Training summary-Week 7

This week, I did a total weekly volume of 44 miles, with 4 easy runs, a tempo run, and a long run of 12 miles this morning. Now that my training volume is above 40 miles, I have to run 6 days a week instead of 5. At first I was thinking it was going to be really hard to only have 1 rest day per week, but so far, I feel pretty much the same as when I ran 5 days a week. Like last week, our weather has been variable, but in temperature and sun/clouds. For example, on Wednesday, I ran in shorts and a t-shirt, while on Friday, I ran in leggings, fleece, hat, and gloves. That's North Carolina winter/spring for you, I guess. When I was out for my long run this morning, I passed behind a house where the smell of freshly baked cinnamon buns was wafting onto the trail. It smelled SOOO good!

7 weeks down, 6 to go

Reader survey

In the spirit of Decision 2008, I am trying out a new feature on Blogger, which is to create a survey for my readers. The theme is stress-relief. If you scroll down, near the bottom of the page on the right-hand side is my poll. You are allowed to pick more than one choice. The poll will be available until next Monday the 25th, so get out there an exercise your voting rights!

Training summary-Week 6

This past week was the beginning of the second phase in my training, mostly marked by a jump in weekly mileage with the faster pace that I established during week 5. I ran my highest volume ever, at 41 miles, which was broken into 6 days (4 easy runs, 1 speed workout, 1 long run). I think I ran in about 6 different types of conditions: light, dark, overcast, drizzly, warm, and cold. Thinking back to my last training period and throughout this one, I think I have run in almost every type of weather condition that exists, well maybe except for a snowstorm. I have decided that my optimal running conditions are when it is clear skies and a temperature of around 60 degrees.

6 weeks down, 7 to go.

Training summary-Weeks 4 and 5

Week 4 was my first large running volume of this training period at 39 miles. During this past week, (week 5), I scaled back down to 30 miles, but increased the pace. I was fortunate to have some really nice weather days where I could be outside in shorts and a t-shirt. Also, I explored a new long-run route during week 4, thanks to the freedom of my Polar footpod that I wear on my shoe, which gives me real-time distance and pace.

5 weeks down, 8 to go

Updated Favorites

I have added some more "Favorites" to the right-hand side of my blog. I especially want to talk about the new classical music additions, and why I consider these to be my favorites.

In addition to my favorite musical groups, I have added my favorite classical musicians and composers. I have actually met Gil Shaham a couple times when I was in high school; he is a really awesome violinist (check out his recording of Vivaldi's Four Seasons), and just as importantly, he is a really cool person. Hilary Hahn is a violinist who is my age, and she is well-known for her recordings of works by J. S. Bach. Peter Bowman is an oboist who I believe was (or maybe still is) the principal oboist of the St. Louis Symphony. I especially love his recording of the Vivaldi F Major oboe concerto (see the CD entitled Intimate Baroque); his sound is incredibly clear and resonant, like he is singing through his instrument. Placido Domingo is of course, very famous for being one of the Three Tenors, and while I have never really been an opera fan, I do really like his voice.

Under Favorite Composers, Bach, Corelli, Handel, and Vivaldi are my favorites from the Baroque period. I have played a lot of their works on both violin and oboe, and they are just lovely pieces to practice and perform (solo and orchestral literature alike). Palestrina is one of the most famous composers from the Renaissance period, and I have sung several of his choral works, including my favorite: "Sicut Cervus." Aaron Copland was from the 20th century, and we played a lot of his stuff in orchestra, including "Rodeo" (think Beef-it's what's for dinner), which has some pretty sweet oboe passages. Morten Laurisen is another 20th century composer, and we sang a lot of his literature in my college choir. His setting of "Ave Maria" is out of this world. And last, (but certainly not least!), Roger Petrich is a 20th-21st century composer who has written many works mostly for voice (choir, small ensemble, and solo), but also for organ, trumpet, flute, and oboe to name a few. Not only is Roger a really great composer, he is an amazing pianist and organist, the music director at my church, St. Thomas More, and one of my favorite people. I have added his website, Diaphora Music, to my Favorite Links.

I have also updated my favorite athletes and Bible verse.