Week 6 of 40 and kickin' A**

Just got in from the final run of the week. Yes, folks, that's 6 straight weeks without a missed run. Hot Damn!

Thursday was the first speedwork workout, and it was a tough one. Total distance was 5 miles. But I had 2 miles to do at 8:40 with 800m cool downs. Sounds easy enough, except that I've barely broken the 9:00 mark. Let alone do it twice. Luckily I found a loop near my house that is almost a mile long, so I could at least try to pace myself (maybe it's the clouds in Berin, but I've not been too thrilled so far with the way the Garmin keeps my pace.). The first fast mile was smashing! 8:14. The second mile is harder to judge because I forgot to hit the lap button. However the 3rd and 4th miles were both at about 9:40 so I think I managed to hit the mark on the second mark.

The only complaint this week? Runner's knee. Yes, folks, I'm getting a little bit of runner's knee in the left knee. It's not too bad, and as I recall it does eventually go away as you build up miles. Still I'll be using some ice packs and trying to take it easy.

Nothing remarkable about today's 6-miler. The big deal for the week is the consistency I've been able to maintain. This is the first time I've been so vigilant about a training schedule, and it's really paying off. I'm feeling stronger and more comfortable. And there is something to be said for just putting in the miles. It's very important.

The next two weeks are going to be very interesting. Next week I need to bump up my running schedule so I can get my long run in Saturday instead of Sunday, because I'll be flying home on Sunday. I'll spend Sunday and Monday getting home and then will have to run again on Tuesday. Which means 6 miles on Christmas Day. Not a bad way to celebrate the holiday.

This week's Stats:
Distance: 13 miles
Overall time: 123:54
Average Pace: 9:32/mile
Overall Impression: I'm Slowly Getting Used To The Clouds. I Might Go Snow Blind Running In Wisconsin. (ISGUTTC. IMGSBRIW)