Only 7 weeks to go to Columbus. Still plenty of time for a few more key workouts but I am feeling like there isn't quite enough time to get to where I would like to be come race day. I have one more 20+ miler then it is all either racing, pacing, or taper every weekend from here on out.
This week I came up a bit shy on the 65 planned miles. Just ran out of time and then Sunday when I planned to go out for an evening run our water main broke and we had no water to shower with until this morning so I opted for rest instead.
August 17th through August 30th-62 miles
monday- 6.5 easy with TR and Daisy 8:47 pace
tuesday-7 miles with track workout
wednesday-2.6 miles easy to and from my hair appointment 8:43 pace, 7.4 miles easy in the evening with NC 8:09 pace
thursday-10.4 miles with tempo
friday- 10.7 miles easy with cv 8:15 pace
saturday- 4 miles easy last mile at half pacing pace 8:24 average
sunday- 13.1 miles 7:36 pace, a hair too fast
*Edited to Add: I forgot this week I started the 100 push ups challenge so Monday (49), Wednesday (53), and Friday (61) I did a push up workout with David. I made the assumption that I could do 11-20 pushups and started with week 1 column 3. My arms were wrecked after the first workout but I am slowly acclimating. I don't really care if I can do 100 push ups but I want to improve my upper body and core strength and this seemed like a time efficient plan to do that and one that I would be able to stick to. *
Key workouts:
Tuesday Track:
1600, 800, 1600, 800 aiming for sub 6 on all and all faster pace than the last. These were on my own so I was happy with the effort, I am sure coach wanted these closer to 5:50 though
1600-5:57.52 (3:00.61)
800-2:55.91 (4:22.51)
1600-5:55.31 (2:59.49)
800-2:54.66
Thursday Tempo:
7 mile tempo aiming for under 48 or 6:50 pace. another solo effort, happy with it. Still flying sans garmin until they send the refund so I am happy that my pacing instincts are pretty accurate.
6:49.53
6:51.30
6:45.93
6:40.74
6:41.49
6:44.11
6:40.28
47:13
Sunday Pacing:
I'll save the details for the pacer report but was a hair off on a mostly downhill course with some rollers in the middle, pace felt comfortable just had a hard time nailing each mile right on. 1:39:37
Spirit of Columbus Half
I'm pacing the Spirit of Columbus Half this weekend. 1:40 group unless I hear otherwise (I thought I was 1:45 originally but looks like things got moved up which is fine by me!) so 7:38 pace for 13.1 miles. Course looks to be good and advertised as point to point rolling slightly downhill. It will be interesting to see who all comes out, a lot of money for top 5, top 5 masters, top US athlete, and top Ohioans.
I was checking out the site to see if pacer bios were listed and noticed bib numbers are up and I am 1177. Now why can't I get good numbers like this for all of my personal races? I'll keep my fingers crossed for the same at Columbus Full in October ;) But I have a good feeling this bib number will all but ensure a closest to the pin pacer finish this Sunday so look for me to roll in even splits to a 1:39:59 finish!
Maybe I will see some friends at the event. If so good luck and stop by and say hi at the bib pickup or post race!
I was checking out the site to see if pacer bios were listed and noticed bib numbers are up and I am 1177. Now why can't I get good numbers like this for all of my personal races? I'll keep my fingers crossed for the same at Columbus Full in October ;) But I have a good feeling this bib number will all but ensure a closest to the pin pacer finish this Sunday so look for me to roll in even splits to a 1:39:59 finish!
Maybe I will see some friends at the event. If so good luck and stop by and say hi at the bib pickup or post race!
Week 15 with the Coach
Well this week was full of highs and lows! Perfect 10 set me back a bit early in the week up through Thursdays tempo but with two easy days I was back to feeling good for today's 20 miler. PR informed me I was still obviously tired because I was slouching, but I felt good and I am sticking to that, slouching be damned ;)
Rundown: 66 miles for the week
Monday- Rest, about 60- minutes of walking at lunch
Tuesday- Lunch 30 minutes easy, PM Track workout 8 miles
Wednesday- 8.3 miles easy, 8:50 pace (felt much faster, but obviously still tired)
Thursday- 10 miles including tempo effort
Friday- 8 miles recovery, 9:07 pace
Saturday- 90 minutes trails, ~8 miles
Sunday- 20.4 miles average 7:40 pace
Key Workouts:
Tuesday Track:
Whoa still wrecked from Perfect 10 and it was a hot night! Ended up with a nasty side stitch the last two quarters and fell off the pace.
Goal was:
4 laps, push 200, jog 200
8*400 with 60 seconds rest all under 90 aiming for even splits, not necessarily low 80s because of the short rest
2 laps, stride straights, jog curves
200s were all 39-41
400s:
87.69 (59.45)
84.67 (60.94)
84.75 (60.91)
83.76 (58.87)
83.55 (60.80)
83.58 (62.72)
85.71 (60.99)
90.35
100s were just for effort, no timing, likely 19-20
Thursday Tempo:
Goal was the same as three weeks ago: 3 miles aiming for 7:10, 6:40, 6:40 2 minute rest, 2 miles aiming for 6:40 on both, 2 minutes rest, 3 miles aiming for 6:40, 6:40, 7:10
Well my body just said no. Pretty much gave me the finger and told me to go home. Instead of listening I tried to force it and just ended up with some dismal splits and mental exhaustion. This hasn't happened in a really long time so just my body's way of reminding me I am not super human.
mile warm up
7:16
6:51
6:47
2 minute rest
7:00
7:12 (stopped in the middle of this mile because I thought a park I saw would have water only to find none)
2 minute rest
7:19
7:31
7:34
mile cool down
Sunday Long Run:
Had a great relaxing trail run Saturday with Salty and I think that was the rejuvenation needed today. Goal was 20 miles averaging around 7:45 pace last 5 miles at marathon effort aiming for 7:04 pace.
Started early at 7:20 and got in 5 miles with Frank, Salty, and NC before doing the 15 mile loop.
Started a bit behind the group on the 15 which worked out perfectly. Kept us from pushing the pace and just ran comfortably. Last 5 miles I was supposed to go for marathon effort aiming for 7:04. PR kindly came back for me and ran the last 6 miles with me today because Salty had to do a fartlek type effort to finish up her 20. I told him to let me know where the 10 mile marker started on the course and we would start in the effort there. He asked what the effort should be and turns out we were already running 7:05 pace before we even got to the 10 mile marker so we just stayed there and continued the effort from there and PR kindly used his garmin to give me the splits after the run. Felt really good and just tried to run strong. There are some rollers the first 2 to 3 miles here but thankfully the last mile or so is flat. I had been drinking Heed today and I think it must be helping because just like my last 20 I really started to feel stronger later in the run. We hit our last 5 miles in 6:49, 7:00, 7:02, 6:44, and 6:39 to finish out 20 miles in 2:33 and then did a 3 minute cool down easy to the cars. The pace felt comfortably hard like you would expect during training and I am so happy Thursday appears to have been a fluke and just an off day. Really getting excited about my marathon fitness now.
Rundown: 66 miles for the week
Monday- Rest, about 60- minutes of walking at lunch
Tuesday- Lunch 30 minutes easy, PM Track workout 8 miles
Wednesday- 8.3 miles easy, 8:50 pace (felt much faster, but obviously still tired)
Thursday- 10 miles including tempo effort
Friday- 8 miles recovery, 9:07 pace
Saturday- 90 minutes trails, ~8 miles
Sunday- 20.4 miles average 7:40 pace
Key Workouts:
Tuesday Track:
Whoa still wrecked from Perfect 10 and it was a hot night! Ended up with a nasty side stitch the last two quarters and fell off the pace.
Goal was:
4 laps, push 200, jog 200
8*400 with 60 seconds rest all under 90 aiming for even splits, not necessarily low 80s because of the short rest
2 laps, stride straights, jog curves
200s were all 39-41
400s:
87.69 (59.45)
84.67 (60.94)
84.75 (60.91)
83.76 (58.87)
83.55 (60.80)
83.58 (62.72)
85.71 (60.99)
90.35
100s were just for effort, no timing, likely 19-20
Thursday Tempo:
Goal was the same as three weeks ago: 3 miles aiming for 7:10, 6:40, 6:40 2 minute rest, 2 miles aiming for 6:40 on both, 2 minutes rest, 3 miles aiming for 6:40, 6:40, 7:10
Well my body just said no. Pretty much gave me the finger and told me to go home. Instead of listening I tried to force it and just ended up with some dismal splits and mental exhaustion. This hasn't happened in a really long time so just my body's way of reminding me I am not super human.
mile warm up
7:16
6:51
6:47
2 minute rest
7:00
7:12 (stopped in the middle of this mile because I thought a park I saw would have water only to find none)
2 minute rest
7:19
7:31
7:34
mile cool down
Sunday Long Run:
Had a great relaxing trail run Saturday with Salty and I think that was the rejuvenation needed today. Goal was 20 miles averaging around 7:45 pace last 5 miles at marathon effort aiming for 7:04 pace.
Started early at 7:20 and got in 5 miles with Frank, Salty, and NC before doing the 15 mile loop.
Started a bit behind the group on the 15 which worked out perfectly. Kept us from pushing the pace and just ran comfortably. Last 5 miles I was supposed to go for marathon effort aiming for 7:04. PR kindly came back for me and ran the last 6 miles with me today because Salty had to do a fartlek type effort to finish up her 20. I told him to let me know where the 10 mile marker started on the course and we would start in the effort there. He asked what the effort should be and turns out we were already running 7:05 pace before we even got to the 10 mile marker so we just stayed there and continued the effort from there and PR kindly used his garmin to give me the splits after the run. Felt really good and just tried to run strong. There are some rollers the first 2 to 3 miles here but thankfully the last mile or so is flat. I had been drinking Heed today and I think it must be helping because just like my last 20 I really started to feel stronger later in the run. We hit our last 5 miles in 6:49, 7:00, 7:02, 6:44, and 6:39 to finish out 20 miles in 2:33 and then did a 3 minute cool down easy to the cars. The pace felt comfortably hard like you would expect during training and I am so happy Thursday appears to have been a fluke and just an off day. Really getting excited about my marathon fitness now.
Not related to running at all
Our office AC is broken (apparently happened at some point this morning) and we are all frying up in here. I had to laugh out loud at a few of my coworkers status updates:
Last week we found a cockroach in the hall and the building manager informed us they just sprayed and that the bug was likely weakened and looking for water which is why we saw it. Ok I am sorry but that is just disturbing, especially when you consider it took two full grown male coworkers to kill the thing and they still ended up having to flush it because it wasn't quite dead.
I am really considering heading home for the day to finish out my work there.
Okay and to include something running related. What on earth is happening when my left foot strikes while running? I checked out the perfect 10 photos and half of them I look strong and in control, the other half I look like I am dying and about to crumple over forwards at the waist (This is with a significant improvement in my form and posture, am I just hopeless?) No comments about the glaring white belly please. It really was hot if I am willing to bare the donut.
has a new 'supplemental' weight loss program: turn off the a/c at work and sweat away those additional pounds. This program is designed for those who didn't shed enough pounds while sleeping in 80 degree bedrooms. Results may vary; side effects include: BO scaring off your coworkers and dehydration.
is so hot, so very very hot =( Please make the air flow....please....this building is hell enough and now the heat, the miserable heat....
Last week we found a cockroach in the hall and the building manager informed us they just sprayed and that the bug was likely weakened and looking for water which is why we saw it. Ok I am sorry but that is just disturbing, especially when you consider it took two full grown male coworkers to kill the thing and they still ended up having to flush it because it wasn't quite dead.
I am really considering heading home for the day to finish out my work there.
Okay and to include something running related. What on earth is happening when my left foot strikes while running? I checked out the perfect 10 photos and half of them I look strong and in control, the other half I look like I am dying and about to crumple over forwards at the waist (This is with a significant improvement in my form and posture, am I just hopeless?) No comments about the glaring white belly please. It really was hot if I am willing to bare the donut.
Perfect 10 Miler
Well it may not have been perfect but it was pretty darn close.
I was fairly confident going into the race that I was ready for a breakthrough. Tuesday night at the track I bugged my friend to help me run well since I knew he was still recovering from burning river I thought no way he will be racing again yet, but he might like to get in a good hard 10 miles with me. Think again girlfriend! He not only ran the fastest mile of his adult life that night on the track he also won the damn twilight trail on Thursday. Guy just doesn't slow down. He asked what pace I was going for and I said I figured 6:35, and then asked coach what he thought and he said 65 or better. Math isn't my strong suit so I made sure to clarify the pace and yup 6:30 or better was the goal. Seemed a little quick but I had a few breakthrough workouts the past few weeks and being that I have been working hard for 14 weeks straight it was definitely time to move out of that 52 VDOT and up to 53.
Not to mention that short races aren't really my thing. I am much more at ease with the pain associated with races lasting 60 minutes or up. I was stoked to be done with this short fast crap and moving on to a race distance I felt I could excel in. I seemed to have an affinity for 6:38ish pace this year when racing longer and I was looking forward to confirming that that pace was dropping. Also this was going to be a better indicator of my fitness level for the marathon than any of the short races I have done. Not to mention I have only raced two ten milers before and neither were stellar. It wasn't going to be hard to PR this race even on an awful day.
I didn't have the brightest of all setups for the race. This weekend was my 10 year high school reunion which I opted not to go to, I decided the race was important enough that I shouldn't be out late. But I decided since a few people were getting together Friday night that was a good compromise. I probably had one too many Friday night and was up much too late. But it was fun and I got to see some old friends who I haven't been in touch with. (Not to mention a few exes I'd rather stay out of touch with!)
Saturday I was supposed to meet up with my best friend from high school for breakfast, get in a short easy run, off to grandmas for early dinner then back home and in bed by 10. Well didn't go as planned, settled for breakfast with another good friend as my bf overslept and instead got in a run with my dad then headed to the mall with bf to help her pick out her reunion outfit (she looked smoking by the way, yet classy, just a lesson girls the point of reunions is not to go dressed as hookers, off my sb). This took a little longer than planned and we didn't get to my grandparents until after 5. Had a delicious home cooked meal and played games. I sadly did not win, but that isn't too unusual playing with my family and my husband. We all have more than our fair share of good luck. We got on the road a little before 9 back to Cleveland and my wonderful husband drove us all the way home while I got in some fitful sleep.
Called GP to see if we were still carpooling only to find out the race started at 7:30. Uggh that is early meaning I needed to be up by 5:30 at the latest. I am not a morning person even when fully rested so I was not bright eyed nor bushy tailed when I hopped in GPs car to head to the race.
We arrived with plenty of time to get our bibs and hit the restrooms. Since I had come in 3rd in cards the night before and my bib was 124 I figured it was a sign that I had a good chance of placing 3rd but didn't think much of it after that. I always hope for a good bib number, I prefer 77. Found CV and Salty and we all warmed up together. Got in about 2 miles and after a second bathroom stop CV and I had time for one stride before heading to the start. Got to the start and had trouble figuring out which was the front and which was the back of the pack. Figured it out and found a bunch of SERC runners at the start. Surprised to find they were all looking for me and were all excited to see me reach the time goal coach had set for me. My friend did show up to pace me and I was excited to have such a big group of friends to run with. Coach asked me if I was warmed up and I said I did one stride, that was not enough for him, so I quickly got in one more and he told me to go out 6:20s and not freak out about it then to settle into 6:30.
Salty and TM were at the start with me and I told them my friend would be trying to help me run 65 and we could all work together if they had similar goals. TM and Salty are great runners and both have always finished ahead of me in head to head races, but I am not ever that far behind so I knew it was possible we would all be running together. Before I even had time to think about anything the race started and off we go.
I went out at what I thought was a good controlled effort. The guys with Garmins told us it was a wee bit aggressive but it felt fine. We had a nice little group of 2-3 girls and 3-4 guys and most were friends I run with all the time. It was nice to have so many friends to run with and it felt just like running in a pace group for the marathon only I really felt everyone was rallied around the top girls to help us (or themselves, lets face it some guys just want to inch ahead of those girls at the line!). I was able to converse with everyone and I was happy that the pace felt very doable and I was feeling strong.
I heard the garmin beeps go off well before the mile marker and the guys warned we were going too fast but I have found in a race you have to go by the course markers, garmin is a good indicator, but every race I have done my garmin has been off, both ways, and misled me into thinking I was either on pace when I wasn't (Boston) or that I was behind pace when I was ahead (Youngstown). So I went with the mile markers and we hit that right on 6:29. Perfect if you ask me, if the mile had been downhill I would have worried about not hitting the 6:20 coach recommended, but to be quite honest I am a good pacer (that's why they let me pace so many marathons!) and I know my body and I wanted to try and run the race at even pace, with the effort obviously going up in the end to hold on.
Not everyone runs the same though and pretty early in the race a gal with headphones and a skirt on had pulled ahead of our group with a bit of a surge but obviously settled right back into the pace we were running. That's okay some people like to run alone. (Not me!) TM went after her and they surged back and forth. My pacer warned me not to play games, but he didn't need to warn me, I wouldn't know how to race tactically even if I wanted to and I certainly won't waste any energy that early in a race. I am made to run even effort, that's just my style. Salty and I joked that we should let them wear themselves out.
At the same time I am not going to let anyone run away from me if they will help pull me to my desired pace. Around mile 3 I felt that we needed to pull up closer to the two gals because we needed to up the effort. And I think I was right because our mile 2 split was 6:14 and 3 was 6:38 (I'll warrant that these mile markers may not have been accurate, but our effort had definitely slipped we were getting too comfortable). So I pushed a little bit to reel TM and skirt gal in. The group stayed together and we moved onto a straight stretch where my pacer informed me it was straight and downhill. Straight for sure, downhill, my ass! We were on a false flat up and I could tell the effort was higher because my pacer ran away with my SERC buddy. I told Salty so much for having a pacer, they've decided they are racing! At the next water stop they fell behind though and rejoined me.
Somewhere in this section the path narrowed, they put up cones to keep us in one lane and I was concerned I was boxing other runners out so I turned and said just holler if you need me to get out of your way. TM pulled ahead here a bit with skirt gal but everyone else seemed content to run with the group. Mile 4 we hit 6:18 and mile 5 we were just a little slow hitting the half at 32:36.
This section is a false flat up and I knew I needed to save energy for the way back which would be down. Strength running just isn't my thing I know I can always make it up on the down though. Somewhere right around 5 we began to see the lead runners coming back. They were flying! I cheered for the runners I knew, mistakenly calling Bill Brian, sorry! And was cheering for a club friend when he started screaming at my pacer that he can't pace the lead runner he will get me disqualified. This startled me because up until then it never crossed my mind that anyone perceived I was in the lead. There was 4 of us all together and racing was not even in my mind. My pacer shrugged it off, he was there to help me run a time goal and I wasn't there to place. He turned to the group though and let me know he was actually a bit worn out so he was going to stop and would jump back in later. I was feeling really strong and wasn't that concerned about it. So I just said thanks for your help and kept pushing on with the other gals.
There was a young guy in white in front of us and in order to keep the pace up I was slowly reeling him in. We made the turn around and I made sure to go outside the cone because I wanted to make sure I didn't cut the course. I was a little rattled by my friends yelling and I insinuated that he was upset with me and felt I was breaking the rules. (Turns out he was just trying to look out for me and didn't want me to get DQ'ed)
I was looking forward to running back (mostly because it was downhill and meant I was closer to the finish) but also so I could see more of my friends and cheer for them. Everyone looked great. At that point Salty was just in front of me and I assumed TM and skirt gal were right with me because I didn't see them on the turn. We hit a water stop just before mile 6 (6:33) and TM started to pull away.
I was right on pace and knew I needed to keep working. Salty yelled up to me to go get her. I didn't have the energy to turn around and say WTF you get up here too so I just pushed on assuming she would cath me like she always does. The next mile I worked to catch TM but I knew our pace wasn't fast enough and sure enough 6:37 as I caught her right at the mile marker. I tried to say something nice, I think it came out lets go, but honestly can't recall, and talking was starting to become more difficult.
Around 7.5 I saw my pacer friend and he hopped back in to try and keep me on pace. Every crossing I would hear the volunteers cheering for TM and Salty so I knew we were all still close together (or thought so anyways). I was starting to realize that it was going to be really close whether I made my goal time or not. We came up on a water stop around mile 8 and they were stationed on the right when everyone was running on the left. I kept calling out to them to move over towards the runners. Wasted a bit of energy here, but still way better than zig zagging across the street for water. And I hope the volunteers realized after that to bring the water closer to the runners.
TM and I were right together and there was a confusing turn. We didn't know which way to go and were yelling to the volunteers to direct us. Figured it out and we headed up a hill. Ahh my weakness. But I managed to rally and caught back up to TM. At mile 8 I started doing the math and realized I needed to nail the next two miles. There was no more talking at this point, I had been thanking cops along the way and volunteers, but I needed to save my energy to focus on pacing at this point. I kept waiting for the other girls to catch me like they always do and at mile 9 with a 6:50 realized I would have to run sub 6 to make my goal. Time to go to work.
I hoped desperately that mile 9 had been long and that 10 would be short and pumped my arms and focused on my form. I was dismayed that we were all by ourselves except for the kid in white who I just couldn't seem to catch and work with (My bet is he didn't really want me catching him anyways). I can see my pacer ahead and know he is trying to will me to get there, that I am close, but not quite there, and I tried harder when we hit the flats, but the little rollers were doing me in.
I was trying to remember if I had to run around the track once or if it was straight to the finish. I just could not stomach the fact of running a lap on the track. Volunteers called out that I had 600 yards to go. Bill was yelling go 350, I am not sure if for me or not, coach was screaming to work harder only 400 to go it's all fast on the track. I am just waiting for everyone to blow by me as I push hard knowing I probably won't even get my goal. And then again my friend is yelling at my pacer that he can't pace the lead girl. I am still in shock that I am the lead girl and just waiting for someone to catch me. I run into the stadium with my dismal attempt at a kick again expecting someone to barrel by any second and realize at the line no one will so I give a VR peace sign and look at the watch to see how I fared.
Watch time was 65:11 (official 65:08). Good, but didn't quite get the goal. I turn around to cheer Salty and who I think is our friend CV (turns out nope another speedy gal in blue) in and then TM. We all finish within 45 seconds of each other, and apparently I missed out on quite a little race for second. Skirt girl ends up finishing a distant 5th but a better time than she had last year.
I'm excited but shocked and feel badly about having a pacer. My friends all assure me it isn't an issue and that there is no need to DQ myself because if anyone should complain it would be them and they weren't worried about it. I felt a bit upset because I don't even care about winning (had even talked about it with TM at twilight trail, that I had hoped we would all work together to reach our times goals and at the end of the day if I got under 65 I don't care if I came in DFL).
We cool down and talk over the race and I am stoked to have run so well but disappointed I missed the goal. I was hoping more fast women would show up to help pull me along. Celebrating with my friends and then we get back and TM lets me know the guys are still talking about me having a pacer and I feel badly because I don't even care about winning, didn't even know there was a prize, and I am not comfortable being in that sort of spotlight. It is one thing to win in cards or to win a race when no one there knows you. It just felt like a lot of pressure knowing all my friends were there and they were all so excited for me, but I would have rather run 64:59 and come in 4th.
I actually felt pretty good after the race and was quite impressed with my fitness level until a few hours later when I crashed hard. I ended up taking two naps and my upper body was wrecked, just very tight like a pinched nerve and sore. I slept it all off and Monday still didn't feel right about the pacer thing so I offered to DQ myself. I took the action on my own terms because I felt it was the right thing to do.
I think there were assumptions made Sunday by me that could have been clarified if it wasn't in such a competitive time sensitive atmosphere and perhaps I wouldn't have chosen to DQ myself. But because of the atmosphere everything got blown way out of proportion. I personally don't think the personal pacer is right for lead runners, and had I even considered for an instant I would be a lead runner I wouldn't have had one. That is the main issue and I think personality/emotions took this a wee bit too far. It was an honest mistake and was never intended to be a tool used to help me do better than anyone else, it was a tool to help me reach my time goal.
All that said this was a FANTASTIC race for me. This was a breakthrough and I am excited for what it means for my goals at Columbus (although coach still seems wary of upping the ante on that). This was by far my best race to date and I executed it as well as I could on the day given the circumstances. Early in the race I could just tell it would be a good day as long as I pushed myself. My breathing just sounded better than those around me and the pace felt good. A lot of people felt heat was a major factor but I opted to run in my sports bra (Sorry VR!) and I honestly never felt the heat was a factor in my race. I felt comfortable the whole way. Now I wish I could say the same for the past two days, I think that race took quite a bit out of me and I have been a sweaty dehydrated mess since!
Splits for those that like em. I do think these markers were off or there was much more elevation change than I realized because my effort was even the whole time, increasing as I got tired, I never surged or anything like that:
6:29.56
6:13.59
6:37.65
6:17.50
6:57.75 (32:36)
6:33.87
6:37.23
6:18.56
6:50.08
6:15.43 (1:05:08)
Twilight Trail 8k
Thursday night was the 3rd annual Twilight Trail 8k race. The past two years I have run this as a female team with Amie and we came in 2nd and then 1st last year. This year Amie is injured and since I was planning to race Perfect 10 I wasn't sure about doing Twilight Trail. I didn't want to pair up with anyone and hold them back since I knew I couldn't run myself into the ground. I have been training with NC the past few weeks and she asked if I would pair up with her. I decided she was fast enough that hopefully I wouldn't hold her back. Trails are usually my forte so I thought I could hold my own and help repeat the win.
Well we got to the race and there was a ton more people this year! Including a few new female teams that would definitely give us a run for our money. This event is special in that it has a staggered start based on age and sex and your final time is not your actual race time, but your staggered time. The race is for charity and in order to raise more money you can pay to move up one sex stagger. Last year I didn't pay and ended up running the fastest female split but coming in second because I started a minute behind the leader. Since we didn't know if the other teams were paying to move up we decided we better pay just in case they had, plus it is for charity. As a bonus moving up a stagger for us puts us in with the younger gals and gets rid of the backlog at the stream and hill that we would have to deal with if we started a minute later.
The race got off to a late start due to all the new faces. No worries this is a fun run mostly anyways. (As a side note if you have not done any of the clevelandplaysracing races this year you are missing out. Kate Pophal does a great job and these races are competitive but still lighthearted and fun and well run.) I decided to try and run with my partner as long as I could hold on. We took off and there was four of us together, Frank, NC, SAI, and me. SAI had a fantastic run at Muddy Paws so I figured she was in my league and that we could all work together. At the stream she started to take off the wrong way and the three of us start screaming right right right. She got back on track quickly and caught us shortly after the stream.
We headed up the monster hill and I tried to ease off the pace but in retrospect I should have eased off a bit more. We got to the top and my legs were toast. Apparently being on your feet all day at Cedar Point and doing a hard track workout on Tuesday equaled legs that were not up for long steep hills by Thursday. I did my best to try and catch back up to the group but never got my foothold.
The group passed a man running with his dog and I politely called out passing on the right. He didn't move so I called out again and he proceeded to ask me why I wanted to pass on the right. Frankly he was taking up the whole trail with his dog and I did not want to get tangled up in the leash, it wouldn't be hard for him to move an inch to his left while I don't think me communicating "on the left" to his dog was going to be very effective. I just said I was afraid of dogs to move things along, this is a freaking race after all and he proceeds to lecture me about how I need to get over that.
Whatever I passed on the right and tried to get my legs back. I am still a little irritated about this though. I know this guy and he is a nice guy has a very nice daughter, but if you are going to run with your dog in a race and someone asks you to let them pass you should be polite and let them do so. And even though I am not really afraid of his dog if I was that is a perfectly acceptable fear considering I have been jumped on by a dog while running and was left with bruises so big a guy at the gym thought it was a tattoo. And I also have many friends who were attacked by dogs while running. It is just natural for a dog to what to chase you, while most probably aren't a problem, you just never know how an animal may react to you. If I had just been out for a run I would have had time to ask if the dog was nice, give clearance etc, but this was a race situation and if you are being passed, dog or not, it is just polite to move over when someone requests it.
I lost a little ground on the group here and knew there was one more hill to deal with before I could get my legs back and try to catch up. I pushed through passing runners from the early staggered starts and cheering them on. I just never completely got my legs back. TM caught me about half way through and I couldn't get my legs to respond and go with her. I got excited before mile 3 thinking there would be water only to realize it was just a few kids cheering. They yelled out that they hoped I won, I said not likely. They replied that they believed in me. Too fun. Now if only my legs would believe it too!
I hammered the downhills down to Squire Castle and could see that NC had a huge lead on me and that SAI and Frank were a little ahead of her. I cheered for her as I made my way around the castle. Made the mistake of looking over my shoulder to find that a young guy and KG were coming up on my quickly. I know KG is faster than me, but having her pass me when I had a 60 second head start still isn't good for the ego. I tried to go with her, but just didn't have the juice. I knew I needed to hammer it in though in case her partner was right behind me. I also knew Frank was going to need to push as this young guy was coming up quickly. Frank is tough though and he held out for the win!
I did my best to hammer it in, thanking Kate for another great race as I made my way to the finish. Ended up running 34:55 compared to my 34:21 last year. Not bad but would have liked to have at least run the same time as last year given I am obviously in much better shape. But last year I was on the trails a lot and this year I have hardly run trails at all. In the end the effort was good enough for our team to pull out the win. Very glad I didn't hold my partner back, I would have felt bad if we lost because of me.
It was another fun night and I got in a good hard effort run which is the goal on Thursdays. Hung out with my friends chatting about the race after as they gave out awards. First place was good enough for $125 for our team. Not too bad for 35 minutes hard work. Finished things up with a beer and headed out to DQ for blizzards. A good way to end the night.
Once the race posts photos I will try to update with a few. Great job to NC and Frank! Daisy and GP also had a good team run! TM pulled out the female win again and ran much better than last year, girl is one tough cookie!
Well we got to the race and there was a ton more people this year! Including a few new female teams that would definitely give us a run for our money. This event is special in that it has a staggered start based on age and sex and your final time is not your actual race time, but your staggered time. The race is for charity and in order to raise more money you can pay to move up one sex stagger. Last year I didn't pay and ended up running the fastest female split but coming in second because I started a minute behind the leader. Since we didn't know if the other teams were paying to move up we decided we better pay just in case they had, plus it is for charity. As a bonus moving up a stagger for us puts us in with the younger gals and gets rid of the backlog at the stream and hill that we would have to deal with if we started a minute later.
The race got off to a late start due to all the new faces. No worries this is a fun run mostly anyways. (As a side note if you have not done any of the clevelandplaysracing races this year you are missing out. Kate Pophal does a great job and these races are competitive but still lighthearted and fun and well run.) I decided to try and run with my partner as long as I could hold on. We took off and there was four of us together, Frank, NC, SAI, and me. SAI had a fantastic run at Muddy Paws so I figured she was in my league and that we could all work together. At the stream she started to take off the wrong way and the three of us start screaming right right right. She got back on track quickly and caught us shortly after the stream.
We headed up the monster hill and I tried to ease off the pace but in retrospect I should have eased off a bit more. We got to the top and my legs were toast. Apparently being on your feet all day at Cedar Point and doing a hard track workout on Tuesday equaled legs that were not up for long steep hills by Thursday. I did my best to try and catch back up to the group but never got my foothold.
The group passed a man running with his dog and I politely called out passing on the right. He didn't move so I called out again and he proceeded to ask me why I wanted to pass on the right. Frankly he was taking up the whole trail with his dog and I did not want to get tangled up in the leash, it wouldn't be hard for him to move an inch to his left while I don't think me communicating "on the left" to his dog was going to be very effective. I just said I was afraid of dogs to move things along, this is a freaking race after all and he proceeds to lecture me about how I need to get over that.
Whatever I passed on the right and tried to get my legs back. I am still a little irritated about this though. I know this guy and he is a nice guy has a very nice daughter, but if you are going to run with your dog in a race and someone asks you to let them pass you should be polite and let them do so. And even though I am not really afraid of his dog if I was that is a perfectly acceptable fear considering I have been jumped on by a dog while running and was left with bruises so big a guy at the gym thought it was a tattoo. And I also have many friends who were attacked by dogs while running. It is just natural for a dog to what to chase you, while most probably aren't a problem, you just never know how an animal may react to you. If I had just been out for a run I would have had time to ask if the dog was nice, give clearance etc, but this was a race situation and if you are being passed, dog or not, it is just polite to move over when someone requests it.
I lost a little ground on the group here and knew there was one more hill to deal with before I could get my legs back and try to catch up. I pushed through passing runners from the early staggered starts and cheering them on. I just never completely got my legs back. TM caught me about half way through and I couldn't get my legs to respond and go with her. I got excited before mile 3 thinking there would be water only to realize it was just a few kids cheering. They yelled out that they hoped I won, I said not likely. They replied that they believed in me. Too fun. Now if only my legs would believe it too!
I hammered the downhills down to Squire Castle and could see that NC had a huge lead on me and that SAI and Frank were a little ahead of her. I cheered for her as I made my way around the castle. Made the mistake of looking over my shoulder to find that a young guy and KG were coming up on my quickly. I know KG is faster than me, but having her pass me when I had a 60 second head start still isn't good for the ego. I tried to go with her, but just didn't have the juice. I knew I needed to hammer it in though in case her partner was right behind me. I also knew Frank was going to need to push as this young guy was coming up quickly. Frank is tough though and he held out for the win!
I did my best to hammer it in, thanking Kate for another great race as I made my way to the finish. Ended up running 34:55 compared to my 34:21 last year. Not bad but would have liked to have at least run the same time as last year given I am obviously in much better shape. But last year I was on the trails a lot and this year I have hardly run trails at all. In the end the effort was good enough for our team to pull out the win. Very glad I didn't hold my partner back, I would have felt bad if we lost because of me.
It was another fun night and I got in a good hard effort run which is the goal on Thursdays. Hung out with my friends chatting about the race after as they gave out awards. First place was good enough for $125 for our team. Not too bad for 35 minutes hard work. Finished things up with a beer and headed out to DQ for blizzards. A good way to end the night.
Once the race posts photos I will try to update with a few. Great job to NC and Frank! Daisy and GP also had a good team run! TM pulled out the female win again and ran much better than last year, girl is one tough cookie!
Elephant
Uggh I hate those moments in life where you realize you probably could have made a better choice and there isn't an ideal way to fix the issue so you just have to take the route you deem most appropriate and hope the fodder of it all has minimal impact on all those around you involved.
I should be celebrating a great race performance yesterday but instead there is a big elephant in the room so I am going to air that first and tomorrow or later in the week hopefully I will be able to write up a good race report that isn't tainted with controversy.
This weekend was the perfect 10 mile race. Coach had tasked me with a goal of running 65 minutes or 6:30 pace. That seemed aggressive to me but doable and although it was in my thoughts I didn't really have much time to plan or think about it because I was busy with a lot of other things last week. I didn't even know what time the race started or where it started until Saturday night around 9 pm when I called GP to find out if I could carpool with her on my way home from Michigan. Obviously I was not as prepared as normal for this but sometimes there are other important things going on that take precedent.
Keeping all that in mind I joked with my friend Thursday night that I could use his help pacing me on Sunday if he was willing to slow his roll a bit for me and wasn't intending to race all out. He said he would consider and I didn't think much about it after that, until I got to the line yesterday and he was there waiting to help me (I literally got to the line about 30 seconds before the start and had time for one stride and for coach to tell me to go out in the 6:20s and not freak out about it). I was there by a few of my fast girlfriends and I told them it looked like we could work with my pacer since he was there.
Little did I know we would all be vying for top places in the race and that having help may have been a factor in the results. I had no intentions of placing in this race and my only goal was to meet the time goal coach had set out for me. If I had any idea I could be in contention I never would have asked my friend to run with me and help me run my time.
Needless to say I ran very well and I have been wracked with guilt about it since. So today I emailed the race director and asked that they disqualify me and remove my name from the results. My only goal was to run a certain time and I really don't care about my place or prizes so this does not bother me at all. I just feel badly that I didn't think to do this directly after the race yesterday. And I also feel badly that any other runner may have let this affect their personal race as that was obviously not my intention.
On top of that I feel badly that I can't seem to relish in my good performance the way I should be able to. Pacer or not I ran well and worked very hard. I feel that performing well is a testament to my coach, my family, my friends, and my running club and I am sorry that I put myself in a position where I felt I had to take that away from myself and them.
Lesson learned. I am fast enough now that I can't run with friends anymore in order to achieve goal times, had I been a few minutes slower or had there been women there who ran a few minutes faster I would just be celebrating running a good race today instead of apologizing and trying to make amends. Now I know and won't put myself in that situation again.
I should be celebrating a great race performance yesterday but instead there is a big elephant in the room so I am going to air that first and tomorrow or later in the week hopefully I will be able to write up a good race report that isn't tainted with controversy.
This weekend was the perfect 10 mile race. Coach had tasked me with a goal of running 65 minutes or 6:30 pace. That seemed aggressive to me but doable and although it was in my thoughts I didn't really have much time to plan or think about it because I was busy with a lot of other things last week. I didn't even know what time the race started or where it started until Saturday night around 9 pm when I called GP to find out if I could carpool with her on my way home from Michigan. Obviously I was not as prepared as normal for this but sometimes there are other important things going on that take precedent.
Keeping all that in mind I joked with my friend Thursday night that I could use his help pacing me on Sunday if he was willing to slow his roll a bit for me and wasn't intending to race all out. He said he would consider and I didn't think much about it after that, until I got to the line yesterday and he was there waiting to help me (I literally got to the line about 30 seconds before the start and had time for one stride and for coach to tell me to go out in the 6:20s and not freak out about it). I was there by a few of my fast girlfriends and I told them it looked like we could work with my pacer since he was there.
Little did I know we would all be vying for top places in the race and that having help may have been a factor in the results. I had no intentions of placing in this race and my only goal was to meet the time goal coach had set out for me. If I had any idea I could be in contention I never would have asked my friend to run with me and help me run my time.
Needless to say I ran very well and I have been wracked with guilt about it since. So today I emailed the race director and asked that they disqualify me and remove my name from the results. My only goal was to run a certain time and I really don't care about my place or prizes so this does not bother me at all. I just feel badly that I didn't think to do this directly after the race yesterday. And I also feel badly that any other runner may have let this affect their personal race as that was obviously not my intention.
On top of that I feel badly that I can't seem to relish in my good performance the way I should be able to. Pacer or not I ran well and worked very hard. I feel that performing well is a testament to my coach, my family, my friends, and my running club and I am sorry that I put myself in a position where I felt I had to take that away from myself and them.
Lesson learned. I am fast enough now that I can't run with friends anymore in order to achieve goal times, had I been a few minutes slower or had there been women there who ran a few minutes faster I would just be celebrating running a good race today instead of apologizing and trying to make amends. Now I know and won't put myself in that situation again.
Week 14 with the Coach
Another light week due to the race on Sunday.
August 10th-16th 53 miles
Monday-4.7 miles easy on trails with Daisy before heading to Cedar Point
Tuesday- 7.5 miles including track workout
Wednesday-8 miles easy with Daisy
Thursday-9 miles with Twilight Trail 8K (report to come)
Friday-4.4 miles easy (supposed to do 6-7 but just not enough time)
Saturday- 4 miles easy with Dad on his bike
Sunday- Perfect 10 miler (report to come) plus 2 mile warm up and 3 mile cool down
Only one key "workout" this week since I ran the Twilight Trail 8K Thursday and the Perfect 10 miler Sunday. I was whipped most of the week from Cedar Point and female issues. Sunday after the race I took two naps totaling over 4 hours. I was just beat.
Track-
Ran 4*1200 aiming for 4:35, 4:30, 4:25, 4:20
This workout was tough and almost met the goals but not quite, just couldn't get it done despite the 3 minute rests.
4:36.09 (2:59.98)
4:29.06 (3:02.62)
4:24.18 (3:03.01)
4:23.39
August 10th-16th 53 miles
Monday-4.7 miles easy on trails with Daisy before heading to Cedar Point
Tuesday- 7.5 miles including track workout
Wednesday-8 miles easy with Daisy
Thursday-9 miles with Twilight Trail 8K (report to come)
Friday-4.4 miles easy (supposed to do 6-7 but just not enough time)
Saturday- 4 miles easy with Dad on his bike
Sunday- Perfect 10 miler (report to come) plus 2 mile warm up and 3 mile cool down
Only one key "workout" this week since I ran the Twilight Trail 8K Thursday and the Perfect 10 miler Sunday. I was whipped most of the week from Cedar Point and female issues. Sunday after the race I took two naps totaling over 4 hours. I was just beat.
Track-
Ran 4*1200 aiming for 4:35, 4:30, 4:25, 4:20
This workout was tough and almost met the goals but not quite, just couldn't get it done despite the 3 minute rests.
4:36.09 (2:59.98)
4:29.06 (3:02.62)
4:24.18 (3:03.01)
4:23.39
Week 13 of coached training
Followed up last weeks low mileage week with a bit more mileage this time around. Mostly due to getting in a medium long run Monday (guilt of no weekend running) and the first 20 miler to get ready for Columbus (and pacing at Akron). Had a good hard effort on Tuesday and Thursday and despite majorly tired legs had a nice 20 mile effort.
Monday August 3rd through Sunday August 9th-74 miles
Monday- 12.5 easy 8:26 pace
Tuesday- am: 6 Easy pm: Track 7 miles
Wednesday- 6.5 easy 8:11 pace
Thursday- 9.5 miles with tempo
Friday- 6 easy 8:47 pace
Saturday- 20 miles 8:13 pace
Sunday- 6.5 recovery 8:40 pace
Key Workouts:
Track:
Coach had a mile time trial on tap plus 2*800 and 4*400. Don't think I got in quite enough of a warm up but managed to PR the mile time trial in 5:35.2. Took it out way too fast trying to chase my "pacers" in 80 and 81 and finished it out with 88 and 86. paced BB on her final lap of her TT in 94 then we did our workout aiming for under 3 on the 800s and under 85 on the quarters.
2*800
2:58.95 (2:31.45)
2:58.44 (2:33.87)
4*400
1:24.93(1:59.59)
1:21.59 (2:00.22)
1:21.80 (2:04.25)
1:19.04
Tempo:
Ran this one with NC at NC, aiming for 6:52ish with the last mile the fastest (ended up going for most effort as we ran a little too fast most of the workout) for 7 miles. Either the mile markers are a wee bit short on some of these or it was just a nice night and easier to run with company. We did out and back 2.5 than out 1.5 and back 0.5. The first, 4th, and 5th mile are pretty rolling so I was surprised at how well we did those.
06:41.1
06:53.6
06:31.0
06:37.4
06:34.8
06:41.3
06:38.3
Total 46:37.5
Long Run:
Took it a bit easier and ran with company. We decided to run from NC on the roads and did a very hilly route with three significant killer climbs. The last two miles we picked it up aiming for 7:20s but went a little fast in 7:10 and 6:54. The hills were zapping my already tired legs early in the run but around mile 17 on the last large hill I finally found my groove. I felt really strong the last two miles like I could have kept up the effort for at least a few more. Finally starting to feel like a marathoner again!
Monday August 3rd through Sunday August 9th-74 miles
Monday- 12.5 easy 8:26 pace
Tuesday- am: 6 Easy pm: Track 7 miles
Wednesday- 6.5 easy 8:11 pace
Thursday- 9.5 miles with tempo
Friday- 6 easy 8:47 pace
Saturday- 20 miles 8:13 pace
Sunday- 6.5 recovery 8:40 pace
Key Workouts:
Track:
Coach had a mile time trial on tap plus 2*800 and 4*400. Don't think I got in quite enough of a warm up but managed to PR the mile time trial in 5:35.2. Took it out way too fast trying to chase my "pacers" in 80 and 81 and finished it out with 88 and 86. paced BB on her final lap of her TT in 94 then we did our workout aiming for under 3 on the 800s and under 85 on the quarters.
2*800
2:58.95 (2:31.45)
2:58.44 (2:33.87)
4*400
1:24.93(1:59.59)
1:21.59 (2:00.22)
1:21.80 (2:04.25)
1:19.04
Tempo:
Ran this one with NC at NC, aiming for 6:52ish with the last mile the fastest (ended up going for most effort as we ran a little too fast most of the workout) for 7 miles. Either the mile markers are a wee bit short on some of these or it was just a nice night and easier to run with company. We did out and back 2.5 than out 1.5 and back 0.5. The first, 4th, and 5th mile are pretty rolling so I was surprised at how well we did those.
06:41.1
06:53.6
06:31.0
06:37.4
06:34.8
06:41.3
06:38.3
Total 46:37.5
Long Run:
Took it a bit easier and ran with company. We decided to run from NC on the roads and did a very hilly route with three significant killer climbs. The last two miles we picked it up aiming for 7:20s but went a little fast in 7:10 and 6:54. The hills were zapping my already tired legs early in the run but around mile 17 on the last large hill I finally found my groove. I felt really strong the last two miles like I could have kept up the effort for at least a few more. Finally starting to feel like a marathoner again!
Upcoming Events
I just realized I really haven't posted anywhere about my specific racing plans for the year. This is partially due to the fact that my training isn't really geared towards one event right now, but mostly because I have been swamped. The goal of my coach right now is to get me faster at all distances, and while I have a goal marathon this October and a current goal time, that time isn't set in stone and the real goals lie a few years down the road. Everything I am doing right now is really just a building block for future marathon performances in a few years.
With that said my goal marathon this year is Columbus. I'm looking forward to racing a flat marathon again and with all of the recent PRs I am hoping to raise the bar quite a bit on my marathon performance.
In the meantime though I will be busy training, pacing, and racing the next 10 weeks until Columbus.
This week I am racing Twilight Trail with my new training partner NC. I won't be running all out, just treating it like a hard tempo.
This Sunday (August 16th) I will be racing the Perfect 10 Mile. I'd like to take the PR up a level. I have PR'ed every distance run so far this year, but they are all pretty much in line with each other. It would be nice for the 10 mile to step it up a notch.
August 30th I am pacing the 1:40 group at the Columbus Spirit Half Marathon
September 13th I am racing the Buckeye Half Marathon
September 19th I am pacing the 1:40 half marathon group at Air Force Marathon
September 26th I am pacing the 3:40 marathon group at Akron Road Runner Marathon
Not much time between all of that so pretty much every weekend I am not pacing or racing I am getting in a 20 miler. It will be a busy 10 weeks for sure!
With that said my goal marathon this year is Columbus. I'm looking forward to racing a flat marathon again and with all of the recent PRs I am hoping to raise the bar quite a bit on my marathon performance.
In the meantime though I will be busy training, pacing, and racing the next 10 weeks until Columbus.
This week I am racing Twilight Trail with my new training partner NC. I won't be running all out, just treating it like a hard tempo.
This Sunday (August 16th) I will be racing the Perfect 10 Mile. I'd like to take the PR up a level. I have PR'ed every distance run so far this year, but they are all pretty much in line with each other. It would be nice for the 10 mile to step it up a notch.
August 30th I am pacing the 1:40 group at the Columbus Spirit Half Marathon
September 13th I am racing the Buckeye Half Marathon
September 19th I am pacing the 1:40 half marathon group at Air Force Marathon
September 26th I am pacing the 3:40 marathon group at Akron Road Runner Marathon
Not much time between all of that so pretty much every weekend I am not pacing or racing I am getting in a 20 miler. It will be a busy 10 weeks for sure!
Week 12 (A lighter week on the running front)
As is becoming the norm for this time of year I headed up an aid station for the Burning River 100 mile race on Saturday August 1st. This resulted in no runs for the entire weekend, I was just exhausted, and despite two days off running (after 31 straight days of runs, my first month streak) my legs are toast. Apparently being on your feet from 8 am to 1:30 am is still hard work. So the mileage was light, but still some quality days. Track workout was tough, no company this week, but tempo went great.
Monday July 27th through August 2nd
42 miles for the week
Monday: 6 miles easy, 8:40 pace
Tuesday: AM 4 miles easy, PM Track 8 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles easy, 8:30 pace
Thursday: 10.75 miles with tempo
Friday: 6.5 miles easy, 8:40 pace
Saturday: Push mowed lawn at 8 am, worked aid station from 10 am to midnight, tore down course markings and hiked 4.1 miles until about 2 am.
Sunday: Rest
Key Workouts:
Track:
Short fast stuff, not my forte. It was windy and I struggled with the quarters. We were aiming for low 80s, but when you run the first 200 in 43 into the wind every time, that is really freaking tough to do. Going to start focusing on getting my knees up, incorporating some exercises into my regular routine to promote that.
workout:
4*200 jog/200 stride: quarter times (200 stride)(1:42(?),1:45 (40),1:51 (42), 1:51 (39))
400 EZ 4:43
8*400 with 100 jog/80 second rest
83.39 (84.83)
83.40 (86.96)
83.90 (81.17)
84.12 (80.98)
84.85 (80.22)
84.16 (81.64)
83.44 (82.03)
83.28 (49)
400 recovery 2:37
800 meters jog curves stride straights 3:41.04 approximate 100 stride times: (20,19,20,19)
Tempo:
Borrowed GPs Garmin for this one, just too complicated to hit these paces on my own on the road. Nailed the workout, very happy with the effort.
1.22 miles warm up easy
3 miles aiming for 7:10, 6:40, 6:40
7:10.66
6:43.09
6:36.32
2:03 rest/jog
2 miles aiming for 6:40 on both
6:37.73
6:36.14
2:04 rest/jog
3 miles aiming for 6:40, 6:40, 7:10
6:38.45
6:40.88
7:06.27
1.16 miles easy cool down
Monday July 27th through August 2nd
42 miles for the week
Monday: 6 miles easy, 8:40 pace
Tuesday: AM 4 miles easy, PM Track 8 miles
Wednesday: 7 miles easy, 8:30 pace
Thursday: 10.75 miles with tempo
Friday: 6.5 miles easy, 8:40 pace
Saturday: Push mowed lawn at 8 am, worked aid station from 10 am to midnight, tore down course markings and hiked 4.1 miles until about 2 am.
Sunday: Rest
Key Workouts:
Track:
Short fast stuff, not my forte. It was windy and I struggled with the quarters. We were aiming for low 80s, but when you run the first 200 in 43 into the wind every time, that is really freaking tough to do. Going to start focusing on getting my knees up, incorporating some exercises into my regular routine to promote that.
workout:
4*200 jog/200 stride: quarter times (200 stride)(1:42(?),1:45 (40),1:51 (42), 1:51 (39))
400 EZ 4:43
8*400 with 100 jog/80 second rest
83.39 (84.83)
83.40 (86.96)
83.90 (81.17)
84.12 (80.98)
84.85 (80.22)
84.16 (81.64)
83.44 (82.03)
83.28 (49)
400 recovery 2:37
800 meters jog curves stride straights 3:41.04 approximate 100 stride times: (20,19,20,19)
Tempo:
Borrowed GPs Garmin for this one, just too complicated to hit these paces on my own on the road. Nailed the workout, very happy with the effort.
1.22 miles warm up easy
3 miles aiming for 7:10, 6:40, 6:40
7:10.66
6:43.09
6:36.32
2:03 rest/jog
2 miles aiming for 6:40 on both
6:37.73
6:36.14
2:04 rest/jog
3 miles aiming for 6:40, 6:40, 7:10
6:38.45
6:40.88
7:06.27
1.16 miles easy cool down
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