4x2 Mile with 2:00 Rest

Goal:
4x2mile with 2 min rest @ 6:00, 6:00, 5:50, 5:50

Actual:
2.5 mile warmup
4x2 mile with 2:00 rest in 47:36
5:58 / 6:00 - 11:58 (2:01)
5:53 / 5:58 - 11:51 (2:00)
5:52 / 5:58 - 11:49 (2:15)
5:58 / 6:00 - 11:58
1.8 mile cool down for ~13 miles

Honestly, if it weren't for Billy and Phil, I definitely wouldn't have done this workout.  I went to bed last night with a sore ab, and I just thought it was a tummy ache at that point.  Little did I know that the pike ab exercise I did on Tuesday morning would such a negative effect on my pathetically weak ab muscles.

On the warmup, it felt like someone was stabbing my lower ab with a knife.  My form was all messed up and I felt like I was hunching over to accommodate for the pain.  I decided to do the warmup and try one interval and assess the odds of my workout success after that.  Before starting, I performed a little self massage on my lower right ab and reluctantly toed the line with the boys.  Surprisingly, the ab wasn't too bad on the first one, so I decided to go for another one.  On the second, it still wasn't great, but not noticeably terrible like it was on the warmup.  Somehow I was able to finish all four of the intervals without pulling any ab or fainting from pain.  These weren't at the times that I had been hoping for, but given the circumstances, I was really pleased with this effort.

Week in Review

76 Miles
16.7 mile long run
7 Runs
0 Doubles
2 Core Sessions (unloading week)
10x1000m @ 3:34 average
10k race in 37:12

On paper, this was a pretty tough week with a long workout on Wednesday morning, a race on Saturday and a semi long run on Sunday.  Oddly enough, I felt good for six out of the seven runs this week!  The worst day was my 10k race at the OrthoCarolina Classic.  I just didn't have it in my legs to go as fast as I would have liked (was aiming for around 36:30), indicating that Wednesday's workout must have taken more out of my legs than expected. I forgot how hilly this course was and how there's never really a chance to recover from the previous hill before another one appears.  I had two mile splits that were over 6:00 pace, which really threw my time over 37:00, but all my other splits were 5:45-5:55 which is good considering the terrain. Today's long run was absolutely wonderful as the temperature has cooled down significantly.  In fact, this entire month of August has felt more like September, but I'm definitely not complaining!

For the rest of the day today, I plan on waiting anxiously for the results of the Quebec City Marathon (there is no runner tracking sadly).  John, Matt, Nick and Joey are all racing to get a Boston qualifier.  I helped create John's 8-week plan leading up to the race, and I just want him to come out of his debut marathon with a positive relationship with the distance.

10x1000M with 1:00 Rest

Goal:
8-10x1000m @ 5:45-5:48 average (3:34-3:36) with 1:00-1:10 jog rest

Actual:
3.1 mile warmup
10x1000M @ 5:44 average (3:34/km) with 1:00-1:20 jog rest
1.5 mile cool down for 12 miles total

Splits:
3:37 (1:00)
3:34 (1:20 - water)
3:29 (1:03)
3:33 (1:04)
3:35 (1:19 - water)
3:34 (1:00)
3:39 (1:10 - fell asleep)
3:33 (:59)
3:36 (1:03)
3:34

As always, this run took place before sunrise, as both Laurie and I departed our houses and met halfway on East Blvd. Typically, our pace increase 60+ seconds from low 8:00s to low 7:00s once our paths meet, but this morning was different.  With an unspoken agreement, the looming monster of a workout prevented our legs from going any faster for the warmup.  Perhaps the humidity played a role as well because it was definitely sticky out there--Laurie even stated matter-of-factly: "Today, it's 100% humidity."  I wasn't particularly thrilled when the warmup ended and inevitably the workout had to start. When it did, we started out perfectly on pace.  Then, of course, we got a little excited and ran the fastest interval of the day on #3.  I hoped it wouldn't ruin the rest of the workout for me.  The 1000m speed loop proved to be a perfect location for this because the finish line was exactly a 55 second (brisk) jog back to the start line.  I averaged around 6:05-6:25 pace for the miles with the rest included, so that indicates how truly fast the rest was.

After the 5th, Laurie headed home and the rest of the workout was left up to me.  I should note that finishing a workout of this magnitude never happens for me. Sure, I can run 16x400m all day, but anything over 800m in distance and over eight repeats in duration...typically I wimp out after six. Perhaps in the past, I was too aggressive on the pacing, so I reminded myself of this fact throughout. 

Indeed, today truly was different.  I found an inner resolve (that's definitely not normally present) to complete this workout, no matter what.  Doing eight repeats?  Not even an option--only ten!  That little voice inside my head that I talked about last week?  Gone. 

The only thing that didn't go right happened when I fell asleep on #6, which just turned on another switch in my brain to push harder.  I focused on running fast without straining and knew, even when it started to hurt the most--around the 9th one--that I was going to finish this. This workout was definitely tough to mentally force myself to stay on pace, but it wasn't tough from a "Will I finish it?" perspective. 

It's this type of workout that will make me mentally stronger during miles 7-10 in a half marathon.  It was almost a good thing that Laurie left halfway through because it forced me to find the ability to dig deep out of my own volition.   Only positive feelings came out of this workout, which is yet another sign that I'm moving in the right direction. 

Next up:  OrthoCarolina 10k

Week in Review

74 Miles
7 Runs
5xMile in 5:55 with 1:00 rest
4 mile tempo in 5:57 ave
18.5 Mile Long Run
2 Lift Sessions

This week was everything last week wasn't.  I came out of this week with my confidence back and my motivation at what could be considered an all time high for this year.  I executed my plan almost perfectly.  The only glitch happened when I threw out my double for the week, a lousy four miles, mainly due to the rainy, cold (cold for August = 63 degrees) weather. I actually really didn't want to take another shower and knew I would have to if I ran in the rain, so I ditched it.

It was a very solid week of training, with three quality workouts or long runs with great company.  Again, Laurie came out as the winner for my running buddy of the week as I believe I got in over 50% of my mileage with her right alongside me.  Her arrival in Charlotte last September was quite possibly one of the best things that has happened in my running life since Meagan Nedlo left.  Most importantly, this was the first week where I really felt like a half marathon PR is entirely possible.  Like I said last week, I'm definitely making progress to a successful fall racing campaign and my mind is in the right place to make that happen.