I wanna go fast!

Very easy run. Got the uphill out of the way at the beginning. Cruised around a bit enjoying the day. Finished in 1:10.

Got great sleep last night. Went out for an easy loop around Liberty Park after waking. Nice relaxed pace. 30:15.

Headed over to the Avenues to do a 10x30s hill rep work out. Each sprint was about 90% max effort and 0.1 miles. Rested 3 minutes in between each rep. 35:40 not including rest time at the bottom of the hill.

Slept terribly last night. Needed to get out for a run to clear my head and get ready for Saturday's 10k. Hard mile-long climb in the beginning. Very slow pace. 48:10.

Warm up of 1.34 miles and warm down of 4.56 miles with a Rob, Fritz and Kevin. After about 4 miles of the warm down I had to fall back and walk for a bit. I probably should have grabbed a banana or honey sandwich immediately after the race!

 Went out at 5:45 for the first few miles, which is exactly where I thought I should be. But, my endurance apparently isn't where I thought it was and I ended up trailing of from the pack of guys battling for 2nd (Fritz was way ahead of the rest of us) around the 2.5 mile mark. I made a couple of charges for 5th place, and even overtook him with a quarter mile to go, but I couldn't sustain it and faded back to 6th. This just reinforced the fact that I need to be getting in more aerobic work every week if I want to improve the way I would like.

Took Sunday off because I felt sick and the weather was pretty bad. My sleep has been bad since Thurs which hasn't helped in the recovery from Sat's 10k.

 Super easy mileage today. 66 mins to run just over 7. Finally loosened up towards the end and ran an 8:08 final mile.

First two miles were mostly uphill, with the rest being downhill or flat. Each mile was 8:10 pace give or take 15s. Time: 49:42 

More easy mileage. Made a conscious effort to slow myself down at numerous points. Fastest miles were in the middle, probably because those were the only "flat" miles and my calves are still a bit tight.  1:24:40 total / 8:11 pace.

Out to Liberty for 5 laps on the mulch path. Easy 8:15 pace for the first 8. Finished the last 3+ @ 7:45 pace. Fighting a bit of a head cold from 5 days of poor sleep with the SLC 10k sandwiched in the middle. Hopefully it's clear by this weekend.

Total time running 1:28:51 / 8:10 pace.

Faster during the beginning and for the last 3 miles. Wanted to get in 12, but still feeling the effects of this head cold. Thought taking Friday off would be enough. 

Total 1:17:52 / Pace 8:03 

Finally felt good when I woke up today and got in the long run I've been trying to do. The two mainly uphill miles that were early on were 8:20 pace. Last 6.5 miles were 7:40 pace. Rest were just under 8:00

 2:02:13 /  7:52 pace

Best I've felt in weeks. Run went rather smoothly, 7:38-7:47 pace for the first 7 miles then finished: 7:32, 7:20, 6:56 and 6:28 pace for the final 0.6 miles. I need to double up tomorrow and Fri to make up for the two days I took off this week. Saturday's race is going to be treated as a training day for me: probably steady state pace (~6:20) for the first 7+ miles and then try to finish 5:45 / 5:30.

 Total 1:19:54 / 7:31 pace 

One of those days were it was tough getting motivated.

49:49 total / 7:49 pace 

Didn't push the pace, just focused on the run itself. Felt much better today. After further consideration, probably won't push the final two miles so hard tomorrow and will just treat the whole run as a SS/Threshold run... but convincing myself to NOT race at the very end is going to be easier said than done.

 2:02:03 / 7:53 pace 

Well, that was fun? My goal (prior to knowing just HOW WINDY it was going to be - 25mph seems to be the common number, but I can't find gust speeds) was to run 6:20 +/- 5s for the first 7 miles and see what happens on the final two - this should be around my steady state pace for Greg McMillan fans or my tempo pace for Jack Daniels fans. I was extremely pleased with my results today:

6:19, 6:26, 6:22, 6:20, 6:19, 6:42 (HELLO WIND), 6:40, 6:24, 6:20 and 6:12 for the final .34

for 6:25 pace overall. I was very relaxed in the early going. I had to monitor my pace fairly closely, because I was starting to get the urge to race. I reminded myself of how much mileage I've been adding these past few weeks and that there is nothing to really be gained from racing a 15k all out right now. I stuck around long enough to run a couple of cool down miles, and eat some bread and honey, before heading home to a much needed ice bath!

Got an amazing night of sleep, which was a concern since I slept awfully after the 10k. The legs felt slow, but they don't feel sore. Did 5 x 75% strides on my final mile at Liberty.

50:59 total / 8:21 pace 

Feeling stronger everyday. First five miles were ~8 min pace. Caught a tailwind and downhill for the next three: 7:20. Settled in at 7:35 +/- for the next 8 miles before slightly pushing it on the final mile for a 7:17.

Runs like this definitely require two bowls of ice cream for proper recovery :)

2:11:20 / 7:41 pace

Feel pretty good overall today. Shorter run, but with 400' of climb on mile 3. Other than that the effort was nice and relax. Signed up for the Running of the Leopards 5k, looking forward to running on a fast course.

55:09 / 7:48 pace 

Didn't feel great today, but pushed through it because I needed to get in a long run today.

 2:26:37 / 7:56 pace 

Took Fri/Sat off as my legs felt... off; they needed a mini break (I still lifted and biked each day). Were a little sore at first from lunges this morning, but that was gone around mile 5, when the downhill started. Running downhill didn't cause any pain, so that's a good sign.

 It was just about a perfect day for running!

1:29:42 / 7:44 pace

Had a lot of stuff to do, so could only get in a short run. Fortunately everything else I needed to do could be done outside. Perfect day.

32:50 / 8:06 pace 

Easy AM mileage. My productivity the rest of day determines if I manage to fit in another run today or not. Weather's not great, but at least it's fairly warm out.

1:35:50 / 7:59 pace 

Nice day for a run. Headed over to Liberty park for loops on the soft path. Legs are definitely feeling better, I think drinking coffee again (I had taken a few days off as a self experiment) made a big difference. Cruised around 7:40 pace for the first 9 miles, the last two miles were 7:08 and 6:42. It felt good to pick up the pace today.

1:26:53 / 7:31 pace 

Is it the shoes? I brought out a new pair of Nike Streak XC's today and had the best easy runs I've had in awhile. The beautiful weather probably helped a bit as well. Had a slight issue with my right arch on a long uphill climb, so I paused for a couple of minutes to stretch it out. It felt fine after that, but I still paid a little extra attention to it during my post run stretch & foam rolling.

1:14:12 / 7:09 pace

Did some trail running. Body still felt a little off, so I decided to take the rest of the week off.

Went for a nice jog through Memory Grove for the first time. In exploring the trails, there were a couple of points that it was too steep for me to keep jogging. This is probably a sign that it's time to start incorporating hard runs back into my training program.

59:37 / 8:09

It's a nice day to sit inside an drink hot chocolate. For about 3 miles, in the middle of this run, I had a strong headwind and heavy snow fall. Not fun. Legs feel great though.

1:13:07 / 7:19 

First day of speed work since the 15k. Legs felt pretty good. Did 8 x 0.18 hills with 100 feet of climb. 2nd to last was fastest at 1:01.43 ~ 5:44 pace. Other 7 were between 1:03.3 and 1:06.05. Felt good.

Nice easy 10 up along Memory Grove and back.

1:17:11.79 / 7:43 pace

A little slow getting myself out of bed. After 20 minutes of psyching myself up, I finally got out of bed around 6:30a. Grabbed an avocado and a banana and peanut butter for breakfast along with some coffee. Debated whether or not I should just jog to the race, but decided against it since it's all uphill from where I live. Got my packet and everything else (including a really nice technical shirt) at about quarter till 8; and was on a bus to the starting line just a few minutes after. If it wasn't for all the high schoolers screaming in the back, I think I could have fallen back asleep on the bus. I realized about a year ago, when I got back into racing, that I operate much better when I don't waste energy prior to racing. Did a few laps of the This Is The Place parking lot; there was no one over there so I was able to focus solely on warming up. Headed over to the start line, did a few downhill reps and then packed myself in like a sardine at in the front.

I recognized a few of the guys from the Winter Series up there, saw a couple more guys who looked fast, and then a whole bunch of HS kids who don't really know what they're doing. A bunch of the HS kids took off like rockets; which caused me to start out a little quicker than I wanted, out of fear of getting trampled.

I settled into a comfortable pace, and hit the first mile at 5:33. In hindsight, I would have pushed a 5:15 or so, but I wanted to save so I could unleash on the downhill. My legs felt solid, and I started to push a little more - taking full advantage of the downhill, the second mile came in at 5:16. I saw Rob at about the 2.5 mile mark; it was around there that I started to feel really light headed, especially if I looked down. So I stopped looking down and stared straight ahead. Just outside the track, I saw my roommate; didn't realize he was going to stop by. He started jumping up and down and yelling at me. I pushed even harder. Caught up to a couple of guys on the track, I tried to make a move on them but I was gassed. My final mile came in at 4:56 and I crossed the finish line in just under 16:09. In reviewing my last push, I ran a 63 second quarter... maybe I left a little too much in the tank. Oh well, there's always next time.

All in all a good race and a PR. I know the wind and descent helped the times out (especially with how I run), but since my previous PR was 17:22 (slight uphill back at sea level), I'm pretty confident I would have broke that on flat ground. 

Super easy jog today because my legs are still tender from yesterday. This is what I get for opting for stretching, ice bath and compression tights, but no post run cool down...

Developed a blister under the ball of my right foot on this run. Shut it down for the next few days.

AM: Did a super easy 3 with a client.

PM: Easy 10 at 7:56 pace. Didn't even try to push the pace, just wanted to get some more easy mileage in.

Speed work! I intended to do 8x200... but apparently I can't count. I swear I have a B.S. in Mathematics, but this is the 2nd time I've miscounted track repeats this year! I'll be sure to double check my watch before leaving the track next time. Reps were done with a slight tailwind and with 2 minutes of rest in between.

1: 32.32

2: 28.75

3: 30.20

4: 28.58

5: 28.70 

6: 29.25

7: 29.17

Nice easy 5.5. Despite the rest, foam rolling and stretching, my legs have been tight all week, and today was no exception. Going to keep taking it easy for the foreseeable future.

 41:38/7:34 pace 

Got another night of great sleep, despite it being shorter than I prefer. Legs felt solid today, but didn't want to push the distance. 

38:32 / 7:19 

6 hill repeats and some easy miles.

Easy 5.5. 

42:04/7:35 pace 

200 feet down followed by 200 feet up. I never got locked into a good pace, nor was there much competition there to push me.

Super easy 2 miles. Battling with a cold that I picked up in the desert...

 16:00 / 8:00 

Still getting over a cold. 

41:52/7:36 pace

Cookie Chaser 2K/5K. Still feeling a little under the weather. Went out at 3:25 for the first 1k of the 2k, way slower than I wanted. Came back in a 2:55. The only other guy in the race to push me, was likely saving something for the 5k. I knew my endurance wasn't there, and was more excited for the 2K! Finished at 6:20, 1st overall.

 Since I was still getting over a cold, I had planned on just taking the 5k easy. But, of course, I got caught up in competing. I really don't like being behind people I've realized... so I need to get faster! I took the lead in the 5k before the halfway point, but my lack of endurance and recent training caught up to me before we even got to the start of the 3rd mile. Once I settled into 3rd place, I cut my pace back and cruised to the finish line. Ended up at 17:26 / 3rd overall.

 The best part of these races, is that I got a box of Girl Scout cookies for placing in each race!

This is my kind of running weather, mid 70's with only a slight breeze. Still feel a little off from the cold, but I'm getting better.

 41:11 / 7:27

Easy 5.5 today. I decided to try a ketogenic diet this week, and my energy levels have been sapped. On the bright side, my shin splints (which had been bothering me off an on since the Running of the Leopards back in March) have disappeared. Not even a trace of pain on the downhill today. Now to find out whether it's a) a coincidence; b) the virtual lack of carbs I'm consuming this week; c) the fact that I'm not eating anything processed or d) some combination or something I'm over looking.

Another thing, and this is likely tied into the shins feeling better, is that I'm doing this route faster than ever, despite not pushing any harder than before. Either way, I'm really looking forward to my next race - which is relatively flat and at sea level! 

41:04 / 7:26 

Felt good to get a long run in again... though I wasn't properly hydrated when I left and I paid for it at the end. Legs felt good and strong.

1:13:38 / 7:12 

Biked down to Highland High for the first time. I haven't done much cycling training, so the brief, but steep, climb up 17 South was a fun little challenge. I pulled into HHS parking lot and saw a couple that looked familiar, so I did a loop around the cars and headed over to them. Sure enough, it was Jake and Andrea, who were just finishing up a workout. We had never actually met, so it was cool to talk to them. In talking to them, it made me excited to get back out here to train in July after my adventures on the east coast! 

I headed down to the track, and got a nice light mile warm up in. And then set off on my cruise 800's... well, what was supposed to be cruise 800's. My legs felt pretty good around the 600 mark, so I made the quick adjustment to do cruise 16's instead. I hate the longer intervals, so I knew I should capitalize on any time I feel even slightly compelled to run them!

 It was a little windy out so my intervals were 5:53, 5:59, 5:40; with the last 200 being an all out sprint (I can't go to the track and not sprint a little!). I did a couple laps of cool down, and went over to talk  

Just a light recovery run after yesterday's track work.

 42:18 / 8:08 

After an eventful trip home, that involved a 75 minute delay in Denver and a 3 hour delay in Indianapolis (an awful place to get stuck for 3 hours at night when you don't drink), I arrived in Columbus at 3:15 am Saturday morning. After a brief nap, I awoke to legs swollen from all the travel to the point where I had cankles! That's what I get for choosing Greyhound...

 I got to the race with plenty of time to warm up, but given the state of my legs an the lack of sleep, I didn't really feel like staining myself too much before the race. After I sized up the competition, I decided that I would be best off pushing the pace early to wear out what thought to be my main competition and hope that adrenalin would kick in if and when I needed it. 

 I reached the half-mile mark at 2:30 and just behind two other people. My claustrophobia kicked in and I made a move around both guys. The older of the two guys who were with me fell off shortly there after, while the kid stayed with me. We took turns leading and we hit the mile mark at 5:22. Despite the lack of sleep and the tired legs, my breathing and my form was relaxed (yay sea level!), while I noticed the kid was laboring a bit. We had slowed off our initial pace, so I started to push it again. I overtook him at the turn, almost slipping on the gravel in the process, and never looked back.

I ran the 2nd mile in 5:36 and the 3rd in 5:48. All things considered, I was content with this race. I would have liked to have had some more competition to see how my body would have reacted to the stress and to see if I had any kick in my legs.

Woke up to fairly rested legs. Shin splints were only minor and the swelling was almost completely gone - a post-race ice bath and a good night sleep really helped! It's rainy here today, which I kind of enjoy running in. Pace was around 7:45 (I don't have my watch in front of me). 

Met up with my old running group for a track workout to start the week off right. We did 8x600 with an easy walk/jog 200 (2:30-3:00) in between.

1. 1:44.60
2. 1:45.29
3. 1:44.44
4. 1:46.75
5. 1:49.05
6. 1:49.98
7. 1:41.76
8. 1:44.10

On #8, Lyndsi challenged me to run sub 1:43 or I'd have to do another 600. I thought I was going to get it, but my legs disagreed. Since I was so close, I only had to do an extra 400. Which I ran in 31/33. I had intended to push myself harder in the earlier reps, but I lost focus on 4/5 and ended up having more in the tank. Legs felt good overall.

Super easy and slow. The park I ran in was still wet from the over night rains and the morning dew. There were a couple of deer on the path just ahead of me at one point, which was pretty neat. My legs were still dead from Sat's race and Monday's hard run.

I met up with some people at Hoover Dam (not that Hoover dam, the one just north of Columbus) for some hills and stairs. I naively chose to not wear my Garmin, so I'm estimating the distances. We started off with 18 sets of different stair exercies and then headed over to the boat ramp, which is about 300 meters. We did 4 hill reps, another set of 18 stair reps and then a final hill rep. The hill was fairly steep, which I think they picked intentionally. On monday, I was making fun of the "hills" (or speed bumps as I was called them) around Columbus. It was still nothing like the mile long climb from my house up to the U back in SLC, but it was a good workout.

Hill times: 68.91, 66.84, 65.73, 64.60, 65.38.

A nice steady 6 miler to start the day. Right around 7:30 pace for the first 5 and then closed the final mile at 6:45. My easy pace tends to be slower than what running calculators predict for me, so I get pretty happy when they're close to the same!

First run since my bike accident on the 21st. I had been going stir crazy, but I knew that running wouldn't help the situation. Felt good to get out and run though!

 Met up with Lyndsi at Sharon Woods at 7:30. We did an easy mile warm up and then did 4 x 1 mile repeats with 2 to 3 mins of rest in between: 6:07, 5:49, 5:37, 5:19. The scrape on my knee didn't feel great, but it was tolerable when running. I didn't know what to expect on my first mile, which is why it was so slow. 

My plan was to get up early to beat the heat and humidty to run 8 miles. My body's plan was to finally catch up on all the sleep I did't get while Greyhounding from Columbus down to Richmond yesterday. As usual, my body won. I felt refreshed from the sleep, but my legs were still sore from Monday's run and wake surfing yesterday. My first 6 miles were mid-high 8's. I finally loosened up a bit on the last two and closed in just under 16. It felt good to get in some actual hills, which I haven't seen since I left SLC about a month ago.

Got into NYC Friday night. I had bounced around from city to city too much to get in any runs the last few days... at least that's the excuse I'm going with.

Ran a nice easy 3 with Josh before grabbing some coffee. 

Went out for an easy run right after waking up. Forgot my Garmin, running by feel is tough when you haven't got in many runs recently! Just made sure to keep my breathing relaxed.

39:14 / 7:59 

Went out around 4 for a hard run. I had wanted to do a 4 mile tempo run, but I couldn't find that faster gear. So I settled for a 5 mile Steady State run through Riverside Park. The sun had finally begun to shine, so I was surprised that there weren't more people out; but I guess most people work during the week. Mile break down as follows:

1.  6:36
2. 6:30
3. 6:28
4. 6:24
5. 6:35

41:43 / 7:35

Easy jog up / back to Rose park for a workout. 15:25/7:42

Easy run up near the U.  40:58/7:26

Woke up to a tight right achilles / calf, which took awhile to foam roll and loosen up. Went out for an easy jog with more stretching, rolling and icing after.

 34:28 / 8:17

After spending the last few days doing extra stretching and yoga to loosen up my legs, I made it .1 miles before my Achilles started hurting. So, I turned and walked home - no point in rushing it. Instead, I went out for a bike ride. I tried to only track when I was actually doing work, and not just flying downhill.

59:36 - 11.27mi with 1200ft of climb.

Spurred on by the adrenalin boost from watching the 5000, I tested out my Achilles that has been bothering me. It felt a little tight early on, but quickly loosened up. Thanks to all the stretching, foam rolling, and yoga, my legs felt better than they have in months. Each mile was between 7:25-7:32.

39:11 / 7:27

Jogged to the park and back to do a pushup/pullup work out. Leg felt good, but I need to keep up the preventative measures.

14:20.43 / 7:10

Easy run up around the U.

39:51.66 / 7:12

Track day: 9x600 w/60s rest. Took extra rest after #8.

1. 1:52.83
2. 1:48.55
3. 1:49.02
4. 1:48.04
5. 1:54.24
6. 1:52.83
7. 2:01.47
8. 1:58.54
9. 1:52.43
   

4x 530m hill reps (80' climb) w/11 sets of stairs (0.5 mi of stair reps)

1. 1:45.47
2. 1:49.52
3. 1:46.68
4. 1:40.35
   

31:12 / 7:30

Race down in Dayton. Crashed hard into the wall (figuratively) on mile 2.

Trail run

340m hill w/55' of climb (the largest hill I can find in Ohio), easy jog for a block, 4x65m flat ground sprints (57-60s each), easy jog for a block, push the down hill (10-20s slower than the uphill), easy jog for a block. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Uphill times:

1. 63.78
2. 73.57 <--- slacker
   
3. 70.73
4. 69.88
5. 66.60
6. 67.60
7. 65.20
8. 61.21 <--- FYA
   

1K repeats w/3-3:30 rest:

1. 3:20
2. 3:10
3. 3:09
4. 3:09
5. 3:08
6. 3:15

Went out in 8:00/mi pace came back in 7:20.

Easy jog out/back to park. 37:51/7:26

10x[400 + walk 100 + jog 100]

1.  75.95
2.  70.38
3. 65.56
4. 66.61
5. 66.69
6. 67.27
7. 68.22
8. 63.84
9. 73.93
10. 68.41

@Hoover: 4 x [5 x 100 stairs + 1 x 310m hill] + 1 x partial hill (270m). Full hill: 60' of climb. Partial: 52'

1. 62.36
2. 61.25
3. 62.51
4. 62.73

49:00 / 7:38

Trail run @ Highbanks

51:33 / 7:38

10x[250m hill (45') + 30m jog + 4x50m sprints + 340m jog]

 Hill reps. Focused on strong form for the first 9 - all out on the last.

1. 46.28
2. 48.72
3. 53.33
4. 52.68
5. 50.99
6. 51.07
7. 52.74
8. 50.06
9. 48.21
10. 45.70
    

Cruise 1K's
With a 3 minute 500m jog in between

1. 3:31.42
2. 3:39.00
3. 3:32.69
4. 3:33.98
5. 3:37.03
6. 3:28.41
   

AM: 20x200 w/400 walk/jog

1. 32.41     2:09.41
2. 33.50     2:13.09
3. 32.15     2:09.84
4. 32.11     2:08.35
5. 32.40     2:05.64
6. 33.09     2:11.34
7. 32.08     2:11.82
8. 32.35     2:21.65
9. 32.13     2:14.99
10. 33.19     2:14.65
11. 30.91     2:15.74
12. 31.01     2:18.79
13. 31.84     2:30.98
14. 31.08     2:21.44
15. 31.33     2:23.22
16. 31.96     2:23.70
17. 31.60     2:37.12
18. 31.77     2:13.92
19. 31.30     2:29.98
20. 31.29     

PM: An easy 1.7 to shake the legs out, followed by stretching and an ice bath.

Easy mile warm up. 3x 50m drills. 6x 100m @15s w/30-60s rest

6 x 2/1/1/30/30/30

2min hard / 1 min rest / 1 min hard / 30s rest / 30s hard / 30s rest

IT band was botherin me after the start of the 6th 2min rep, so I shut it down and stretched.

4x 540m hill reps (80' climb) w/350m jog between.

1. 1:41.61     4:08.08
   
2. 1:42.94     4:14.88
3. 1:44.25     4:27.62
4. 1:43.38    
   

Followed by10 sets of stairs (0.5 mi of stair reps). Finished up with a 550m flat ground sprint: 1:36.69

Focused all my reps on staying strong and holding my form. IT Band didn't bother me too much. Looking forward to yoga tomorrow.

51:00 / 7:33

23:24 / 7:24

10x600 w/90s rest

Having not run much over the last 10 days, it was54 tough to get into a consistent groove. Also had my garmin die on me before I even started - so I borrowed a friends watch. Had to give it back after #9 so I'm going from memory on splits, but I'm very confident in these #s.

I was ready to call it a day after 9, but got talked into a 10th. B?c of that, I had an extra 90s of rest between 9 & 10.

1. 1:54
2. 1:46
3. 1:50
4. 1:53
5. 1:56
6. 1:57
7. 1:53
8. 1:54
9. 1:52
10. 1:53
    

52:02 / 7:25

First mile was 8:04 - cut down to 7:33 on the second and kept cutting down from there.

Trail run at Highbanks. 

48:51 / 7:49

7 x [285m uphill / 100m jog / 285m downhill (~10s slower than uphill) / 40m jog / 180m sprint / 40m jog]

Cool morning, took a little bit for the legs to warm up. Quads were sore throughout and my left calf started to tighten up on #6. Took time to stretch/foam roll after. Compression tights will hopefully do their job thru the rest of the day.

 180m sprints were 35-40s

1. 1:00.19
2. 1:05.27
3. 1:01.12
4. 57.13
5. 56.05
6. 55.52
7. 55.75
8. 53.53 <-- tacked on an extra uphill at the end. Also had 2:20 extra rest
   

1-5|5-1ladder w/3min rest

1. 13.65
2. 28.32
3. 46.55
4. 1:07.90
5. 1:28.47
6. 1:26.49
7. 1:07.40
8. 48.49
9. 29.53
10. 14.70
    

800m Time Trial

Wanted to see where my 800 time was now. My plan was to run the first lap in ~57 and then hang on. I ran the first lap in 58 (27.6/30.4). It was a hard effort - but if I was running an all out 400, I probably could have pushed it to 55/56. Hit the wall hard at the 500m mark and could only hang on to a 70. Given how my training has gone, I'm not surprised that my strength is my biggest issue right now.

I see cruise 1Ks and tempo runs in my future!

PM: 3.7 mi EASY trail run

@Hoover: 4x [5x100 stairs + 1x310m 60' hill]

 First two hill reps I focused on controlled efforts; last two were all out efforts. 34* when we started - I'm not looking forward to these winter morning runs!

1. 71.87
2. 70.85
3. 62.15
4. 62.15
   

Easy run

Cool and windy out. First mile was rough, but we cut it down after that. 8:20, 7:38, 7:14, 7:18, 7:35, 7:16, 6:18 (.9mi).

51:38 / 7:29

Easy trail run

7:59 - 7:33 - 7:24 - 7:21 - 3:30 (6:55)

33:47 / 7:30

4x[4x[400 hard / 200 jog] + 200 jog]

 For the first 3 sets, I was more concerned with pushing the rest than I was with pushing each rep. Last set I pushed the pace and took a little extra rest. Warm for the season, but windy. Legs felt good.

1. 73.22   1:09.68
2. 77.65   1:07.92
3. 76.58   1:05.07
4. 74.87   2:09.38
5. 77.57   1:04.38
6. 78.72   1:04.50
7. 78.38   1:03.07
8. 76.33   2:26.65
9. 77.60   1:12.05
10. 76.00   1:11.27
11. 78.86   1:10.30
12. 78.77   2:30.68
13. 75.65   1:32.49
14. 71.98   1:31.27
15. 68.33   1:26.77
16. 67.01    ------
    

4x 540m hill reps (90' climb) w/ 700m jog

Focused on my form for the first two reps. Took it too easy on the start of the second rep - which set the tone for the slower time.

1. 1:42.20     4:16.70
   
2. 1:49.20     4:25.93
3. 1:41.34     4:42.05
4. 1:38.23

Did 10 sets of stairs after the hills. Finished with with a 320m flat ground sprint: 60.55.

Easy out & back

The out was downhill & downwind. Felt good and was conversational throughout. Legs feel really good.

8:12: 7:26 7:11 7:10 7:35 7:31 4:54 (7:06) = 49:59 / 7:28

8x Cruise 600s w/200 jog

 Started out fast, but settled in. Last 3 were "all out" but I didn't have much in the tank.

1. 1:52.70     64.37
   
2. 2:00.48     60.20
3. 1:55.37     72.35
4. 1:58.82     61.23
5. 1:59.31     63.44
6. 1:59.23     66.85
7. 1:58.65     65.30
8. 1:59.45

Finished up w/3x100 with ~60s rest: 16.03 - 16.74 - 15.63. They weren't all out but they were a solid effort.

Easy run - 7:45 / 39:26.93

9 x [285m uphill / 100m jog / 285m downhill (~10s slower than uphill) / 40m jog / 180m sprint / 40m jog] + 1 extra hill

 For the first 5, I pushed the rest. Apparently that wasn't the goal of this workout and Lyndsi yelled at me and told to take it easy. OK- she didn't *yell* - she just told me to not push the rest and to focus more on running fast. Anyway, as you can see by my times, I listened to her. First time is the uphill, 2nd time is the 180m sprint.

1. 57.98     37.93
   
2. 61.65     38.05
   
3. 59.85     36.97
   
4. 61.05     40.55
   
5. 57.47     32.33
   
6. 59.13     34.87
   
7. 57.68     33.15
8. 54.63     32.15
9. 52.35     33.08
10. 51.35      ----

 Easy run.

8:21 - 7:33 - 7:15 - 7:18 - 7:17 - 7:23 - 6:22 (7:02 pace)

 Loving these new shoes - they're lighter than the Nike Zoom's and fit my foot better. Hopefully they also last more than 150-200 miles.

On a cold windy day...

 Got an easy .75 mile warm up with a few sprints prior to the start of the race. Right before the gun, the rain stopped - which, of course, was a welcome change. With the first mile being downhill, and downwind, my goal was around 5:00 and then see where the rest of the race took me. Got off to a good start and hit the first mile mark at 5:03. Right before the mile mark, a group of 3 runners  passed me pretty effortlessly and left me in the dust.

Just after the downhill comes the uphill into a headwind. With the leaders 20 seconds ahead of me, and 5th place 20 seconds behind me, I was left in no man's land fighting against myself to stay focused. Some combination of: lack of stamina training, running solo, the uphill/upwind, and the poor quality of sleep [gee, can I come up with any more excuses?] led to me getting light headed around the 1.5 mile mark. My watch had me hitting the 2nd mile mark at 10:42 for a 5:39 2nd mile (according to my Garmin and MapMyRun, their second mile was long and their 3rd mile was short).

From there it is a slight downhill to the finish with a crosswind that shifted to headwind when I made the turn for the chute. Still being all alone, I pushed as much as I could and I was pretty happy to hit the 3rd mile at 16:00 - a 5:18 3rd mile. Pushed it through to the chute and finished just under 16:30 - which is a PR for a "normal" 5k. I ran 16:07 in March at the Running of the Leopards - but those of you who were there this year know that in addition to the massive downhill that course features, we also had a real nice tailwind for most of the race.

 Anyway, I felt good enough after to get an easy mile cool down in before stretching & foam rolling. I followed that up with a light lift. And I feel on target to break 2:00 in the 800m by the end of the year.

6x400

Days when the wind is gusting over 20 MPG are probably not the best to do all out 400's, but there wasn't really any other workout I felt like doing today. So, I forgot about the times I was going to try and hit and instead focused on giving a ~95% effort and not worrying about the clock. I rested till my heart rate was just under 100 - which was 3:55-4:10 for all but the one where I went in search for a restroom. Always fun walking through a HS while kids are starting class.

Lyndsi did 7 cruise 800's. A minute after I finished my 6th 400, I jumped in and pushed Lynds to a 90 second final lap.

1. 67.81
2. 67.48
3. 66.23
4. 67.25
5. 67.78
6. 65.35
   

3 x (8 x plyo stairs + 300m hill)

 For each stairs set we did 2x (run every, skip every other, walk every other, sprint every other). Focused on my form on the stairs. Despite the extra stair reps than normal, I felt stronger at the top of each hill.

1. 67.90
2. 63.83
3. 61.20
   

Easy run

Legs felt good. I pushed it a bit - but never felt like I was laboring.

5:26 (.68mi / 8:00), 7:59, 7:34, 7:05, 6:56, 7:13, 6:41, 3:34 (.55 / 6:28)

52:28 / 7:15

4 cruise miles @ Fred Beekman

Jogged from the gym over to Fred Beekman park and got right into the mile repeats. I usually push the first mile way too hard, so this time I over compensated and ran way too slow on the first. Ran right in the range I wanted [5:25-5:35] run for the final 3. This loop has 80' of climb between .4 and .7 mile. Since I usually lose focus in the middle of races, I really like this workout because it helps with the mental component of running just as much as it helps with my physical fitness.

1. 5:53.23
2. 5:30.99
3. 5:32.22
4. 5:27.88
   

Easy run

43:57 / 7:33

Ladder 2-6 | 6-2

Ladder on the track with idle rest of 2-3x the length of time of the rep. Started off a little slow, but got up to speed quickly. My 6's were a little slower than I'd like - I think it's an indication that my endurance still needs worked on.

2: 32.34     1:32.93
3: 49.02     2:04.30
4: 64.80     2:50.08
5: 1:22.24  2:56.23
6: 1:46.45  3:46.62
6: 1:47.76  3:32.80
5: 1:25.15  3:04.17
4: 67.25     2:32.23
3: 47.00     1:57.95
2: 29.30     ******

800m time trial

It had been a month since my last time trial. While I still didn't break 2:02, I did run a lot better than last time. I'm still tightening up @ the 600m mark - I really need a rabbit to chase around that mark. There was a slight head wind coming down the home stretch.

Splits: 27.94 - 31.38 - 30.37 - 34.54 = 2:04.23

Took about 10 - 15 mins after to catch my breath, sip some water, and walk around, before I walk/jogged to meet Lyndsi & Nadya down at the Broadview hill. I got in 4 hill reps (560m w/ 80' of climb) w/~4min of rest after. In light of the time trial, I really focused on keeping my shoulders & hips relaxed and my breathing even & relaxed.

1. 2:02.40
2. 2:04.52
3. 1:56.08
4. 1:54.17

Felt fairly good when I was all done. Foam rolled and stretched when I got back to the gym.

Easy Run @ Sharon Woods

 I did not want to wake up this morning. I'm not sore from yesterday's time trial, but I am definitely tired from the effort. Took a little effort to get my legs to work, but I stayed conversational throughout the run.

45:18 / 7:15

16 x 200m w/400jog

Did plyos after yoga yesterday, and - despite extensive foam rolling, stretching, and good rest - my legs were NOT fresh at all today. My original plan for today was 20x200 - but after a few reps we decided to adjust the work out to focus more on good leg turn over. I still started to sag in the later half.

1. 31.36     2:03.47
2. 34.50     2:02.83
3. 32.12     2:10.05
4. 30.60     2:12.00
5. 31.43     2:12.22
6. 30.95     2:07.43
7. 31.00     2:16.37
8. 31.48     2:11.45
9. 30.05     2:21.02
10. 31.80     2:20.73
11. 31.55     2:12.55
12. 32.27     2:17.85
13. 31.33     2:14.37
14. 32.13     2:26.72
15. 31.73     2:28.85
16. 29.85     ******

That was this morning. For the rest of the day, walking has not been an easy task.

Easy run

Broke the run into two parts: 1.9 to the gym & 4.5 home.

50:41.56 / 7:57

 5 x (200m/90s rest/800m/90s rest) + extra 200m

1. 30.47     2:39.11
2. 31.80     2:27.41
3. 32.00     2:26.25
4. 30.66     2:29.74
5. 32.03     2:23.80
6. 30.03     ******
   

800m time trial + 7 x (340m hill / 30s jog / 340m downhill / 30s jog)

Time trialed again, but my legs have lost all spring. 30, 31, 33, 35 - blah. I knew this was gonna happen eventually. Time to back off racing, which is fine by me - I wasn't trying to peak for the middle of November.

Ran the hill reps by feel instead of worrying about my time.

 Hill reps:

1. 66.90
2. 74.57
3. 71.98
4. 73.15
5. 71.10
6. 68.27
7. 61.18

Easy 7

Once I got warmed up, I felt pretty good.  My watch died at the 2 mi mark - we started out 8:11 - 7:33. Felt like we ended around 7:00 pace.

Easy run

31:38 /  7:32

4xCruise 1200 w/500 jog

 Ran these at Fred Beekman park. The backstretch from  550m - 1100m has 80' of climb. Weather was a bit chilly, but the wind was calm and the sun was out.

1. 4:15.87     2:18.72
2. 4:15.33     2:32.93
3. 4:09.04     2:51.29
4. 4:09.74     ******
   

Easy Run

1:03:40 /  7:58

More LSD

1:16:56 / 8:13

Easy run

32:00 / 8:16

Easy trail run

50:46 / 7:48

Columbus Turkey Trot 5 Miler

I ran with Lyndsi to pace her a bit. She was a little off today, so the middle miles were a bit sluggish. Essentially an out and back course that starts with a long downhill. 6:21-6:31-6:26-6:45-6:20 = 32:23 - a palindrome performance.

Walked 1.5 each way to the course. Tacked on .25 mi to the warm up.

 For some reason, I'm not showing up on the Turkey Trot's race results page. I don't mind that this time isn't attached to my "racing" career - but they better not expect to get that pumpkin pie back from me.

Sharon Woods Easy Run

Met up at 7a to get in an easy run. Lyndsi felt TOO good after yesterday's race and kept pulling away while I kept turning out 7:30's. We have a good balance - she yells at me to slow down during speed work & I have to slow her down on easy days.

45:23 / 7:32

Easy run

LSD

First 7 - 8:06

Last 3 - 7:32

Easy run

44:41 / 7:48

More LSD

47:47 / 7:54

Super LSD

1:02:14 / 9:00

Easy Run

53:46 / 7:38

Easy Trail Run

57:43 / 7:41

Easy Run

Met up with Lyndsi and David and did an easy 6 altogether. David had to go to work, so Lyndsi & I tacked on an extra mile @ 7:09 pace. Felt really strong today - but now, my hip is acting up a bit.

54:59 / 7:46

Felt awful today.

Easy Run

This was really a bunch of easy miles broken up by the need to stop b/c I still felt off.

Easy Run

Still felt off - but between miles 4 & 5 I really started to feel better. The last two miles were 7:15 pace.

57:37 / 7:58

Easy Run

Ran the first 5.5 miles at 9:15 pace w/ Nadya. Ran the final 1.58 at 6:45. Legs didn't feel good at the start, but they definitely warmed up.

1:01:25 / 8:40

Easy run

My achilles tightened up as I ran, so I cut it short.

33:20 / 7:52 

Easy run w/8x100m strides

Hit the track with Dave and Lyndsi. I jogged an easy 5 miles in reverse while they did 400 reps (10 & 11 respectively). In between miles 3 and 4, I ran 4 laps of: sprint the straightaways and jog the turns. My splits were 7:07, 7:06, 6:47, 6:57, 7:09 &  my legs were feeling really good. Taking the weekend off to rest my achilles paid off. So, I decided to help push Dave and Lyndsi by running with them on their final laps.  

LSD

Out and back: 7:30 on the out / 7:10 on the back.

1:16:03 / 7:15

Trail Run @ High Banks

Had to work the Carrie Underwood concert last night & didn't end up getting home till 1:15 & couldn't fall asleep till 2. 5:45 came way too soon & the 18* morning didn't help with the sluggish legs. I kept the pace light and conversational.

 51:10 / 7:57 

LSD

Started off very easy and kept pushing the pace: 7:56, 7:42, 7:32, 7:30, 7:30, 7:30, 7:10, 7:08, 7:00

1:09:26 / 7:25 

Easy run @ Sharon Woods 

1:03:00 / 7:36 

Easy run

54:01 / 7:38 

Steady State run

Got to the track and was a little sluggish at first, and it took me an extra mile to warm up.

1. 6:57
2. 6:33
3. 6:21
4. 5:55

Easy run

Ran the first mile easy, then decided to push the pace a bit to see where "uncomfortable" is. The first 5 mi were @ 6:50 pace; the final 5.35 were @ 6:27 pace. Felt good to move that fast.

1:08:47 / 6:39 

Trail run

Easy run with Lyndsi. Legs were a little tired from yesterday, but not too bad.

 57:06 / 7:51 

PM Easy 2.75 mile shuffle 

LSD

Steady downpour. Didn't realize how windy it was, until I turned around at the 6 mi mark. 

1:29:05 / 7:22 

Easy Run

Windy, cold, & snow. Roads were too icy, so we went to the track. First two miles were over 8, then cut it down: 7:26, 7:18, 7:15, 6:49 (last mile on the track), 7:21. Felt solid.

 53:37 / 7:33 

Easy Run

Sluggish starting out, but settled into a zone around 6:40 in the middle.

48:56 / 6:55 

Easy Run

Did easy reps of the Broadview hill while Lyndsi ran hard. Lack of sleep is catching up with my legs - I'm selfishly looking forward to the holidays being over and being able to get back on a normal schedule.

43:22 / 7:32 

Easy 7

50:47 / 6:58 

LSD

A mixture of heavy snow and sleet made this run interesting. Hopefully tomorrow brings clear roads/sidewalks to run on, I really don't want to move to the treadmill.

57:49 / 7:13 

Treadmill run

Like most runners, I LOATHE the treadmill.

31:00 /  7:18