May the Mass x Acceleration be with you

7xLM, 7xCM
BPA trail - 12 miles in 1:31:52

Beautiful sunny day, but cold. I was not tired from yesterday's time trial, but just a hint of soreness in the quads. The run was pretty easy until the last couple. Amazing how quickly one can lose endurance. 3 months ago I was running a marathon. Now 12 miles feels long.

Splits:
1 - 7:42
2 - 15:20 - 7:38
3 - 22:56 - 7:36
4 - 30:28 - 7:33
5 - 38:30 - 8:01 (up a massive hill)
6 - 46:19 - 7:50
7 - 53:57 - 7:38
8 - 61:33 - 7:36
9 - 69:12 - 7:38
10 - 76:57 - 7:46
11 - 84:34 - 7:37
12 - 91:52 - 7:18

Easy run on trails - 6 miles in 49:11

i was pretty dang exhausted today, all day. I think I need to cut back on the mileage a little bit, not go up to 60 quite yet.

Military Road route - 8 miles with a 3 mile light tempo in 59:26

Feeling better today. I got a decent night of sleep. Still having minor pains all over in my legs, mostly around the sides and behind the knees. Groin injury still improving, though.

Splits:
8:02 - 7:46 - 4:06 = 19:54 warmup (2.5 miles)
3:26.25 - 3:22 - 3:19 - 3:17.25 - 3:18.5 - 3:15 = 19:58 for 3 miles light tempo
11:41 - 7:48 = 19:29 cool down (2.5 miles)

Easy run on trails around Ft. Steilacoom Park - 6 miles in 48:59

Although "easy" is not really the word for it. The pace was easy, but many of the hills made it a challenging run, more of a strength workout.

Vickory route - 13 miles in 1:38:19 (7:33/mile)

I'm feeling a lot better now than I did earlier in the week. Backing off was the right thing to do. I made this a light progression run, progressing in 4-mile blocks. The first block was the warmup - 7:45-8/mile. The second block I was shooting for 7:30's, and th 3rd block was 7:20's, finishing with a slightly quicker final mile. Nothing too quick, but by mixing up the pace a bit I was able to run with less fatigue/staleness.

Splits:
Block 1 -- 7:55 - 7:46 - 7:47 - 7:49 = 31:18
Block 2 -- 7:37 - 7:36 - 7:42 - 7:33 = 30:29
Block 3 -- 7:22 - 7:19 - 7:25 - 7:18 = 29:24
Mile 13 -- 7:08

Warm up

7xLM
Easy warmup run to track - 2.35 miles in 18:11 (7:58 - 7:33 - 2:40)
Skipping exercises, LL (5x3 1-leg lunges)
2x500@1/2 marathon pace with 300 recoveries
1:59.4, 2:04.1

Workout

15x143m (465 ft) in 30s with 30s recoveries
30.1, 31.8, 31.1, 30.8, 31.4, 30.9, 30.3, 28.4, 30.7, 30.4, 30.8, 29.1, 30.5, 31.0, 31.1

Cool down

Cool down - 2.46 miles in 19:59

Easy 6 in 47:33

This was somewhat of a test. I have typically been running my recovery days around 8:30/mile the day after a hard workout. Yesterday's workout was moderate at best, so I was hoping I would not need to run so slowly today. As it turns out 7:55/mile was what I needed to run. Felt good enough.

Splits: 7:51 - 7:53 - 8:07 - 7:45 - 8:02 - 7:55

Warmup

7xLM, LL, 6xCM
Easy 3 miles in 23:18 (7:46/mile)

Workout

4 mile tempo run in 26:09.75

Felt pretty good. The plan was to run the first mile at around 6:40 and then gradually increase towards 6:30. I was not wearing the Garmin, so only feedback was 1/2 mile splits.

Splits:
0.5 - 03:12.5
1.0 - 06:34 - 3:21.75
1.5 - 09:50 - 3:15.75
2.0 - 13:04 - 3:14.5
2.5 - 16:17 - 3:13.0
3.0 - 19:37 - 3:19.5 (uphill)
3.5 - 22:55 - 3:18.0
4.0 - 26:10 - 3:15.0

Cool down

3 miles in 23:16

Easy 6 miles on the trails in 48:32

I expected to have to run 8:30/mile today after yesterday's tempo effort. However, I did not. I guess the run yesterday was more moderate than I thought - a good thing! I actually felt pretty good today. I've made a lot of progress in recovery over the last 10 days, feeling much better, running more again, and running harder.

8 easy miles on the trails, including 4 uphill strides of about 1/8th of a mile - 8 miles in 1:05:36

Strides were in 46.8, 50.5, 48.9, 49.0. The uphill is pretty mild, about 60 feet of gain over the .125 miles

Vickory Road route - 15 miles in 1:56:38

This truly felt like a long run. I was pretty wiped by 11-12 miles, so the last 3-4 was very difficult. The weather was nice - sunny, cool, no wind. A storm came in just after I finished, with 25 mph winds, and rain came later.

Splits
1 - 8:05
2 - 7:47
3 - 7:46
4 - 7:49
5 - 7:51
6 - 7:46
7 - 7:37
8 - 7:48
9 - 8:02
10 - 7:40
11 - 7:41
12 - 7:34
13 - 7:44
14 - 7:47
15 - 7:43

Warm up

7xLM
Easy warmup run to track - 2.35 miles in 18:11 (7:58 - 7:33 - 2:40)
Skipping exercises, LL (5x3 1-leg lunges)
2x500@1/2 marathon pace with 300 recoveries
1:59.4, 2:04.1

Workout

20x143m (465 ft) in 30s with 30s recoveries
29.3, 29.3, 29.6, 29.8, 29.2, 29.7, 29.3, 30.0, 29.4, 30.0, 29.5, 29.7, 29.6, 29.7, 29.1, 29.9, 29.6, 29.8, 29.72, 29.6

I ran much more evenly this week as compared to last week, and this in spite of the fact it was raining and the track was pretty wet, with puddles everywhere. Most of the splits were right on - high 29s, with a couple right at 30s. I never got winded, just a little tired in the quads, but they are still a bit sore from the long run Saturday.

Cool down

Cool down - 2.35 miles in 18:34

BPA route - 6 miles in 46:59

Feeling a little sluggish and tired from yesterday. Quads a little heavy. Still, keeping pace at a decent level was pretty easy.

Splits: 7:44 - 7:43 - 7:51 - 7:58 - 7:48 - 7:53

Warmup

Easy warmup run - 3 miles in 23:03

Workout

5 mile tempo run in 32:30 (6:30/mile)

I got out a little too quickly the first mile. I didn't really feel too tired in miles 2-4, but just for the effort I was looking for the pace was a few seconds off per half mile. I was pleased to be able to get back on to 6:30 pace over miles 3.5-4.5, given it was near the end of the run and that is the end of the uphill portion. The last half mile was fast, as expected, not quite sub-6, but fast. I think this bodes pretty well for the 15k next week where I will be running in lighter shoes and on more rested legs.

Splits:
0.5 - 03:10.0
1.0 - 06:26 - 3:15.75
1.5 - 09:43 - 3:17.75
2.0 - 13:03 - 3:19.5
2.5 - 16:13 - 3:10.0
3.0 - 19:34 - 3:21.0
3.5 - 22:58 - 3:23.75
4.0 - 26:13 - 3:15.75
4.5 - 29:28 - 3:14.75
5.0 - 32:30 - 3:02.0

Cool down

Easy 2 mile cool down in 16:04

Easy run on trails - 6 miles in 48:49 (24:38 - 24:11)

BPA route - 7 miles in 54:34

Still pretty tired from Wednesday's run. Also feeling a little run down.

Splits: 7:59 - 7:41 - 7:49 - 7:43 - 7:47 - 7:42 - 7:52 = 54:34 (7:48/mile)

4x100m strides with 100m recovery jogs, 1/2 mile of jogging

Vickory Road route - 13 miles in 1:36:10 (7:24/mile)

Felt really good today, basically back to pre-marathon fitness, but a little heavier. It was cold and pretty windy, but sunny. The wind was mostly head wind the first half, and then tail wind the second half, though had started letting up a bit by then. I ran as a progression run, but the progression proceeded more quickly than I intended. First four miles was a warmup, then picked it up after that. I intended to run 4 miles at 7:45 or so, 2nd 4 at 7:30 or so, 3rd 4 at 7:20 or so and fast last mile. Instead my splits were:

Block 1 - 8:01 - 7:51 - 7:47 - 7:44 = 31:23
Block 2 - 7:26 - 7:33 - 7:19 - 7:16 = 29:34
Block 3 - 7:17 - 7:00 - 7:06 - 7:12 = 28:35
Mile 13 - 6:38.5

Warm up

7xLM
Easy warmup jog to the track - 2.36 miles in 17:52 (7:34/mile)
Skipping exercises, LL (5x3 1-leg lunges)
2x500@1/2 marathon pace with 300 recoveries
2:00.2, 2:00.0

Workout

24x143m in 30s with 30s recoveries

28.7, 29.8, 29.9, 28.9, 29.5, 29.5, 29.7, 29.6, 29.4, 28.9, 29.7, 29.8, 29.5, 29.1, 29.5, 29.3, 29.8, 29.4, 30.0, 28.9, 29.6, 30.2, 29.2, 29.4

Another workout with consistent pacing, maybe a little on the fast end with a few of them, but mostly mid to upper 29s. I was feeling a little under the weather today, like just coming down with a cold. The intervals never became difficult, and I was only just beginning to get a little winded on the last couple.

Cool down

Cool down - 2.34 miles in 18:16 (7:48/mile)

Spanaway Lake loop - 8 miles in 1:00:19

Feeling pretty sore in my left hip and back today, but during the run I was ok. I actually ran faster than anticipated, and I'm not sure why the 6th mile was so much slower, other than I was running through the woods, where the trails were thinner, and I had to hop over a couple of recently downed trees. It was nice to go a different route than usual, one that I don't have measured out (thanks Garmin!). Weather was cold, but dry. I got it done before the snow came that evening!

Splits: 7:34 - 7:26 - 7:26 - 7:26 - 7:40 - 7:54 - 7:27 - 7:27 = 1:00:19 (7:32/mile)

Vickory Road route - 6 miles in 43:49

The plan was to run 2 miles easy, 2 miles @ 15k pace as an easy-moderate effort to prepare for the race Saturday. Only trouble was, my Garmin ran out of battery power - thankfully, just before I started the run, so I had time to get my old ironman out. Actually, it was kind of nice to have to do it without the Garmin, because there was no way to know whether I was on pace or not until I got to the next 1/2 mile mark. Then I could make corrections and see at the next 1/2 mile whether I corrected correctly :) I was shooting for 6:35/mile, and finally got the hang of it in the 2nd mile.

Splits:
Warmup - 7:45 - 7:33 = 15:18
Cooldown - 7:42 - 7:37 = 15:19
Workout: 3:15.25 - 3:22.25 (6:37.5) - 3:17.5 - 3:16.75 (6:34.25) = 13:11.75 (6:36/mile)

Day off! I'm feeling pretty good, but want to make sure the 2nd half of this week is pretty easy. Instead of taking an easy full week leading up to the 15k, and a full week of recovery, I'm only going to take 1/2 week before, and 1/2 week after to recover, then get back to it.

2 miles normal, 1/2 mile @ 15k pace, 1 1/2 miles easy

Everything felt easy today. The warmup felt normal, even though it was 30+ seconds faster per mile. The 15k part felt like the easy side of marathon pace. I was shooting for around 6:35/mile, but managed a little faster with easy effort. I hope everything feels this easy tomorrow. It will be colder, though. Suppose to be in the upper teens tonight.

Splits: 7:32 - 7:21 = 14:53
.52 miles @ rp in 3:21.5 (6:31/mile pace)
7:08 - 3:45 = 10:53

Warmup

Warmup jog on course - 1.22 miles in 10:02 (8:11/mile)
2x2 min 2 1/2 marathon pace with recovery jogs (1.17 miles total)

Race

Resolution Series 15K - 9.42 miles in 1:00:35 (6:26/mile)
10th overall, 1st in age division

The course appears to be about .1 mile long. I talked to several other runners, some with Garmins, some without. Everyone seems to agree that the course is about 1/10th of a mile long, and the discrepency occurs in the 1st and last miles. Adjusting my time for 15k, based on the pace I was running over the last 200m, that gives me a 1:00:05 15k. If it had been an accurately measured course, and I knew I was that close to breaking one hour, I'm sure I would've found some way to take off a few more seconds. Oh well.

Going in I was hoping to get out in about 6:35-6:40 the first 4 miles, and then try to pick up to 6:30 or faster during the 2nd half. I did a good job of holding back through the halfway point, and so was able to push in places on the 2nd half, particularly the 7th and 8th miles, when I caught and passed a couple guys. I had to back off a little the last full mile, but was still running under my average pace, so not really backing off. I had been 12th at the turn around point, caught up to the next guy after about 2 more miles. We ran together for a bit and he let me get ahead of him so we could run single file on the roads. After a bit I pulled away from him as we both tried to catch a high school kid. I did catch that guy about a mile later with my 6:17 mile, then pulled away with a 6:07. I was catching another guy, slowly gaining ground as we approached the finish line. He got to the track about 20 meters ahead of me, and I couldn't close the back. He kept looking back and only gave enough to make sure I didn't catch him. What can I say? He was a 15 year old speedster and I'm a 39+ year old foagie, who was never know for my kick even when I was young. I'll get him next month in the 20k for sure!

Conditions were cold, like the 5k on January 1. Temp at the start was about 20 degrees, warming up to 25 or so by the end. No sun, no wind, no rain or snow. Just cold and dry. Sidewalks were icy, so we had to run on the roads, right up against the traffic. That shouldn't be as much of a factor in the 20k at the end of March.

Splits:
1 - 0:06:37
2 - 0:13:08 - 6:31.5
3 - 0:19:56 - 6:47.5 (lots of uphill in this mile
4 - 0:26:15 - 6:19.25 (big downhill)
5 - 0:32:38 - 6:23
6 - 0:39:21 - 6:42 (big uphill)
7 - 0:45:38 - 6:17.5 (lots of downhill in this mile)
8 - 0:51:45 - 6:07.25 (no hills, just an awesome split)
9 - 0:58:08 - 6:23
15k - 1:00:05 - 2:01.64 (5:56/mile)
Finish - 1:00:35 - (5:00/mile pace)

Garmin results

Cooldown

Cooldown - 2.55 miles in 25:21 (9:56/mile)

Allison Loop - 7 miles in 52:57 (7:34/mile)

It was dry, I checked Weather.com. It was supposed to be dry for the next couple hours. Just before I headed out it started snowing. It snowed pretty good, with rain mixed in, the whole run. About 10 minutes after I finished the snow stopped. Why did I go for an early run today?

I'm feeling surprisingly good two days after the 15k. I will still plan to take it easier this week, then hit it hard for two weeks, then a week of taper before the final race of the 4-race series - the 20k. I'm also going to make it my goal to lose a few pounds during that 4 weeks.

I just looked at my splits for the run. I didn't look at the Garmin at all during the run. Aside from the 1st mile, which goes up a steep hill, you'd think I was on a treadmill.

Splits: 7:55 - 7:30 - 7:30 - 7:30 - 7:31 - 7:33 - 7:29