3 miles in 32:07 minutes in the dark

Went running after a full day at work for the first time today.

Reached home around 7:00 PM; relaxed a bit and then went running at around 8:00 PM in Lincoln Park. The park was mostly dark. Ran along the streets under the street lights for a while and then circled around a closed loop a few times till it became boring. Continued exploring the park in the dark, and ran along the huge artificial lake in the park.

My legs were stiff all along, and hence was surprised to see that I had completed the 3 mile distance in 32:07 minutes.

The Monster Half-Marathon this Sunday is weighing in heavily on my mind. It is my first marathon, and is a very difficult one with a huge altitude gain. It is also supposed to be very hot and inhospitable trail. All this is making me worried about successfully completing the half- marathon.

I don't have to run it, if I don't want to. More important thing now is to be able to run healthy. I will try my best at the Monster Half-marathon, and focus fully on the Queens Half-marathon two weeks later.

2.25 miles in 25 minutes

Went with an intention to do some speed workouts and complete 3 miles within 30 minutes. Finished the first mile in 9:50; the second mile was difficult after that! Stopped running after 2.25 miles.

I guess I am still too raw in terms of running; I have been running consistently and all through the week only from last week. I will focus on putting in longer runs for now, and work on speed later on.

Four miles in 42:21 at Lincoln Park

Started the week with a four mile run at Lincoln Park. Was not feeling like running today and my legs were stiff to begin with, but persisted and completed the intended 4 miles. Took a walking break after 2 miles; normally would not have done that, but given today's physical and mental state, I was ok with the break.

I have not been devoting enough time to stretch before and (particularly) after running over the past few days, and that is showing up as stiff legs before starting. Today, I spent 15 minutes stretching after running - does seem to make a difference; my body feels much lighter and flexible.

I had got good pointers on how to stretch when I worked out with Dr. Ashis Roy; Rahul Verghese too has a very informative article on stretching on the RunningAndLiving web-site.

I will follow a regular routine for stretching after the run from now on. That would ensure I do the required stretching exercises and not avoid doing it - especially when I am with someone in an effort at looking good.

5 miles in 53:16 minutes at the Lincoln Park running track

Continuing my renewed effort to prepare for the first full-marathon in November and the first half-marathon on July 27th, I ran 5 miles today and feel good about the prospects of a successful completion the first half-marathon in two+ weeks time.

Tried out the Lincoln Park in Jersey City for the first time; to my surprise I found it to be huge, well equipped and with adequate parking facilities. It is a bit crowded though, but that is good when motivation is a bit low.

Today again, I ran the entire distance with no walking breaks. The time of 53:16 is very close but not my personal best for this distance. My personal best is 53:08 which I accomplished during the Father's Day 5M in Central Park last month.