This week was a return to my half-marathon preparation in earnest after the shorter recovery workouts last week. On Tuesday and Thursday I ran on the treadmill at the apartment. It was the first time I’d ever used the Nike+ on a treadmill, and I was prepared for it to be pretty inaccurate. Instead to my surprise it agreed pretty closely with the machine itself. Huh. Anyway, today I did my long slow run – 8.5 miles – around my sister’s house in Petaluma. Quite a lot of the run was on walking and bike paths, which made for a pleasant change of pace. I tried to stay in the shade as much as possible since it was turning into a hot and sunny day. I picked up a bottle of water at the halfway point and swigged a mouthful every time I slowed for a walk break (which became increasingly frequent as I progressed). Still, I managed the distance at a 12-minute pace, which is pretty good considering the heat. I feel great right now.

Week 3 distance: 13.4mi (21.48km)
Week 4 distance: 9.7mi (15.6km)
Week 5 distance: 16.45mi (26.3km)

That’s a 22% increase over my last long distance week two weeks ago. I made sure to have a nice cool-down walk at the end of my long one today, and I took the time to stretch in the backyard afterwards. My lower back is still feeling pretty good. My left hamstring and shin were giving me a little trouble today, but nothing too serious. Here’s to staying healthy all the way until October 12!