A challenge was put down to run for every day in February. I figured I needed the to kick my running into gear, so I took it. And there's no better way to run faster than to go out and run. So I did, except for Thursdays. On Thursday I play basketball. I counted the games as speed work.
After 28 days, I'm proud to report that I ran on 26 of them. I missed two; one because of a blizzard, and the other because my body said it just wasn't going to happen. Both were in the last week. I started at a 9:05 min/mi pace with a average heart rate in the mid 150s. I ended the month with the same relative effort at a 8:25 min/mi pace with an average heart rate below 148. Throw in a PR for a 5K in 10 degree weather (22:01 in case you're wondering), and you've got a great month of running. I covered 102 miles in 22 runs + 4 basketball games, one of which I played the entire forty minutes. Now it's time to concentrate on the bike and let the running muscles recover for a bit.