2 x 4 Miles Fail

Goal:
15-16 miles with 2 x 4 miles @ 5:47 pace with 4-5 min rest between

Actual
4 mile warmup starting at 545am
4 miles in 540,544,547,548 (downhill first 2 miles)
5 min jog rest for maybe half a mile
2 miles in 550,610 and then I jogged
5.5 miles cool down super slow

I went out too fast today.  I even had the luxury of Bert's company for this, but clearly I was just exhausted.  I wish I could have finished this workout, but it just wasn't in the cards.  After I bailed on the second set, I could barely muster sub-8:00 pace for the cool down, which rarely happens these days.  I had squishy shoes from the ridiculous amount of sweat that had accumulated in my socks and my soles, but I don't think that there needs to be an explanation for a crappy workout.  They happen.  I think this is only my third bad workout in the entire cycle, which is actually pretty great for me.

Just because I didn't finish this workout doesn't mean that I can't run 5:47 pace in two weeks.  It just means that my body is ready for taper and once I give it that, my legs will likely feel fresh and ready to roll. I also absolutely MUST not go out faster than 545 pace at the race. I will not feel good. I race better if I negative split so I want to try my damnedest to do just that. 

16x400m Repeats

Goal:
16x400m with 1 min rest at 78-83

Actual:
3 mile warmup
16x400m at 78-83 with 1:00 rest
2.5 mile cool down for 9.5 miles total

pm:  4.5 miles for 14 miles total

After learning that I've got low iron and that I'm trying to do too much at this point in my life, I decided to do 400s.  Why 400s? Because they are easy to handle mentally and I didn't have to even look at my splits on the speed loop.  I was fortunate to have the company of Spada and Caleb for this workout in the early morning hours on the Dilworth Speed Loop.  We started off and I felt okay, not too winded but not a walk in the park, either.  I let Caleb and Spada speed ahead in front of me, and felt no worry. I didn't look at my splits, which helped a lot.  Towards intervals 10, 11, and 12, I felt terrible, and when I looked at my splits after the workout, my times reflected this (81-83 splits here), but then I was able to pull it back together by the last set.  In fact, I really wanted to quit after 12 intervals, but I vowed to myself prior to the workout that if things started getting tough that I would just slow it down.  I didn't even have to slow it down once I reached what I thought was my breaking point; I just needed to get my mind focused and in the right spot and I was able to fight through my own mental shortcomings.  All in all, the focus of this workout was to run fast time.  Instead, it was to come out of it feeling mentally stronger than when I went into it, and I achieved just that.

Just Like Clockwork - 5 Mile Tempo

Goal:
5 Mile Tempo at 5:45-5:50

Actual:
2.5 mile warmup
5 mile tempo in 29:36 (5:57, 5:57, 5:57, 5:59, 5:47)
3.5 mile cool down

7 miles in the pm for 18 miles total

Well, ever since I did those 400s on Tuesday, my arch, achilles and hamstring have all been extremely tight.  Nothing crazy, but also something that definitely should not go ignored because I feel like I'm on the precipitous of injury--right at the point where either I could keep doing what I'm doing now, which in terms of prehab is absolutely nothing, or choose to make some changes and actually do my exercises that help prevent aches such as these.  I'm also leading into a nice 100-mile week and I'm sure these are the kinks to be felt.

I think that the travel took its toll on me during this workout, as I felt like it was a chore to run in the high 5:50s.  However, I was able to go pretty quick that last mile, thanks to the push from Stephen Spada.  Hey--at least we were consistent with our first four miles, right?  Now I need to keep up my training regime in the weight room and make sure I keep any injuries from becoming a reality.

Mile Repeats

Goal:
Mile Repeats with 1:30 rest at 5:32-5:40

Actual:
2.2 mile warmup
4x1 mile with 400m rest
5:38 (2:35)
5:33 (2:28)
5:32 (2:46)
5:28
2.6 mile cool down

5.5 miles in the pm for 15 miles total

Finally - victory!  I would prefer that I dominate workouts on Tuesdays because the week inevitably is off on a better note, but I'll take a late one.  Another early morning was spent again at the Dilworth Speed loop.  Quite possibly my second home, the Dilworth speed loop is where I'll be doing the majority of my workouts until marathon training starts in September.  What was nice about this morning was the cool breeze, the company of Matt Jaskot, and the distance of the workout.  Four miles of workout is really easy to prepare for mentally, so I figured it would go well.  Spada, Eric, Matt and I all took off from the corner of Worthington and Dilworth Road East for our first repeat and simply ran two loops of the two mile loop.  The first repeat was rather uneventful.  We jogged back to the top of the hill for the start of the second one, and Spada and Eric took off.  I was a comfortable distance behind them and I heard Eric say something to Spada as they reached the middle of the uphill.  Suddenly, I blazed past them.  Don't get me wrong, I didn't actually speed up whatsoever.  Instead, they had slowed down.  I smiled mockingly and said, "Wow you guys really slowed down on this uphill" and barreled past.  After 200m they caught back up, but again I stayed strong on the uphill portions.  Eventually, they caught me on the flat surface (darn) and we finished the interval.  During the rest, Eric told me he slowed down so much because he saw 5:10 pace on his Garmin for the downhill segment.  As his coach, I used my infinite wisdom to tell him that in a race, if that were to happen, he would have been passed by Caleb Boyd and that sometimes it's just best to rely on your own instinct than your Garmin.

On the third interval, it felt just as easy as the one before, but a tad bit faster.  On the fourth, we ran the same course as the second one and I noticed that Eric didn't look at his pace on his Garmin until after he crested the uphill.  I was proud of him.  He hit his target of sub 5:20 too!  I ran a controlled 5:28 and was pleased with the effort.  Mark wants to make sure that I feel like I could add on some more intervals when I finish my speed workouts.  I definitely felt like that today, although I wasn't complaining about stopping.

I'm already at 70 miles for the week, and I'm on target to hit 100 miles if I double tomorrow.  I'm not that obsessed with hitting triple digits quite yet, so I'll likely be in the mid 90's instead, which will still be my highest mileage ever.  I can already feel the effects of high mileage:  constant hunger, constantly yawning, constantly yearning a nap, going a couple of days without a shower, and cleaning soaking wet and sweaty clothes.  It's all worth it!

800m Repeats

Goal:
8-10x800m with 2:00 rest

Actual:
3 mile warmup
8x800m at 2:40-2:42 with 2:00-2:20 jog rest
3.5 mile cool down for ~11 miles total

I'm pretty sure that this morning at the Speed Loop there were over 10 people doing various speed workouts. David, Chad and Pezz did 1000s.  Spada, Mike, Caleb, AJ and I were doing 800s.  Danielle, Michelle, Billy, and Carolyn all did different workouts.  It was definitely the largest showing that has ever appeared at the Speed Loop during the early morning hours.  For me, after closing out my previous week with a solid wave workout and steady state long run, I was just hoping to finish this one.  I could tell after the first interval that it was going to be a struggle for me to dip under 2:40, and turns out that I was right.  I stayed right at 2:40 through 6 intervals and then for the last two, I lost my main training buddies and lost my motivation to keep pushing for 2:40.  At the same time, my legs got increasingly harder to pick up off the asphalt and I finished the 8th one in 2:42, feeling tired and ready to be done.  After gathering the troops, we made our way back towards the Dowd before I veered off towards my house to head home.  I've just come to realization that even if I don't always run that fast in my speed workouts, it will still help me stay fit.  I've been finding that it's much easier for me to really push it in the tempos, which I enjoy much more than the speed work.

5 Mile Wave Success...Finally

Goal:
5 Mile wave with alternating 800s at 2:50-2:55 and 3:00-3:05

Actual:
2.25 mile warmup
5 Mile Wave in 28:56 (5:47 average) splits below
2:49/3:00 (5:49)

2:49/3:00 (5:49)
2:46/2:59 (5:45)
2:47/2:59 (5:46)
2:46/2:58 (5:44)
3.25 miles cool down

Yet another successful workout in the last seven days. I can't complain, especially because there were a lot of circumstances leading up to this workout that would warrant complaints...Such as being sick with some sort of hacking cough and disgusting mucus that wouldn't leave my throat no matter how hard I coughed.  Such as moving my entire life two miles away into a new house.  Such as trying to work with the hacking cough.  Such as trying to run with the hacking cough.  And the list goes on.  Pushing all of those thoughts aside, I decided I would have a good workout today because my legs should have been well rested since I took a down week earlier.

Fortunately, I received a surprise text from Mike Beigay inquiring about workout plans for the morning last night.  The next morning, I ran to the Dowd to meet Mike and we made our way down South Blvd toward the speed loop to meet Spada.  After a couple of fist pumps, we hid our shirts in a tree, and jogged our way through the start line to begin with the "hard" section first. For our route, we did two rounds of the 800m loop and then did two rounds of the two mile loop.   I took us out kind of hard, but felt good.  I eased the pace back to 5:40 so that I would have enough room left in the tank for the final intervals.  Mike Beigay was intregal to keeping the pace for the first two hard 800s, and after that he fell back slightly as I continued to press. Spada still hung on, casually pacing behind me, his presence alone helping propel me forward.  After the third hard one, I dropped him slightly on the uphill on Lennox, but then eased up a tad on the "easier" portion so he could join me again.  By the fourth hard 800m, I was feeling great again and felt like pushing it even more.  I think Spada fell back on this one again and I wouldn't see him again until the finish.  And when I say "fell back" it really means he stayed at the pace we were aiming for.  I was just a touch faster on the intervals.  With just 800m to go, I was finally beginning to feel the fatigue settle into my legs and I used the slight downhill to my advantage to make it my fastest split of the day.  I finished in a time of 28:56, which is by far the fastest 5 mile tempo I've had since college I think. 

Things are finally starting to come together for me and this is a huge confidence booster for going into the half marathon champs in just three weeks.  I'm ready for a big PR in this distance and can't wait to toe the line with Meagan, Pezz and Alana.

10 Mile Tempo

Goal:
60 min tempo at 600-605 pace

Actual:
2.25 mile warmup
10 mile tempo in 59:23 for 5:56 pace (5;58, 5:49, 5:54, 5:57, 5:59, 5:52, 5:57, 5:54, 5:58, 6:00)
1.25 mile cooldown for 13.5 miles total

Caleb and I decided to be environmental today and carpooled to McMullen this morning for our tempo.  I was pleasantly surprised when he texted me yesterday about joining the workout.  I've always known that Caleb can workout with me, but he just didn't believe it yet.  I hoped today's workout would change his attitude on that.  We pulled into McMullen just as Mike Kahn pulled in as well.  After some aimless wandering in the parking lot, we started a slow warmup before turning around to find Spada, who had to drop his kids off at school.  We rounded back to the start line, did some strides, and all toed the line together.  My plan had been to go out in 6:20 and to gradually get faster, with hopes of hitting 5:50s for the last couple of miles.  Spada had other plans.  After about 400 meters with Kahn and I leading in what was apparently too pedestrian of a pace, Spada bolted ahead to take the lead.  Through the first mile, I even said out loud "6:02--we're fast."  This didn't phase anyone.  Spada pulled another couple of meters on Kahn and I.  Caleb even pulled ahead to go stride-for-stride with Spada.  Kahn was my trusty sidekick as we relaxed behind the two who were dueling.  By mile 2, the pace had dropped considerably, and, in doing so, we had dropped Kahn who is coming back from injury.  After a couple of minutes, Caleb dropped back to stick with me.  We ran the rest of the tempo together, side by side.  Spada continued to maintain a 10 meter lead on us through 3.5 miles.  Soon, I could tell that we were catching up to Spada and passed him just before the 4 mile marker.  I wanted to say out loud that we had just passed our motivation to keep the pace strong, but I didn't because I felt like saying it out loud would make the pace falter.

We got to the 5-mile turnaround and I think this mile is a little short, so you might need to add like 5-8 seconds onto my overall time.  After the turnaround, I broke everything down into multiples of 6.   This seemed to help a ton as at this point I could the effects of the Cardio Latin dance class I had taken the night before, especially in my hips and calves.  Caleb's presence helped considerably as we ran stride for stride and he pushed on the uphills while I pushed on the downhills.  His Garmin was completely off on the mile markers, so I tried to ignore his beeps that were putting us as a slower pace than what the markers on the path were telling me.  With just two miles to go, I tried to remain as relaxed as possible. I noticed that even though my legs were crying for me to stop that my breathing was fairly controlled--or, at the very least, it was relaxed.  It didn't start to feel taxing on me until the 9th mile, quite possibly due to the change in terrain from asphalt to cinder.  I clung to Caleb like he was my lifeline because I knew that if he dropped me, I would completely fall off pace.  Somehow we ran through the finish line right on pace. 

A couple of thoughts on the workout. 

1. Caleb Boyd is in shape.  He might not have believed it before, but now he sure as hell better.
2. This is the first time that I've run under 6:00 pace for a long tempo.  Side Note:  this is also the first time I've run a long tempo at McMullen that wasn't a steady state long run.  Clearly, the terrain here is much more conducive to faster times than McAlpine's terrain. 
3. This is a confidence booster going into the half marathon champs in just one month. 

Overall, I'm very pleased with this workout.  Looks like the hard work that I put in over March and April is finally starting to pay off and I'm seeing improvements in my times in workouts that I've done in the past.  Now, I can focus on moving for the rest of the weekend!

Cutdown on the Speed Loop

Goal:
6xmile with 2:30 rest

Actual:
2.5 warmup

On the Speed Loop:
2000m 6:57 (1:47)
1600m 5:33 (2:13)
1200m 4:03 (3:18)
1000m 3:20 (2:40)
800m 2:38 (2:38)
600m 1:56 (3:18)
400n 1:15 (1:20)
200m :35
2 miles cool down for 11.5 miles total

On a hot and muggy morning, David Willis and I departed from my house to meet Spada at the Speed Loop.  After twenty minutes of warmup, we toed the imaginary line and started our first rep--2000m.  David and Spada immediately bolted ahead and I was left in their dust. This would be the theme for the entirety of the workout.  When I wanted to zigzag off the course to hit up a sprinkler in the middle of an interval, I would glue my eyes to Spada's butt and ignore the desire for water.  Instead, I powered through this down ladder workout, even when it was really hurting.  Fortunately, our prescribed rest was much longer than usual (400m) with hopes that it would allow us to run super fast.  Well, it didn't.  It was to hot for that.  My body definitely isn't used to running in this humidity quite yet. I only need a couple more weeks and I'll be just fine, but until then, it will definitely be a struggle.

In this workout, I really hurt for the first three reps, and then by the time I hit the 1000m and shorter intervals, I was finally beginning to feel better.  My times don't really reflect that too much, but the effort was there today and I felt spent after each one.  My legs felt pretty heavy towards the end, but I did just run a solid tempo on Wednesday at McAlpine.  I'm hoping that I'll be able to push the last couple miles of my long run on Sunday to make this a solid week.

 

8x1000m Repeats

Goal:
8x1000m with 2:00 jog rest

Actual:
2.5 mile warmup to Dilworth Speed Loop
3:34 (2:03)
3:25 (1:57)
3:24 (1:56)
3:24 (2:30)
3:22 (2:00)
3:23 (2:02)
3:21 (2:02)
3:20
2.5 mile cool down for 11 total

This morning I woke up at 5:30am, expecting to hear the sounds of the wind howling and branches hitting the sides of my house, which is what the weather man predicted would happen. Instead, I just heard the normal whir of my fan and checked my phone for any texts. Eric, who was supposed to meet me at 6am, had texted me at 3:27am: "It's pouring and radar looks bad for entire run. Can we push to afternoon?" Wondering who in their right mind checks the radar at 3:27am, I wearily got out of bed, walked two steps to my back door, stuck my hand outside, felt no rain, and texted him back: "It's not raining now." In other words: I'm still going. (Side note: I found out later that Eric wakes up regularly in the middle of the night because his dogs wake him up…yet another reason why I have a cat right now).

In fact, everything about the weather seemed quite agreeable. There was little wind, the temperature was in the upper 50s, and there was no rain, lightning or thunder. As long as I didn't see any great flashes of light in the sky, then I had no excuse to not run, even if it had been pouring. After all, there's no guarantee that it won't be raining later in the afternoon. I continued getting ready and figured that since I hadn't received any texts from Spada, that he was already en route to the Dilworth Speed Loop. I ate half of a PB Bonk Breaker, wishing that it was actually their new flavor, Fig, before heading out.

I jogged slowly from my house to the RBC Bank on East Blvd, where Spada and I gave each a fist bump and added another loop of warmup for good measure. During those final minutes before we started, I truly had no idea how this workout would go. I wasn't feeling too amazing and I had done a 30 minute ab/glute circuit the night before with D Willis. I figured I could just take it easy on the first one and then push from there.

After the first one at a conversational clip--heck, we were going the same pace we had in 2 mile repeats the week prior--I decided it was time to pick up the pace. Through the first two, I took the lead. After the 3rd one, Spada woke up out of his early morning daze and took over leading responsibilities. He mentioned even that he was now doing "medium-speed" on 3/4 and was planning on doing "faster-speed" on the next 5/6. I told him I didn't know if I had another speed because, truly, I had no clue. My 4th interval in 3:24 felt strong--not all out, but not comfortable. I surprised myself by digging deeper on the 5th one. I also realized that Spada splits his workouts into thirds or quarters, depending on the workout. Today, for instance, he broke the workout into quarters, and approached each set differently in his mind. He determined to make the effort gradually harder with each set. This realization was good for me as it's exactly what I'm trying to do in, well, all of my runs and workouts.
 
We finished the day with the fastest splits posted in the last half of the workout. I was pleased, especially considering the air that was thick with humidity. Afterwards, Spada jumped into his car to make it back in time to get his kids to school (also known as "pulling a Spada"), while I slogged my way to Rebecca's porch for some much needed water, satsified with this morning's work.
 

5 Mile Wave Tempo

Goal:
5 mile wave workout alternating every 800m 2:50-2:55 and 3:05-3:10

Actual:
2.5 miles warmup
5 Mile Wave Tempo in 29:44, Splits:
2:52 (on)
3:07 (off) 5:59
2:53
3:04 (5:57)
2:52
3:03 (5:55)
2:54
3:05 (5:59)
2:51
3:02 (5:54)
3 miles cool down for 10.5 miles total

pm:  4.3 miles for 14.8 miles total

Three weeks ago, I ran this exact same workout on the same course, but 9 seconds slower than I did today.  Granted, 9 seconds isn't too much of an improvement, but it's an improvement.  Most importantly, I completed this workout after hitting 86 miles the week before and also en route to hitting 85-90 miles again this week.  I also felt much stronger and less exhausted this time around.  The company was pretty much the same with Spada, and then Justin Breland in replacement for Eric.

In the early morning hours, and after an uncharacteristic cold front blew in, we toed the imaginary start line at the gate to Freedom Park.  I knew on the warmup over that I was going to feel good on this one. Mentally, I was in the right state to have the confidence and physically, my legs felt the best they had in at least three months.  I wanted to rock this workout by hitting my goal times on each segment.  Justin and I worked together for the first two hard ones, while Spada was a couple of steps back, which is rather unusual for him.  Don't get me wrong, Spada always makes me do the work on the first half of the workout, but normally he's tucked right behind my left shoulder.  After the second one, he even noted that his quads were really tight from the 400s we had done on Friday.  Oddly enough, he bolted ahead on the 4th hard wave portion, attempting scare tactics on Justin and me.  It definitely didn't work on me because I knew I would catch him again, which I did.  On the fifth and final hard one, he pulled ahead of me, but I maintained the distance he had gapped in the first five meters of the interval.

In the end, I realized it had been a almost 10 months since I had worked out with Justin and I remembered why I used to work out with him so much - he's just so darn fun to train with!  Justin has a sense of humor that mostly goes over my (strawberry) blond head, but when I do get his jokes, they always make me chuckle.  I'm hoping he keeps this streak alive so that Spada and I can continue to do speed work with him!

Even though none of my times are lightning bolt fast right now, I'm really getting my confidence back and am really excited to race in less than two weeks.  Time to put all this hard work to the test!

3x2 Mile Repeats

Goal:
3x2 Mile with 2 min rest at 610, 600, 550

Actual:
2 mile warmup
3x2 Mile in 11:52 (6:00 | 5:52), 11:30 (5:45 | 5:44), 11:19 (5:43 | 5:36)
3 mile cool down for 11 miles total

My alarm went off at 5:20am, and, not surprisingly, the last thing I wanted to do was to workout.  I grudgingly pulled myself out of bed and got ready in less than 10 minutes to head out the door to meet Spada and Eric at the Dilworth Speed Loop by 5:50am.  On my solo warmup in the dark, my legs didn't feel fully recovered from last week, but my hip flexor and glute medeus finally were not tight!  It felt like a huge weight of stress was lifted from my shoulders and I took a deep exhale, crossing my fingers that this feeling of normalcy for the first time since pre-marathon would stay for the remainder of my spring training.

Once I hit the Speed Loop, Spada, Eric and I all jogged to the starting point near the intersection of Dilworth Rd W and Dilworth Rd E.  I verbalized the fact that I wanted to run 6-610 for the first set and to gradually get faster.  Inside, I thought to myself that I would be lucky to hit the 540s today.  I was in for a pleasant surprise. 

We took the pace out conservatively through the 400m, and then I decided to start pushing it.  The mile mark hit right before a nice downhill, so I charged down, hoping to create an equilibrium between the quickly approaching uphill section.  I lead the way on this interval and felt great.

For the second interval, I wanted to make sure it was faster than the first, so after 400 meters of Eric taking the lead, I took charge again to push the pace harder and faster.  It was a lot of fun doing this because I haven't had that desire to push the pace in a really long time in any of my workouts. 

After another two minutes of rest, we began our third and final repeat.  I faltered a bit after the 1.25 mark, but I found it within myself to power up a hill and take the lead once again.  That alone used up a lot of my energy, so after that I fell off the boys a little bit, but I still came through my last mile with my fastest split of the day. 

All in all, this workout was rather enjoyable because of the cat/mouse game that I kept playing with the guys and also because of how well I pushed my body forward.  I felt really awesome and the workout just made me excited to race again.  I haven't raced in almost 7 weeks, but I am beginning to see the payoff from my training over those weeks.  I've also decided not to run a 5k this weekend because I don't want to drive over two hours for $250.  Instead, Garrett, John and I will hang out in Charlotte!

5 Mile Tempo

Goal:
5 Mile Progression tempo at 6:10-5:50 pace

Actual:
2.5 miles warmup
5 Mile Progression tempo in 30:13 with splits of 618, 600, 554, 603, 556
2.5 miles cool down for 10 miles total

pm: 4 miles easy

I'm really behind on my blog due to the wonderful visit from Meagan this past weekend, so I'm playing catch up now!  I was running late, so when I got to the standard meeting spot, Spada was no where in site.  I decided to tentatively "start" my tempo at a measly pace, hoping to find him along the way.  I saw Carolyn and Dalena, who told me they thought they had spotted him around the lake.  I powered forward, hoping to spot him because I had no desire to do a 5 mile tempo along in the dark at 5:40am.  Fortunately, he did one extra lap around the lake, so we ran into each other and I immediately picked up the pace to keep up with him.  In the dark, we ran side by side as we traversed the streets near the greenway.  I started to really hurt near the fourth mile, but I wasn't looking at my watch, so I had no idea what pace we were running. I could tell Spada was feeling pretty good, but he stuck with me until there was just 800m to go.

I really enjoy working out with Spada because he makes everything so much simpler than I tend to.  He keeps me in check and always is guaranteed to finish a workout.  Although my time wasn't anything spectacular, I know that I am coming along.  I tend to race faster than I workout, so I can tell my strength is finally coming back to me.  I'm really excited to put all of my post-marathon training to the test in just a couple of weeks at the NC USATF 4 Mile Champs in Durham.

Workout with Spada

Goal:

5 mile tempo

Actual:
2.36 mile warmup
10-8-6-4-2
10 - 1.68 miles (5:57 ave) - 602 thru mile (3:00 rest)
08 - 1.41 miles (539 ave) - 5:39 thru mile (3:00 rest)
06 - 1.07 miles (537 ave) - 5:38 thru mile (2:00 rest)
04 - .72 miles (534 ave) - (2:00 rest)
02 - .38 (518 ave)
2.7 mile cool down for 11 miles total

pm:  3.1 miles easy

Going into this workout, I warned Steve that it would probably not be a tempo.  I knew that I wouldn't feel like doing yet another tempo after one last Tuesday and a simulation run on Saturday, so I improvised instead.  This fartlek workout was 30 minutes of work, which is roughly the same amount of distance if we did a 5 mile tempo.  Coincidentally, Steve and I ran 5.26 miles in 30 minutes, which equates to roughly 5:42 pace for the entire distance. 

As we toed the line at the Dilworth Speed Loop, I already could tell that this workout was going to go great.  My mind was in the right place and my legs felt relatively good.  We really just ran on effort and I pushed the pace for the longer distances (10-8-6).  In fact, ever since I found out that my iron level was normal again, I have been practicing mental techniques that will make me strongest for competition and workouts.  I firmly believe in exercising the mind constantly, especially outside of just running.  Mental preparation is extremely important for the marathon, so I am constantly positively reinforcing myself and preparing for the next workout. 

In today's workout, I practiced encouraging myself to push even harder when my body really hurt.  On the 4-minute interval, I was really hurting and hating the road that was stretched out before me.  Steve had already pulled away by at least ten meters, and he was gaining even more ground on me.  I wanted to cave in and just slow down, but instead, I glanced down at my watch, saw there were only 30 seconds left, and committed to making myself hurt for the last segment.  Suddenly I had another gear and I almost caught Steve!  Little mechanisms such as these can go a long way, and I was proud of myself for convincing my legs to push a little bit more. 

So far, my Trials training schedule is coming along quite well. I have noticed that I am really tired all the time, which must be a combination of the higher mileage, the robust "couples schedule" that I've been maintaining, and the 50 hours a week spent at a computer desk.  Needless to say, I am desperately ready to be in California with my family, where I can sleep in and run whenever I want. 

1000m Repeats in Dilworth

Goal:
8x1000m at 320-324 with 2 min rest

Actual:
21 min warmup for 2.7 miles


3:33 (200)
3:23 (202)
3:26 (158)
3:24 (201)
3:22 (200)
3:24 (1:57)
3:22 (201)
3:22

25 min cool down for 3.3 miles for 11.3 miles total

I'm busy catching up on my blog posts.  It's been a rather crazy week as I am swamped at work, looking for a new car to buy as Redbird is dying on me, and spending time with Garrett. 

This workout was early in the morning hours and we finished the 1000m repeats before the sun had even come up.  There really isn't much to report here except that it was really humid and that I contemplated dropping out of the workout.  I didn't want the boys to completely own me so I kept at it and finished the entire planned workout.  It's always hardest to get past that mental barried of thinking that you can't do it, when in reality you can.  It's all a matter of believing in yourself and tricking your mind into thinking that your body doesn't actually hurt nearly as much as it thinks. 

It was nice to have Aaron around because he hung back with me for a couple when I really thought I was struggling, when in reality Spada and Billy were just having a great workout and I was still hitting my goal times.  With such little rest and following my first weekly mileage of 80 miles, I'm glad I finished this workout within my target range of times.  Next up I've got a 5 mile wave tempo on Friday.

8x1000m with 2:00 Rest

Goal:
8x1000m at 3:21-3:25 with 2min jog

Actual:
2.5 mile warmup in 20:00 to Dilworth 800m Speed Loop
8x1000m at:
3:30 (1:55)
3:27 (1:59)
3:24 (1:58)
3:22 (1:57)
3:22 (2:00)
3:22 (2:01)
3:22 (2:05)
3:21
2.5 miles cool down in 20:00

With another early morning workout on tap, I woke up at 5:30AM from a peaceful slumber to get out the door on time to meet Stephen Spada and Lat Purser at the Dilworth Speed Loop.  After 20 minutes of running, Spada was ready to get rolling so I gave up the extra five minutes of warmup that I wanted to get in to compromise with Spada's daddy schedule.  After all, he drove all the way up from south Charlotte to join me in the workout, so it was the least I could do. 

Lat decided to only do 5 intervals with us since he has a long bike ride tonight.  It was great to have him join Stephen and I because he lead the way and took some weight off our shoulders.  When we completed the first one, I thought it felt much faster than we actually ran, so it was a little disheartening to see my split.  In fact, I had a brief moment of panic that I would have difficulty finishing up the rest of the 7 intervals, but I knew thinking like that would not help matters improve.  So, I decided to just work with Stephen and use him to hold me accountable. 

After the third interval, I finally began to get into the groove.  I felt fairly smooth and relaxed and the fact that the sun wasn't up yet made the 1000 meters fly by since I couldn't see key landmarks that indicated my location.  I didn't even bother catching my splits at the 400m or 800m marks and just ran on feel, basing my effort on where I was in relation to Spada.  We really are a good team because we don't really talk much and just get the job done.  We are just running, and just having that presence of a training partner is all that is needed to keep me motivated to keep pushing forward.

In the end, even though I felt really tired and exhausted at the conclusion, I'm pleased with this effort.  I finished all 8 intervals that were on my schedule and ran within the goal time frame.  However, I hope that when I revisit this workout again in a couple of months, I won't feel as rundown afterwards.  I would like to see fitness gains in that my recovery time is reduced. 

Tempo Fail

Goal:
5 Miles at Half Marathon Pace or Faster

Actual: 
~4 miles warmup
3.5 miles at 604 pace
~3 miles cool down for ~11.3 miles total

I think I was being a bit too aggressive with my goals for this workout given my schedule this week.  I had a good long run with a tempo on Sunday, a great mile repeats workout on Tuesday, and expected to continue the upward trend this Thursday.  Instead, I found that my legs were tired and that they just didn't have the energy to keep treking up and down the Booty Loop's hills.  Even with the solid pack of Spada, Bilbrey, Carolyn, and Shue, I was just tired.  Plain and simple. Spada and Billy rocked it and Carolyn kept up with us for the first 800m and then did her own thing.  It was exciting to see her face out there with us.  I like her spirit!

With just 9 days until the 13.1 Minneapolis, all I can do is wipe this one off the slate and trust that the miles that I've put in over the summer have indeed kept my fitness at a level that will help me achieve my goals. 

Perhaps I would have run better if I had done this work out on Friday, but family is more important.  I leave tomorrow morning early to head to Michigan for a cousin's wedding.  I will be seeing family members that I haven't seen in over five years on Friday, which leaves me no time to workout.  I also will be meeting my little second cousins.  Playing with them will probably be a work out in itself!

7x1000m Repeats in Dilworth...Again

Goal:
8x1000m at sub-3:20 with 300m jog rest

Actual: 
3+ mile warmup
7x1000m at interval (rest)
3:24 (2:17)
3:19 (2:35)
3:19 (2:22)
3:19 (2:35)
3:18 (2:34)
3:18 (2:54)
3:18
3+ mile cool down for ~11 miles

After making Meagan get up way earlier than she would have liked, I wanted to make it up to her somehow.  I decided to drive over to the start of the Dilworth Speed Loop to place three bottles of ice cold water waiting for us at every interval.  Turns out we had five people doing this workout, so I figured three bottles would be sufficient for the lot of us.  I did this workout back on June 28th, so I had high hopes to run just as well as I did then.  Turns out we ran almost exactly identical to how we did then, except that I didn't drop a 3:14 for the last two.  Regardless, I am pleased with this work out because I ran under 3:20 which is always a great time for me.

Fortunately I had the company of Spada, Billy, Eric, and Meagan to help push me. Unfortunately, Meagan had to drop off after a couple because it just wasn't her day.  Since she disappeared in such a stealth mode, the boys had to listen to me between intervals as I worried out loud about her whereabouts and also her gimp shin. For the intervals 1-5, Eric and I really worked together as we ran side-by-side and pushed each other to run decent times.  It was fun even if we had to yell at Billy for staying in the middle of the road on one occasion!

After the fifth interval, I was tired of taking the lead, so I told Billy to lead.  This was a good learning lesson for him as he typically just runs side by side with me.  I was hoping he would realize that he can execute his own strategy by taking the lead.  Sure enough, he felt great and ran some really fast times.  This helped me maintain my pace as I watched Billy pull away from me.  Spada and I ran together for all of these and it seemed like we both weren't feeling as great as we had the month earlier.

At the end of the work out, Spada jumped into his car and I was left to listen to Billy and Eric analyze their work outs.  It's funny how everyone handles their post-workout.  Spada jumps into his car without a cool down, Billy talks about the last time he did 1000s (February 2010) and his latest Grand Prix race, Eric analyzes his final striders and form, and I just listen to them all and maybe say a word or two but then keep the rest of my own analysis in my head.  I'm probably just creating a rough draft in my head about what I'm going to write about in my blog. 

Needless to say, the difference amongst all of us is what keeps these work outs exciting.  It definitely breaks up the monotony of just running solo. 

7x1000m with 300m jog

Goal:

7x1000m with 400m jog rest

Actual:

3.5 miles warmup

7x1000m at

3:24 (800m split 2:42)

3:19 (800m split 2:38)
3:19 (800m split 2:37)
3:20 (800m split 2:39)
3:19 (800m split 2:38)
3:14 (400m splits 75, 800m split 2:34)
3:14 (800m split 2:34)

with 300m jog between
2.5 miles cool down for 11.3 miles total

After fitting in a late night conversation into my night time routine, I got to bed a lot later than I had hoped and woke up this morning feeling exhausted.  After I jumped out of bed, I suddenly felt much more lively and had high hopes for the work out.  I headed out my door with a Timex water bottle, hoping that the water on hand would bring a sense of comfort toward the latter part of the intervals. 
 
The early morning hours didn't stop anyone else in the Charlotte running community to come out to beat the heat.  Once I made my way over to Dilworth Rd West, I already had spotted Tim Rhodes, Aprille Schaffer, Larry and Kathy Seavers, and Pete (and many more!).  Eventually I ran into Stephen Spada, who was finally able to join me for a work out since his son's lacrosse season is over.  (Apparently their team posted a record of 26-2!)  A couple of minutes later, we picked Eric up and waited for him to stretch before we began our attack on 1000m repeats.
 
The goal was the run the 800m Dilworth Speed Loop but to add on 200m since there is a mark in the sidewalk on East Blvd that Stephen told us about.  You can see our route in the map below.  With our course marked at every 200m, we set off on our first one on feel.  We started at a relatively conservative pace, going through an 82 in the first 400m. It felt easy.  After that one, I mused to Eric and Stephen that for the next couple, I would like to stay above 2:40 for the 800m split.  Did that happen?  Not so much.
 
We didn't go over 2:40 for the rest of the workout.  In fact, I felt smooth and relaxed until about the 6th and 7th repeats, but by that time, Justin Breland had randomly joined in for the fun, so I had an entourage of three guys around me to push and motivate me.  In fact, Justin somehow had enough energy to say encouraging phrases to Stephen and I like: "Wow! You guys look great!" 
 
After the fifth one, I told Spada that he could take off on these next two because I didn't want to hold him back at all.  He must have listened to me because he took off like a bat out of hell in the first 200m and we cruised through the first 400m in 75 seconds.  I had a brief moment of panic, brushed it away, and pushed through the Dilworth Rd E turn.  Suddenly I was ahead of the guys and found yet another gear to push through the small hill before the 800m mark.  We cruised through the finish in my fastest split of the day:  3:14.  The best part about the work out was that I was able to run another 3:14 for the 7th and final interval.
 
After we finished, we grabbed water with PROPEL at Rebecca's front porch.  Was it the best propel ever?  Yes.  While sipping on my sweet grape drink, I was able to reflect on my completed work out.  I definitely was happy with how things had turned out. 
 
It could be true that the 1000m Dilworth Speed Loop is a bit off, but I wore my garmin and it consistently had .63 miles, which is technically longer than 1000m.  Regardless, I was able to post my two fastest splits of the day at the very end of the work out and also maintain a fast speed going into a sharp turn onto East Blvd.  I pushed through when it hurt most and took advantage of the competition from the guys around me.  I can tell that my speed is definitely coming along.  I haven't run a 1000m at sub-3:20 in a REALLY long time so it felt great to walk away from the Dilworth Speed Loop with a new workout "PR."

The 1000m Dilworth Speed Loop

7 Mile Tempo at McAlpine

Goal:

60 Min Tempo at 6:15-6:25 Pace (adjusted due to surface)

Actual:

7 Mile Tempo for 44:09 at 6:18 pace

After visiting my Physical Therapist, Angela, at Carolinas Rehabilitation on Thursday, I had developed a large bruise 7 inches long on my IT Band after a Scraping therapy session. Angela used the Graston tool to scrape along my IT Band 9 times. While I was warned of bruising, I will admit that it made foam rolling a bit more painful. The morning of this tempo, I was flaunting the awesome bruise below. Good thing it is winter so I didn't scare any people away with my discolored leg.

I had been warned that the cold would make it harder for my IT Band to feel good, so I took the necessary precaution and warmed my leg during my drive to Mcalpine to meet Stephen and Megan. The temps at the start of our run were in the upper teens, which did not bode well for me. Megan and I met at the main entrance and ran to meet Stephen halfway on the way to Old Bell. After catching up with some good conversation (I hadn't seen Stephen or Megan in over a month), we started our tempo.

With the start of the tempo, I didn't feel too bad. I was glad that my knee actually was pain free, and I wondered if it was due to the IT Band Wrap I was wearing that has been endorsed by Scott Jurek. Stephen was our fearless leader as he lead me through the first three miles in a 615 pace average.

Once we got onto the asphault portion of the trail, however, every good thing unraveled. Little did we know that the next two miles of aspault would be covered with black ice, making it very difficult to go fast. This also put much more wear and tear on my IT Bands and I could feel them getting more and more fatigued with each slippery step. I told Stephen that they were getting tired, and we kept trucking along. We ran our slowest mile here (6:27) and I didn't want the rest of the miles to be that slow. At the 4 mile turnaround, I made a very conscious effort to pick it back up to a respectable pace, which we did. However, I felt like I had spent every ounce of my energy on those two miles of ice, and my legs were working much harder than they should be.

After 6 miles, I informed Stephen that I would be ending early, at the 7 mile mark. He was a good trooper and when we stopped, he informed me that I didn't feel too good on my last tempo before Twin Cities and still ran a sub-2:42. I think that Stephen and I both work well together because we know how to listen to our bodies and minds to know when enough is enough. We also know that it is pointless to spend too much time talking or thinking about a workout that was below our own expectations. The best thing to do is to recognize a weakness for the day and to move on. I know that I ran 26.2 miles 8 seconds faster than I did in this tempo today, but the important thing is that I did get a good effort in. I hope that I can run 6 min pace or faster at Houston, but the key will be to get my IT Band feeling normal again.

I enjoyed a long 4 mile cool down with both Stephen and Megan, where I learned more about Stephen got into running. He went from a 2:42 to a 2:38 to a 2:32! That's pretty much amazing. Megan is less than 100 days from the Boston Marathon, where she will revisit the city where she ran a blazing 2:37:xx marathon at the 2008 Olympic Trials. I believe that all the hard work she's been putting in will definitely pay off come April.

Splits:
616
611
620
627
618
619
614