Running Partner

Before I get into the last two runs that I ran, I would like to discuss the benefits of a running partner.  The physical gains are great, but the friendship benefits are outstanding as well.  My running partner is Mario Bird an unbelievable Catholic man that is married to a wonderful woman Theresa.  They have a son named Francis, and another child on the way.  Our conversations during our runs range from Catholic Theology to Husker football and anything else in between.  Mario ran cross country and track at the University of Notre Dame, so he pushes me physically every chance he gets.  So, if you're a runner and are stuck at a pace you can't break, or lack motivation on particular days I suggest to find someone that will run with you.  Additionally, make sure you two have something in common that way dialogue will help push you through the long runs.

On Monday we ran a little over 5 miles at a 7'40"/mile pace--Mondays are the days where I try to run at a pace that is 20-30" faster than my goal pace for the marathon.  I would like to keep a 8'-8:15 pace for my first marathon.  Our max pace for that run was a 6'31"/mile pace and I lost 794 calories.  I felt great after this run, which is usually the case after any run.  If I have any physical pain from running it's usually one of my calves, so if you have any suggestions for me please leave a comment.

On Tuesdays I run alone, which is a good time to clear my head.  My thoughts are usually on my wife, faith, school, husker football, or the run.  I slept in until 7:00am on Tuesday, so I didn't run until 4:00.   I ran 5 miles alone at a 8'27"/mile pace.  I run a slower pace on Tuesdays because Mondays and Wednesdays are the days where I open up my legs a little more, so I don't want to open up my stride too much on back to back days.  This run went really well.  I got a lot of thinking done, and it just felt great to leave the library and burn off some steam...even though it seemed my thoughts were on finals half the time.

I jut finished my Wednesday run, which is the hardest day of the week for me.  Wednesdays are interval days.  You should have seen what intervals consisted of just 2 months ago.  Mario and I would run 150-300 meters, and I would be spent after 4 of them.  My body has benefited from our training and now we are running 800s and mile repeats.  Today,we warmed up for a mile then ran a 800 in 3 minutes, after that we had a .5 mile cool down.  Then began the mile repeats our first mile we ran at a 6'30" pace, we had a .5 mile cool down, and then ran our second mile at 6'40'' pace.  After our .5 mile cool down we ran another 800 at a little over 3 minutes.  So we ended up doing 3 miles of intervals, which will be pushed up to 3.5-4 miles next week.

Well, I am in the library not and have to start my Wills memorandum.  I hope all of you have a great day!