 3 miles at 7:38/mi, and 1 cool-down mile, all wearing shorts and a t-shirt in CT on December third.   

Another unseasonably warm day in western CT.  Ran 3 miles, mostly uphill, at an average pace of 8:35/mi, then 3 miles, mostly downhill, at an average pace of 7:33/mi.  Finished with a cool-down mile.  

5 miles in the afternoon.  8:47, 8:42, 7:57, 7:30, and last one at 7:10 (avg 8:07).  

Ran 6 or so miles at an AP of 8:06/mi at 5 am.  Two warmup miles, followed by four miles at a stable pace of less than 8:00.  Cold and rainy day here in CT, blah. 

My goal was to run 12 miles at an avg pace of <=8:00mm.  I eventually stopped after the tenth mile (avg pace of 8:40mm).   Woof, that was hard.  The route mostly comprised of rolling hills, with four or so steep inclines and one long downhill.  I didn't have the strength to pick up the pace at any point during the run, so I just put my legs on cruise control and jogged until I could see my house.  

I'm still hoping to reach this goal but I'll have to wait until next Saturday, or the next Saturday, or the next... 

I celebrated yesterday's 10 miler with tons, well, maybe just one ton, of blueberry pancakes, coffee, whipped cream, etc.. at a great little brunch spot in Westville, Ct.  All those carbs and caffeine propelled me today to my fastest five miler of the year (5 miles in 36:22).  

Ran at night into some serious fog.

5 miles @ avg 8:19/mi. Miles 1 thru 5: 8:43; 8:18; 9:08; 8:00; 7:57.  

4 sluggish miles.

7 miles @ avg. 8:20/mi.  Miles 1 thru 7: 8:43; 8:18; 9:08; 8:00; 7:57; 7:52; 8:21.  

Last week, my wife and I both caught this stomach bug that's been going around Yale (the source of which being a slew of poorly-nourished, highly-stressed out undergraduates).  It left me in bed for 48 hours and on a saltine and ginger ale diet for three days.  With that said, I finally have my legs underneath me, so I managed 3 miles at a 9:30m pace. 

Another short run.  3 miles at a slightly faster pace than yesterday (9:10/mi).  Still recovering from a stomach bug, which was wonderful for my waistline, but not so great on my stamina.

11 miles (8:19/mi avg.) in the afternoon.  Best run of the semester (... and best day of the semester, i.e, the last one). Here are my splits: 8:55; 8:46; 9:31; 8:14; 8:15; 8:01; 8:03; 8:17; 7:50; 7:38; 8:01.  I was thrilled to jog miles 9 and 10 at under 8mm. 

Ran 3 slow miles (9:00 AP) in the dark.

Six very casual miles (AP 9:10) around the neighborhood.  I'm going to spend next week scanning the net for training program that works with my spring semester schedule and fitness level with the intended purpose of running in the Providence Marathon in May.  I've been injury free since the start of the summer and feel pretty good about the chances of staying injury free while dialing it up a notch in the winter. 

7 miles, 8:22 AP around Edgewood Park.  Merry Christmas runners.

7 miles, hilly for the first 3, then leveled off for the last 4. Splits were... 8:34; 8:01; 8:07; 8:01; 7:52; 8:13; 7:47. Avg. pace of 8:05/mi.  

Same route as yesterday, except I used my 5-fingers on this run.  First two miles are uphill, and last 5 are easy-peasy.  Splits are 9:09; 8:42; 7:50; 7:55; 7:43; 8:15; 8:08.  Avg pace of 8:15, a tad slower than yesterday.

On a related note, I'm thoroughly enjoying reading this book.  I can totally relate to Murakimi's thoughts about running into the void.  I  

7 miles on the same route as yesterday, and the day before.  I must be a provincial jogger.  I even wore the same clothes [insert disgusted facial expression].  

Two miles uphill and the rest down or flat.  Splits:

9:04; 8:38; 7:54; 8:06; 7:39; 8:00; 8:09.  Avg. pace of 8:13/mi. 

4 miles at 8:45/mi in the snow.  

AM: 3 miles with my wife around Edgeworth Park in about 6 inches of snow. 

PM: 5 miles at avg. pace of 8:12/mi.  I added 8x100m strides at the end. Woof, that was tough.  I was so nauseous after the last 100m.  The plan is to incorporate more speed work in January.  There, it's in writing.