Ramping Up the Running

Wednesday, Feb 19, 2014:

Marathon-pace run/walk at the YMCA.  Three miles on the YMCA track, running one lap and then fast-walking two.  The pace ended up about 12 minutes per mile, which figures out to a marathon of 5:15 plus nature breaks, if I could sustain the pace for 26 miles.  Really?

I definitely don't want to go that fast in this upcoming marathon - I'm still recovering from pneumonia.  The doc says that a relapse is unlikely and I should be guided by my sense of fatigue.  However I've had pneumonia before, many years ago, and it DID relapse, so an abundance of caution is my attitude right now.  After all, I have two marathons coming up in March and I want to finish them both. Easy does it.  I hope the weather is decent.

Whining:  Zero.

Splits: 13:00 (probably an extra walking lap in there), 11:56, 11:54, total 36:51.

Tuesday, Feb 18:

I tried the treadmill today, to convince myself that I'm really going 4 mph (15-minute miles) when I'm walking fast.  In one mile at 4 mph I found the walking brisk, but it felt good, as if I could go much farther.

After the treadmill I ran/walked another 1.6 miles or so, running about 1/3 of the distance.  This was the first real running since the New Orleans Marathon (and flu plus pneumonia).  It felt fine.