Tangible Results

The system seems to be working. 

Today, during my fartlek workout, I managed to run a mile further than two weeks ago, in the same amount of time. Two weeks ago, during my first fartlek workout of the season, I managed to run a six-mile speed-play workout in 45 minutes. Today, I ran the same out-and-back course, but made it half a mile (0.8 kilometers) further at the 22:30 turnaround point, for a grand total of about 7.1 miles in 45 minutes. That's about 6:20/mile pace, and keep in mind that this was not a tempo run, but a fartlek workout. That means that I spent a lot of those 45 minutes running at a recovery pace.

Suffice it to say that I'm very happy with today's run. This, too, after a tough morning of plyometric strength training (see: The Matrix). I expected my muscles to be really sluggish this afternoon. In fact, I was afraid that I'd be so tired that I'd be reluctant to run at all. On the contrary, from my perspective, I killed it.

I can't help but think the extra unit of Lantus is at work here. I am now even less inclined to go back to 12 IU. That said, you can bet I'll be eating a snack tomorrow morning. If I can have some yogurt at work, I will try, but more likely it will be some fresh fruit. I just picked up some nice, fresh Asian pears at Wal-Mart today. Perhaps I'll pack one of those along with some cheese slices and make a snack of it. Diabetics should always include both protein and carbohydrates when having a snack -- and that's a good practice for non-diabetics, too.

Results this good are certainly worth celebrating, but what I find really encouraging is the fact that I still have fourteen and a half weeks before the race! If I'm feeling this good and showing these kinds of results at week four, I have a bright future ahead of me yet.

Please, share your success stories here. How do you find the training? Have you improved? How is it going?