3x3 Miles on the Sugar Creek

Goal:
3x3 mile at 608,613, 600-605, 550-610 with 800m rest @ 3:30-3:40

Actual
2.3 miles warmup
3 miles in 18:32 (615, 608, 609) 800m rest ~3:15 (6:30 pace)
3 miles in 17:45 (5:54, 5:55, 5:55) 800m jog in ~3:30 (7:00 pace)
3 miles in 17:39 (5:52, 5:56, 5:55)
2.7 mile cool down for ~15 miles total

It's mornings like these that I am really proud of what Aaron, Jay and I started with the Charlotte Running Club. Even as everyone's fall marathoning season comes to a close, I somehow am able to find multiple people to work out with me.  I feel like I'm in college when my alarm goes off at 5AM; it's as if I'm going to meet up with my teammates for an early practice.  In so many ways, Paul, Billy and Caleb are my teammates.  After all, I've been running with these guys for years.  All the boys met me at 530AM at my house and we headed to the speed loop to start our first set of fun on the same course that I've been doing for all my long marathon workouts.

First set:
We ran right into the first set and started out at a comfortable 615 pace and then hovered around 610. We were all in our comfort zone and talked the whole time. After we completed the first set, I purposely kept the rest a little brisk because I wanted to "cheat" a little so that I could get a faster overall time for the whole 10 mile distance.

Second set:
Here, I still felt really comfortable even though we went out fast and had to slow it down considerably after 800m. I was slightly worried that I would be hurting on the third set since we were hitting sub-600s instead of 605, but I felt really relaxed and positioned myself right behind Billy and Paul so I didn't have to do that much work. Caleb stayed by my side so we had a nice pack going. Our last mile was perfectly on 558-556 pace the entire split so I liked how we kept that pace even throughout.

Third set:
During our rest, I told Paul and Billy that I wanted to go out around 555 and just see where we ended up but no faster than 550. We went through perfectly for first mile and then settled a little bit on the second mile so I pushed it up a notched so we could still hit sub-600. On the last mile Billy and Paul made a small 5-10m gap on me so I just maintained my pace and got a little faster at the end to close with my fastest set of the day.  This last set didn't feel too taxing physically, but more from a mental perspective to keep my confidence as the boys pulled slightly away.

I am very pleased with this workout because I mostly followed the paces that Terry prescribed.  Even though I was a tad quick on the second set, I was still able to make my third and final set the fastest for the day. At the end of the workout, my left calf and hamstring felt a little tight.  I need to focus on these things over the course of the next couple of weeks as I still have about three solid weeks of training before I begin the taper.

Week in Review

80 Miles
4-3-2-1 Mile Workout
10k PR in 34:56
17 mile EZ long run
12 Mile MLR
7 runs
0 Days off

With just six more weeks to go until CIM, I continue to feel very strong.  I can tell that I'm used to marathon training now because after the Tuesday 16 mile workout, I didn't have sore legs that required a recovery run at a slower pace.  I achieved a new 10k PR this weekend without even tapering and really only felt crappy on my long run today.  Frankly, I'm most amazed at my mindset right now.  With each new workout or race, I am filled with a new confidence and a belief that my goals are realistic.  I am having fun and enjoying every step on this journey to qualify for my second Olympic Trials.  Just four more weeks of solid training before I get to go into taper mode and really focus on my mental training for the marathon.

HFFA 10k Redemption

Goal:
10k @ Half Marathon Pace Tempo effort

Actual:
~3 mile warmup with strides and drills
10k race in 34:56, 1st female, 3rd overall to John and an Army guy
3 mile cool down for 12 miles total

In 2010, after Twin Cities Marathon, I ran this race in 38:13.  I remember feeling like total crap and hating all of the hills that crop up in the second half of the course.  I also remember coming with the expectation of prize money and getting a blanket instead.  This year, I knew that there would actually be prize money because of the big stink that Allen started last year.  Opting to not race the Runway 5k, which features a $500 voucher for two US Airways tickets, I wanted a good 10k effort and headed to the race with my roomie John (see, I don't ALWAYS run the races with the best prize money).

John and I headed up to the race all bundled up in an assortment of running clothes since the temperatures were the coldest we've seen this year--32 degrees.  After registering for the race, we grabbed our packet and embarked on our cold warmup, for which I wore: Lululemon mittens and headband, Lululemon rulu long sleeve, GORE running jacket, and my new Duke sweatshirt that Garrett's mom gave me.  I wanted to be as toasty as possible before I had to strip off all of my layers at the start.

With 5 minutes to go, I pulled off the multiple layers of clothing, changed into my Nike Flyknit Racers and headed to the start line with John, where we hung out with Allen.  Quickly, John and I scoped out our competition and right before the gun went off, I half-joked:  "Shoot, John, maybe you should just run with me." I figured he was thinking, "yeah, right" but when the gun went off and one guy took off in front of us, John hung with me.  After the steep downhill, the guy in front, who I'll call Army dude, settled back behind us a couple of meters.  John and I exchanged some words through the first two miles and then we stopped talking.  I had no idea what our splits were like because I had missed the 1st mile marker and didn't care to look at what our two mile split was.  Around 2.75 miles, John made a small move on an uphill because Army dude was still drafting behind us.  I watched them pull very slowly away from me and continued to just push myself.  In the entire race, I only saw my third mile split, so I guessed I was running a little fast in the first half to make up for the uphills in the second half. Turns out the first 2 downhill miles were run in 5:25/5:26 and then I came back with a 5:34 for the third mile uphill and when I got dropped.

For the second half of the race, I watched the battle for first take place from behind and tried to maintain my composure on the hills from mile 4 to mile 6.  Most of these markers were completely off, so I'm not sure what the splits actually were. After I passed the fourth mile marker, I started to pass the 5k racers who started after us. It was actually quite helpful to have them there to pass and provide some extra motivation since the boys up front were beginning to get a little further out of my range.  Soon, I realized that I was about to pass the 5k leader, so I sped up just to demoralize them and to boost my own confidence.  The 6th mile marker was completely off because apparently I ran .2 miles in 1:40, which is entirely not true since the last 600m of the race are all on a gradual downhill leading to the finish. I did, however, glance down at my watch when I thought I had about .1 to go, and saw that I was around low 34:00.  I realized that I had a pretty realistic shot of breaking 35:00 if I really busted my butt in the final 400m.  I'm really glad I checked my watch time because otherwise I probably would have not tried as hard since I knew there was no one close to me whatsoever.

As soon as I crossed the line, I met John, who was also happy with his race, given where his fitness lies right now.  I was pretty happy too, but it took me until half way through our cool down to realize that I ran within 4 seconds of my college track 10k PR.  I also cut off ~50 seconds from my road PR from back in 2011 at the Ukrop's 10k.  For a race where I came in with no expectations and no time goal, I am very pleased that I ran so tough on a hilly course.  I continue to be amazed at how well this year has been going.  For the first time ever, I feel strong in both the short and the long distances.  Now, I just want to prove that strength is real at CIM!

Down Ladder (4-3-2-1)

Goal
4m (@610-615)-3m(@600-605)-2m(@550-555)-1m(@540-545) with 800m rest at 3:30-3:45

Actual:
1.7 mile warmup at 5:20AM
4 miles in 24:42: 6:11, 6:13, 6:08, 6:10 (3:32)
3 miles in 18:01: 6:01, 6:01, 5:59 (3:34)
2 miles in 11:30: 5:45, 5:45
1 mile: 5:41
2.7 mile cool down for 15.9 miles total with jog rest

Eric and I nailed this workout together.  With a 5:05AM wakeup call, we both trudged out of our respective beds to prepare for a monster of a workout during pre-dawn hours.  Fortunately for me, I fell asleep at 9PM so I was fresh off 8+ hours of sleep.  It was going to be a dark one the entire time, so I brought my headlamp (that I hate) and held it in my hand until I met Eric at the Speed Loop for our workout.  I chose a course the went from the 2 mile speed loop and then back down into the Sugar Creek Greenway, mainly because it's flat and fairly well lit.  Because of this, I turned off my head lamp after a while because it really was not necessary.

For the first four miles, both Eric and I could talk and I felt entirely relaxed.  There really wasn't much to report except that both of our Garmins were spitting out different times, so I'm going with my splits.  For the next set of three miles, my legs continued to feel great and the conversation continued without any issues.  We stopped to get some water during the rest after this one mainly because I was feeling a little dehydrated since the workout was so early and I didn't get to drink much water.  For the next 2 miles, I felt really great and took it out entirely too fast in the first 400m (about 5:35 pace) and then immediately put on the brakes to hit a more respectable time.  In hindsight, I think that this quick pace out of the gate affected my ability to run any faster on the final mile, but at least I was very consistent in my pacing after I noticed it.  For the last mile, Eric took off and I knew that my legs weren't going to respond in the way I wanted them too, so I let him maintain about a 15 meter lead on me, while I maintained around 5:40 pace, which was right where Terry wanted me to be. 

All in all, I am exceptionally grateful for Eric's company because he helped make those first seven miles of the workout go by quickly.  Physically and mentally, there was never a point where I thought that I couldn't do the workout.  I felt strong coming into the workout and left feeling confident and prepared.  My training is really coming together right now, and it's getting me very excited for the next couple of weeks.