Ben Starks Content Library

6 miles @ 8:04 with 3 x 3:00 intervals (1:30 recovery) midrun. Felt great to get back at it after two days off.

Had a good run at the Run for Shelter 5k. 21:13 is a new PR. I'm definitely feeling stronger and looking forward to training harder.

Interval day. 1 mile <65%, .5 mile striders, 4 x 400m @ 85% (200m recovery), and 1 mile <65%. Total time: 39:30

Today ended up being a rest day too. I'll be making it up on Sunday.

Hit a quick 2 on the treadmill @ 6:43/mile. Pace felt pretty nice.

Another easy 4 @ 8:19/mile. Shins are still sore. Hopefully resting tomorrow will help.

Today is a rest day.

Rested today to take it easy on my calves.

3 miles <70%. Seems to be getting easier to keep my HR down. Total time: 29:48. Average HR: 148.

5 miles <70%. Another easy recovery run. Total time: 55:18. Average HR: 145.

4 miles <70%. Easy recovery run. Total time: 42:45. Average HR: 145.

My legs have felt a little beat up after running hard thru my only rest day on Sunday, so I took today off and I'm counting Sunday's run in it's place. A little rest should bring back some freshness.

Other than doing Amy's run with her, I rested today to have fresh legs for tomorrow's race. No expectations, just gonna enjoy the run.

Started a new training plan today which uses a HRM and assigns workouts based on effort level and percentage of max HR. Today was really, really easy. 1 mile <65%, 1 mile @ 80%, and 1 mile <65%. I actually had to walk part of the last mile to keep the HR low enough. Seems crazy now, but over time it should really bring some results.

1 mile <65%, 1 mile @ 80%, and 1 mile <65%. First mile was pretty close to target HR, second mile was a little over 80%, and third mile had to walk a few times to let the HR come back down. This is really humbling. Average HR: 150. Total time: 29:47.

Traded today's run for a practice round at the Masters! I'll be making it up on Wednesday.

Test

Just got back from an easy 3 @ 7:43/mile. Legs held up ok after the long run yesterday.

Easy 4 @ 8:02/mile and feeling good.

5 miles @ 8:03/mile with 8 x 1:00 intervals (:30 recovery) midrun. Definitely worked hard to get thru them, but I had no shin pain at all.

Traded my run for the golf course today. I'll be making it up on Wednesday.

Rested today with sore shins.

Pretty nice run this morning. 1 mile <65%, 3 miles @ 80%, and 1 miles <65%. First mile was nice and easy, kept it under 65%. The next three miles felt like a treat getting to run at a solid pace for that long. The last mile was over 65% the whole way because I decided to just back it down to a jog and let the HR fall as much as it could. It's crazy how much running slow will make you look forward to the times you can run fast. Total distance: 5 miles. Total time: 51:55. Average HR: 155.

1 mile <65%, 3 miles @ 80%, and 1 mile <65%. Easy jog for the first mile, decent pace for the next three, and super easy for the last mile. Total time: 49:27. Average HR: 152.

1 mile <65%, 4 miles @ 80%, and 1 mile <65%. Had to squeeze this run in on the treadmill at 10:15pm, but I got it done. Middle four miles were a nice easy pace, but felt good to be in a decent stride. Total distance: 6 miles. Total time: 59:24. Average HR: 155.

1 mile <65%, 4 miles @ 80%, and 1 mile <65%. Had to squeeze this run in on the treadmill at 10:15pm, but I got it done. Middle four miles were a nice easy pace, but felt good to be in a decent stride. Total distance: 6 miles. Total time: 59:24. Average HR: 155.

2 miles <65%, 2 miles @ 80%, and 1 mile <65%. Found my resting HR to be 55 this morning, so I recalculated my numbers and they ended up being a couple beats lower than before. Having to keep it under 65% is still really frustrating, but I know things will improve. Total time: 59:08. Average HR: 143.

Easy 3 @ 8:00/mile. Should've rested today but I didn't. I guess I'll skip tomorrow's tempo run to be safe. Can't risk injury less than a week from a race.

3 miles <70%. Went out at 1:30 in the afternoon and I think the heat made it even harder to keep my HR down. Anything other than walking was over 70%, but my average HR ended up only one beat over. Total time: 31:50

Did 5 with a 2.5 mile tempo section @ 6:49/mile in the middle. Total time was 38:35 and average pace was 7:42/mile. Feeling stronger.

Didn't make it out for a run today.

Today is a rest day.

Did 5 @ 7:43/mile. Feeling really good and looking forward to racing in three weeks. 25 miles this week.

Feeling great after 6.5 in 52:22. Started using a much shorter stride and I'm really liking it. Came thru 10k at 49:57. Legs feel good too.

5 miles <70%. Another easy recovery run. Total time: 55:18. Average HR: 145.

4 miles <70%. Adam joined me today and we ran from his house which was hilly the whole way, so my HR was a little over 70%. Total time: 39:40. Average HR: 157.

After 4 miles, I went to a super steep 200m hill to find my max HR. Did 5 repeats only resting on the jog back down. Legs could have been a little tired from just doing hills and it was wicked hot, but my max HR appeared to be 188. Need to find my true resting HR, but it's hard to believe I should maybe be going easier than I have been.

5 miles <70%. I didn't quite keep it under the target heart rate, but it was an easy run and I wasn't pushing it at all. I think eating not so good yesterday and the fact that it was much hotter today raised my HR more than normal. Total time: 53:54. Average HR: 153.

It was 93 degrees for the Mayfaire 5k. Super hilly course. It was definitely a challenge. My chip time was 21:33, so factoring in the hills it was right where I thought I'd be. Had fun running fast again!

Busy day today, but managed to get an easy 3 in this morning @ 7:50/mile. Still a little sore from the race, but I fell into a nice stride right away. Preparing for another round of training now.

3 miles <70%. Cool morning air probably helped, but still struggled to keep the HR down. Average HR: 149. Total time: 30:29.

Did 10 @ 8:52/mile with a water stop after 6. Legs are feeling stronger every day. Can't wait to race next week.

Did the 10 mile loop in Winter Park with the Orlando Runners Club this morning. We made water stops around mile 4 and mile 7. One of the girls had the new Forerunner which automatically stops the timer when you stop moving and she had us at 1:33. At 9:18/mile I felt like I could go another 10, but it was great to log a solid long run. The scenery and weather was amazing and the group was the nicest bunch around. I'm looking forward to more runs with these guys in the future.

This weekend was crazy and I didn't have a chance to get my 5 miles in today. The extra rest may have been good for my legs anyway.

Did an easy 4 @ 8:27/mile with Steve this morning. Felt pretty good, although the hills and dirt roads were a new challenge. Really enjoyed the company for a change.

Today was a rest day, but I still went with Amy for her run. Super stoked to hear her say today is the day she realized that she LIKES running! So awesome and I'm so proud of her!

Today was supposed to be my rest day, but I got inspired to go for a run. I've been so focused on heart rate, distance, etc. for the last four weeks, that I just wanted to get out there with no watch, HRM, or iPhone. I immediately fell into the most natural stride and pace and it felt awesome to just run free. When I got back and looked at the clock, I had been gone for 45 minutes, and driving the route in my car I found that I had gone 6.3 miles. I was hardly winded and loved every minute!

Today was my rest day.

Today was a rest day, but I was happy to run Amy's training plan with her. Super proud of her so far!

Today is a rest day.

Never made it out for a run, so today became my rest day and I'll make it up on Sunday.

Interval day. 1 mile <65%, 1 mile striders, 3 x 800m @ 85% (200m recovery), and 1 mile <65%. This one actually felt like a workout. Total distance: 5 miles. Total time: 49:05. Average HR: 157.

Didn't make it out for a run today.

Didn't make it out for a run today.

Did an easy 4 @ 8:12/mile. Shins feeling pretty sore, but stretching them throughout the day ought to help. Looking forward to having a good milage base to move forward with training.

Another 5:30am Winter Park run. This time we did 5 @ 7:45/mile with a water stop halfway. Legs feel pretty good. Resting tomorrow.

Today is a rest day.

Planning to ease back into training. Did 2.5 @ 8:30 pace today before both calves tightened up on me. Hoping a lot of stretching and a few easy days will get me back on track.

Interval day. 1.5 miles <65%, 1 mile striders, 4 x 800m @ 85% (200m recovery), and 1 mile <65%. Good run. Felt good to work hard during the repeats. Starting to get really hot out already. Total distance: 6 miles. Total time: 59:14. Average HR: 154

5 miles <70%. Nice cool morning, sprinkling the whole time. Left the iPhone at home since I know the distance points now. Good relaxed easy run. Total time: 53:42. Average HR: 146.

Interval day. 1.5 miles <65%, 1 mile striders, 4 x 800m @ 85% (200m recovery), 1 mile <65%. Other than being really hot, this was a pretty easy run. I always enjoy the striders and pick-ups since I'm not doing much speed work right now. Total distance: 6 miles. Total time: 66:58. Average HR: 159.

1 mile <65%, .5 mile striders, 4 x 400m @ 85% (200m recovery), and 1 mile <65%. Brought back this interval run from a couple weeks ago to give a slight taper before Saturday's race. Total distance: 4 miles. Total time: 45:13. Average HR: 151.

3 miles <70% Max HR. Super easy. It's a struggle to go this slow. Total time: 33:45.

3 miles <70%. I ran at 7pm tonight and loved it. Something about the cool air and setting sun made it a lot easier to keep my HR where it needed to be. Total time was 32:06, but average HR was 145 and only cross 150 (70%) once.

Easy 5 @ 8:40. Adam ran the first half with me, then hopped on the bike and rode along side for the second half. Feeling really good.

Didn't make it out for a run today.

Got another mile in on the treadmill in 6:11.

Met up with the Winter Park crew at 5:30 this morning. We did 7 @ 7:58/mile with a water stop about halfway. 20 miles in the last three days has given me some soreness in my lower shins, so I'll probably rest tomorrow.

Got another mile in this afternoon on the treadmill in 6:11.

5 miles @ 8:15/mile with 4 x 2:00 intervals (1:00 recovery) midrun. Feels good to do some speedwork again.

5 miles @ 8:03/mile with 8 x 1:00 intervals (:30 recovery) midrun. Definitely worked hard to get thru them, but I had no shin pain at all.

4 miles <70%. Super easy pace, but I guess that's the point on a recovery day. Kept my HR way down for most of the run. Total time: 47:24. Average HR: 137

5 miles <70%. Went out at 8:15pm. It was dark, cool, and sprinkling rain the whole time. Definitely a refreshing change from the usual hot morning runs. Supposed to rain for the next 10 days, so I'm looking forward to more runs like this. Total time: 52:30. Average HR: 145.

5 miles <70%. Jumped on the treadmill before heading out to a concert. Pressed for time, so I wasn't able to keep my HR down for the whole way. Total time: 49:16. Average HR: 155

3 miles <70%. Easy run, but it's definitely warming up. 90 degrees at 6:30pm. Total time: 32:07. Average HR: 148.

Easy 5 @ 8:10/mile and still no shin pain. Feeling good!

4 miles @ 7:45 with 4 x 1:00 intervals (:30 recovery) midrun. Had more rest than I wanted to lately, but at least my legs are feeling really good.

3 miles <70% Max HR. Super easy again, but I cut a minute off from yesterday so hopefully that means my heart is getting stronger. Total time: 32:40.

4 miles <70%. Run went well. It's getting easier to keep my HR down. Total time: 42:36. Average HR: 147.

Didn't make it out for a run today.

Just got back from a solid 4 @ 7:48/mile. Still having a little soreness in my shins, but they're normally loosened up after about half a mile.

Today is a rest day.

Today is a rest day.

Met up with the Winter Park crew at 5:30am. We did 6.5 @ 8:38/mile with a couple of water stops along the way. Cool air and an easy pace made this run feel like we were hardly working.

5 miles <70%. Had to change up the course to a simple out and back. I was just not feeling 5 miles worth of laps around the neighborhood. Kept a better pace than yesterday and still stayed below my target HR. Total time: 54:45. Average HR: 145.

5 miles this morning, but not <70% like it was supposed to be. Met a super nice neighbor as I was heading out so we ran together for the first 4 miles. Pace was pretty quick and I was working a lot harder than I would have been, so I'll make this my hard day and do the recovery run tomorrow. It's always cool meeting other runners and it was great to have some company for a change. Total time: 42:30. Average HR: 162.

6 miles <70%. Late night treadmill run again. This time I took it slow enough to keep my target HR. Total time: 69:27. Average HR: 143.

4 miles <70%. Got into a somewhat decent stride the first couple miles, had to slow it down as my HR rose the last couple. Total time: 42:56. Average HR: 147.