3x(2k-1k) on the Speed Loop

Goal:
3x(2k @ 5:50, 60-70 sec rest, 1k @ 535-540, 3:30 rest)

Actual:
2.8 mile warmup
2k in 7:30, 65s rest
1k in 3:31, 3:30 rest
2k in 7:14, 65s rest
1k in 3:31, 3:30 rest
2k in 7:13, 65s rest
1k or 25s fast and 35s slow with Laurie in 3:40
1.7 mile cool down for ~ 12 miles total

You can expect to always find me on the two mile speed loop on Wednesday mornings.  It's been my standard workout place for the past couple of weeks and will continue to be so until December. 

I was slow on the first 2k because I wanted to run with Pezz and Laurie for at least a portion of their wave tempo, so I hung with them until my Garmin beeped at me to slow down for my short rest.  This workout was easy for me aerobically, but I was a little disappointed that I wasn't able to go much faster on the 1k.  I still hit the target pace that Terry had prescribed, but I wanted at least one of them to be under 3:30.  I also felt like the rest after the 1k was too long.  If I ever do this workout again, I'd love to do with 2:30-3:00 rest just to put a true test to my fitness gains.

Moe's Burrito Dash 5k

Goal:
Win Prize Money

Actual:
3.1 mile warmup
5k race in 19:04 with Burrito, 2nd place, $1000
3 mile cool down

PM:  6 miles with Laurie for ~14 miles total

Last year, I found this gem of a race, the Moe's Burrito Dash, with a very deep prize purse, but with a slight catch: you had to eat a burrito in the middle of the race.  Last year, only one other competitive woman showed up and it was a relatively easy win.  It helped that the race was short, that the burrito station was at mile 2, and that the burrito was about the size of a taco.  This year, the course was exactly 5 kilometers, the burrito station was at 1.5 miles, and the burrito was bigger.  To further complicate matters, there were six women with me in the burrito station.

Despite all of that, it was a blast because of two things: (1) Garrett and I got to take a mini road trip with Laurie down to the race, one of my favorite people in Charlotte and (2) Laurie, Pezz and I finally all toed a start line in the same race together!  Ironically, I had told Pezz about this race a couple weeks ago, questioning her decision to do the Tar Heel Ten Miler, which was further away and featured a smaller prize purse.  On Thursday, she texted me asking permission for her to run it. Pezz is so nice that I'm pretty sure if I had said NO WAY, she would have actually not run it.  Of course, I told her that I do not own the Burrito Dash and that she should definitely do it.  Knowing that both Pezz and Laurie have PRs that are minutes faster than mine, I didn't want to discount either of them before the race because I had done a decent job of eating my burrito last year.  Well, not this time around....

After a nice warmup with Laurie and Pezz, we all toed the line and waited for the signal.  Pezz effectively false started, but it didn't matter as we all followed a couple seconds later.  Pezz shot off to the front and another tiny girl went with her, but then fell back to where Laurie and I were.  After 1000m, Pezz was about 15m ahead of me and I was in second. I knew that Laurie, the tiny girl and a couple others were close, but I kept chugging through.  I didn't catch my splits, but I guess I went through the first mile in 5:15.  We got the burrito stand, and Pezz had taken about 2 bites.  After 10 seconds, Laurie, the tiny girl and two former college runners entered.  We were all stacked against each other and eating a burrito.  I couldn't breathe without snot shooting out of my nose, and I kept glancing at Pezz and Laurie to see where they were at.  At one point, I almost threw it all up but managed to keep it down.  Out of nowhere, Laurie downed her burrito and took off right before Pezz yelled "welcome to moe's" and I was left to follow in their dust about 10 seconds behind.  Another girl was right with me and I broke her after 400m.  Around 2.25, I caught up to Laurie (finally), told her GREAT BURRITO EATING and she told me to GET PEZZ.  I told her that another girl was close behind me and powered ahead.

At the finish, I crossed the line about 8 seconds back from Pezz and threw up as soon as I crossed.  The next girl, Christina Supino, a former Dartmouth runner, was close behind and then Laurie.  I was bummed that Laurie, Pezz, and I did not take the top three spots, but Laurie had just gotten an iron drip, so she was still recovering from that.  Fortunately, she is a great sport and was totally supportive of us and patiently waited for us to get our awards.  She did come away with 50 Moe's Bucks, but since they were only valid Columbia, she gave it to Christina, who lives there.

Overall, this year's experience wasn't nearly as positive as last year since I threw up and had a much more difficult time eating the burrito, but I had a lot of fun with some of Charlotte's fastest women!

8 Mile Tempo Run

Goal:
3x3 Mile with 3 min rest

Actual:
2.5 mile warmup
8 mile "progression" tempo in 615, 615, 608, 610, 557, 604, 607, 600 for 49:00 total time (607 average)
2.5 mile cool down for 13 miles

Pezz informed me on Monday that she and Alana were going to do an 8 mile progression tempo together.  At first, I was just going to run with them for the first three miles and then try to catch back up with them by the start of my 2nd set.  However, I made a last minute decision  to do the 8 mile tempo with the two ladies instead of my originally planned workout.

After a warmup with Mark biking alongside, I met back up with Alana and Pezz near the 2 mile mark of the greenway.  The plan was to run on the greenway portion of McAlpine, with a total of three u-turns (practicing for the Trials course).  We ran from the 2-mile mark, to the 3-mile mark (turnaround), to Old Bell (turnaround), back to the 3-mile mark (turnaround), and finished at the 2-mile mark. 

Uncertain of what my body would be capable of, I made goals for each segment to help ease any mental unrest and to focus on the immediate goal. I figured that Pezz would take off after the 4-mile mark, so my initial goal was to hang with Pezz and Alana through the 4 mile mark.  After that, my goal was to stay below 610.  After that, my goal was to stay as close to Alana as possible.  The three of us came through the four mile mark together perfectly and I felt really good.  I could tell that my legs were really tired, but I knew that if I committed to the pace mentally that my legs would be able to handle it physically. 

Admittedly, I was running scared, completely uncertain of whether my lungs would carry me the goals I had formed for each of the segments.  After the 4-mile mark, Alana pulled up alongside of me, and we ran side-by-side through 5.  She even told me that she felt like she was running a lot slower than we actually were because of Pezz's sizable distance that she kept creating between us.  Between breaths of air, I gasped out that it would be good for her mental psyche so that when it happens in a race, she'll be prepared. 

By mile 6, Alana had gained a 5-10 meter lead on me, but somehow I found another gear and powered up beside her by the 7-mile mark.  After the u-turn, she gained some more distance on me, but we finished within seconds of each other on a windy last mile.  It was really fun to work together with Alana as it motivated me to go outside of my comfort zone and to push myself, even if my body was revolting. 

I am very pleased with this workout.  I did this workout last year, with fewer u-turns and less winds, and ran slower (610 ave) than I did today (607 ave).  I am excited to see that improvement, especially given that my iron levels have been low in the last couple of weeks.  I think that the iron levels are beginning to reach normal again and that my body will begin to feel more energized.  I'm still en route to run another 90 miles this week, so it's always nice to start off with a great workout. 

Up Next: to focus on 20x400m with 1 min rest on Friday!

Countdown to Trials:  45 Days




we ran from 2 mile mark, to 3 mile mark, uturn and then back to old bell, to the 3 mile mark, u-turn, and finished at the 2 mile mark

My So-Called Tempo

Goal:
5 Miles at 545-550 Pace (Adjusted to 550-555 for McAlpine surface)

Actual:
2.5 Mile warmup

5:51
5:58
6:13
(~4 min rest?)
5:45 pace for next 1.25 mile

2.3 mile cool down

This workout joins the other 3-4 on the list titled "Bad Workouts of the Month."  Even though it can be added to that list, I actually feel pretty good about it, considering everything.   Like every passionate runner, I did some analysis of my running ever since the Minneapolis 13.1 race on August 21, 2011.  I haven't taken a day off from running in over 10 weeks and I've been hitting mileage between 75-85 on all non-race weeks. My IT Band got tight a week ago, but I went into major pre-hab mode to take the necessary "pre-cautions" that I should have been doing ten months ago. 

Clearly, my body is pretty tired. 

Fortunately though, my mind feels fresh, excited, and alive.  Now, if I wasn't having fun and I felt tired mentally, then clearly I would be freaking out right now, but it's the exact opposite.  Sometimes your body will not cooperate with what your mind wants it to do, and you have to take a step back and adjust accordingly to what your body needs.  That's how I'm looking at these last few weeks of training before I really start to ramp things up with marathon specific workouts. I am taking the week before Savannah Rock 'n Roll Half very easy since this will be my last weekly mileage below 75 miles until after the Trials. 

With all that being said, there isn't much to report on my tempo except that I felt tired from the get-go.  Meagan and I came through at a perfect 5:51 pace, but I felt like my feet were slogging through mud.  By mile 2, we had picked up Pezz and I had already dropped back a few strides behind them.  By mile 3, I wasn't even hitting marathon pace, so I slowed down to 7-min pace.  Then I came out to the lake, and suddenly I felt re-energized and decided to try to run the last 1.25 miles with Meagan and Pezz.  I took the lead and could tell they were both hurting, so I took it upon myself to take some of the work off their shoulders and to relax behind my lead.  Somehow I was able to finish a lot stronger than I had expected.  Clearly, it wasn't anything mind blowing since I had just taken a 4 minute jog rest, but I still pushed myself when my body wasn't exactly cooperating. 

Steam Bath

Plan: 10-8-6-4-2-1 with half rest...starting at 610 pace and getting faster on each interval
Actual: 10-8-6-2-1 with half rest...starting at 554 pace and getting faster on each interval. Paces for the intervals through the mile marker:
10 - 554 (1.70 miles)
8 - 549 (1.38 miles)
6 - 533 (1.08 miles)

After enjoying an impromptu family dinner with Meagan and Jordan last night, it was time to bust our chops bright and early this morning. Fortunately, some of Charlotte's finest women (we still need to get them all out together though!) came out to join me for a little jaunt in McAlpine Creek Park on a very muggy day. Of course, Jordan wanted in on the fun so he came along for the ride with Meagan, Pezz and I. I shouldn't leave out the fact that Jordan was under the wrong assumption that there would be other people out there to keep his feelings of male bravado up, but no other male companions showed so Jordan was left to run with the girls.

Pezz and I met before the sun was up at the Main entrance and went off towards the Sardis entrance to meet Jordan and Meagan halfway on the greenway. I fortunately had my headlamp so I served as the light source for the first fifteen minutes of the warmup. After a pit stop at the restrooms, everyone was ready to get going. During our strides and drills, Meagan and Jordan decided it would be "fun" to jump in the workout with us - Jordan for the entirety and Meagan for just the 10 and 8 min portions - despite the small fact that they had both done hill repeats the day before. Apparently when runners date each other they get a little crazy with their workouts together.

We set off for the first 10 minute interval at the start line of the course and came through the mile in 554. However, we all seemed pretty relaxed and our breathing was controlled as we continued to add on the addition 4 minutes and 6 seconds that were left. Despite going out a little faster than what we had anticipated, we recuperated very nicely with the 5 minute rest and geared up for the 8 min interval. I told myself that once I had the 10 and the 8 out of the way, the rest of the workout was a piece of cake. Fortunately, we continued by quickening the pace and ran a 549 through the mile split. We got a little but more rest here because we were waiting for Pezz to change her shoes. In the next 6 min interval, we were rolling! Meagan and I pretty much ran perfectly even to a 533 and Pezz was a couple of strides ahead of us. Meagan called it a day and then Jordan and I closed with a 2 and a 1, while Pezz did the 4-2-1.

Overall, I was very satisfied with this workout going into the OrthoCarolina 10k this Saturday. We did a great job of working together while working to drop the pace for each increment. I'm looking forward to more workouts with this group!