Going With The Flow

Super Sunday Run! 10 miles with the JAJAFNSPSJK crew, 7:30 pace. It was really great to have such a big group come out this morning - I am excited for more group runs in the coming months. Jake got dropped in the last mile so I decided to hang back with him :) I had a very solid run and am happy to be steadily progressing each week.

Scheduled day off. After 4 weeks ~40 mpw, this is a good week to back off a little and give my body a chance to "catch up". I've made a lot of progress in the last month, but the mileage is still a challenge for my right leg/groin. So, I'm planning to take Mon-Fri super easy and focus on isolated right leg/hip strengthening and other PT exercises. Hopefully, this will set me up stronger and healthier in the following weeks. Long term goals > short term miles.

AM - 3 miles with Jake followed by a massage by Tim Pagoaga (highly recommended). He did some scar mobilization and it did not feel good. 

St. George Marathoners!! Some food for thought (note: I'm not sure where the commentary came from, but it was in my "Running Motivation" google doc) - 

"My entire focus was to run a smart race. The first few miles I felt were too slow, but thank God my coach held me back." - Mary Kate Bailey commenting on her 2004 Marine Corps Marathon victory. Please note that she felt the first few miles were “too slow”. That’s exactly how the first few miles should feel! If the early pace doesn’t feel “too slow”, then that means that you’re running too fast and you need to slow down! At the 4 mile mark of the 2004 race, MK was 2 minutes behind the women’s leaders. She went on to win the race by about 4 minutes.

“Well, the first two marathons I ran, I followed the words of my wise coach, George Buckheit, “Start slow, finish fast.” Both marathons I ran negative splits and the second half of Rock 'n' Roll I ran a half marathon PR." -Kristen Henehan commenting on her 2007 MCM victory and subsequent Olympic Trials qualifier at RNR Phoenix. Kristen played the ‘start slow, finish fast’ game perfectly in both of those races. And although she had not run many half marathons up to that point, she managed to run a half marathon PR in the second half of the Phoenix race! That’s proof that if you are patient early in the race, it is very possible to run extremely fast in the second half of the race.

Workout Wednesday w/ Jake A on the track: 2-2-4-8-8-4-2-2 w/ 200m jog after 2s and 400m jog after 4s and 8s.  The splits were 39-42-1:26-2:59-3:05-1:25-39-40. Jake and I took turns leading and were right on pace with goal splits, if not a little faster. We have been gradually increasing the overall distance of the speed reps each week and it is really helping my body adjust to workouts again.

I was worried if I could do a workout this morning because last night I felt terrible (from the scar tissue mobilization and psoas massage), but I felt much better when I woke up. Great way to start the day.

Scott Wietecha has a cool post today: 

How long could you run with the new world record marathoner Kipsang?

Couch potato: 20m (3.54 seconds)
Fairly athletic 12-year-old: 100m (17.69 seconds)
Five-a-day-eating, non-smoking, healthy adult: 200m (35.38 seconds)
Nauseatingly fit bloke you see jogging around the local park: 600m (1 minute 46 seconds)
The fastest person you went to school with: 800m (2:21)
A competitive county-level athlete: one mile (4:43)
Emil Zatopek, 10,000m world record holder from 1949 to 1956: 10,000m (29:18)
A professional half-marathon athlete: 13.1 miles (around 1:01.41)
Nobody, in the history of athletics: 26.2 miles - a full marathon (2:03.23)

Scheduled day off as part of my easy week. My psoas has been achy the last couple days so it is needed. Weights and leg strengthening exercises later.

Easy 3 miles.

We have a group running at Park City tomorrow morning at 9am if anyone is interested in joining. Let me know and I can give more info.

Nice run this morning in Park City with JAJANAK - 11 miles at 7:50 pace. Once the rail trail turned into sticky mud, my psoas was on the brink of cramping so I slowed down and was able to prevent that. We turned around at the scary cows and it was gradual uphill all the way back. I got tired at about 9 miles but made it to 11 feeling good structurally. While the guys continued on their long run, Allie and I were happy soaking in the hot tub.