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.

Week in Review

82 Miles
2 Doubles
4 Days of sickness
2 Workouts
16 Mile long run uptempo

As a result of an upper respiratory cough, I missed two of my double runs this week, which would explain why I was unable to run 90 miles this week.  I was able to still do all of my workouts for the week, even if one was adjusted largely to account for the hacking cough.  Even though the start of the week was off to a shaky start, I was able to finish it out with two solid workouts on Friday and Sunday.  Things are finally starting to come together and I feel like I'm in the best shape I've been in since Twin Cities in 2010.  Sometimes I really do think that I train best in the summer heat because that's when things usually come together for me.

John and I are also fully settled into the new house on Wilmore Drive, directly across the street from Matt Jaskot, two houses from Denise and Tyler, and half a mile from Thomas and Michelle.  We have our own little running club starting in this neighborhood and it's nice to know that we are surrounded by friends.  I've got just three weeks until the USA Half Champs and I'm ready!

14 Mile Steady State Success

Goal:
14 Miles at 6:20-6:40 pace

Actual:
1 mile warmup
14 miles in 1:28:16 (6:18 average) with splits of: 6:35, 6:31, 6:28, 6:26, 6:38, 6:21, 6:35, 6:21, 6:04, 6:15, 6:07, 5:59, 5:58, 5:58
1 mile cool down for ~16 miles total

I know that summer is officially here because I set my alarm for 5:45AM on a Sunday morning, which should be just plain blasphemy.  However, in the summer it's worth it to wake before the sun rises in an effort to escape the North Carolina heat that seems to get worse with each passing year.  This particular morning, I was set to meet Pezz, Aaron and Spada at McMullen for a 14 mile steady state run.  After eating a Fig Bar, I hopped in my car and arrived at McMullen a couple minutes shy of our starting time of 6:30.  Spada was running a little late, so it bought me some time to walk around before starting our warmup. The biggest surprise of the morning was that Pezz was early (who is always late) and that Spada was late (who is always early).

We started off with an easy mile before easing into our uptempo portion of the run.  Pezz and I made a sizable gap on Spada and Aaron within the first mile, and we were right on pace.  It felt effortless at that point while Pezz and I just enjoyed catching up.  By the third mile of the tempo, Aaron caught up to us as we discussed the USA Half Champs course, which we are assuming to be on the same course as the Grandma's Marathon.  Once we reached the end of the greenway, we began the first loop of the hilly circle around the gigantic Church on Rea Road.  I felt really good through this section, despite the hills. After one loop, Pezz headed back towards the main entrance while Aaron and I began the ascent to the Six Flags Church, the worst part of the run.  After we crested the last uphill, I kept the pace going strong and probably picked it up a little here.  Aaron grabbed some water before we made our way back onto the flat greenway portion.  I caught our first 800m split back on course, and we cruised through at 3:00.  Knowing that I had at least another four miles left, we eased it up a bit.  I still felt great at this point.  In fact, I felt like I was getting stronger with each step forward.  I started dropping some sub-6:00 miles and at this point, Aaron apologized for being a bad running buddy.  I assured him that his presence for 90% of my run was a huge life saver, especially through the hilly section.  Soon, he dropped off and I was left for the final 1.5 miles of the tempo on my own.  I closed in sub-6:00 again and felt really smooth.

At the .5 mile marker, I stopped, turned around and jogged back towards Aaron, who had just capped off a solid 20 miler just one week after his half marathon PR.  Internally, I did some math within my head and tried to hold back my excitement.  Almost two years ago, I did this exact same course as part of my simulation run for Twin Cities.  For 15.5 miles, I average 6:11 pace.  Today, for 14 miles, I averaged 6:18 pace in what was supposed to be a much slower run.  The difference today was that everything felt easy and I never once felt like I was really straining too much.  I wasn't breathing hard at any one point except maybe towards the end. I also can't help but think that my 6+ hours of dancing each week is paying off.  I think that my hips and other stabilizer muscles are getting stronger through dancing and that this is helping my running.  I was sick earlier this week, but somehow I still managed to have a fabulous 5 mile wave tempo on Friday followed by this great workout today.  Things are looking really good going into the USA Half Champs and now I have the confidence that I can achieve the goals I've laid out for this race.

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.