Going With The Flow

Millcreek run with Allie, 9 miles. Sunday runs are the best.

Lunch run of 3.6 miles. Shirtless running in November - yes please!! :)

Monday Motivation - 

"It's important to know that at the end of the day it's not the medals you remember. What you remember is the process -- what you learn about yourself by challenging yourself, the experiences you share with other people, the honesty the training demands -- those are things nobody can take away from you whether you finish twelfth or you're an Olympic Champion. 
-Silken Laumann, Canadian Olympian 

Horse park loops with Jake, 10k. We had an interesting discussion about the mindset differences in men's and women's running.

If you want to run a 5K this weekend, Saltair is giving 50% off registration with code "salty5krun" to the next 10 runners that sign up!

Wednesday Workout. 2 mile warm-up then 1600m + 8x400m with 400m after the 1600 and 200m b/w 400s. Splits were 5:51 + 87, 85, 85, 86, 85, 86, 86, 86. I am pleased with the workout and feel like I am making great progress.

Met Jake at the horsepark and ran a couple laps, 6 miles. By far the best I've felt the day after a workout since before injury. 

Easy 3 miles in the drizzling rain. 

I am running the Saltair 5K tomorrow morning. The weather looks iffy right now - could be raining, snowing, windy, etc. As long as the weather doesn't become a huge factor, I'm shooting for around 18:30. I have kept my mileage up this week so I won't be surprised if I have some fatigue in my legs. 

Vern Gambetta has a great post today - 

Training is not about the hurt or pain; it is not about puking and being at the max in each workout. That is not training. Training is systematic, sequential and progressive; it incorporates hard workouts and easy workouts to allow the body to adapt. Work is easy training is hard. Anyone can do mindless work that wears out the body; not very many can focus and put the pieces together to systematically improve performance over time. To understand what good training is, it is important to be able to separate fact from fiction and style and marketing claims from programs that have substance and produce consistent results. Along the same line of thought beware of false prophets bearing gifts. Nothing easily attained is ever worthwhile and nothing worthwhile is easily attained. Focus on fundamentals and build on the basics. Good training is build upon scientific laws, empirical evidence and best practices that has stood the test of time. Adaptation takes time; the process is predictable based on the demands imposed on the body. Nothing exotic here, it is all very basic, if someone tells you otherwise, don't listen. Take your time and stay on the functional path to the destination - optimum performance in the competitive arena.

Typical conditions at any race that starts at Saltair - rainy, snowy, cold, windy, etc. I ran a 2 mile warm-up with Allie and Kassi then watched the half marathon start. The 5k was 30 minutes after and a much smaller race. The weather varied from a calm wind to very windy and raining. The race started, and the first half of the race felt relatively comfortable at just under 6 minute pace. After the turnaround was a different story. I was able to maintain my pace until about 2 miles but was working a lot harder to fight the wind and rain. I looked at my watch at 2.5 miles and was running 20 sec/mile slower. I think the wind died back down at that point, but I wasn't able to speed up. My final time was 18:45 with the course at 5-10 seconds short. Splits were 5:58, 6:01, 6:19, 5:59 pace for .07 miles. 

I ran slower than I expected/wanted, but I'm not worried. I've had a great couple weeks of training and the weather wasn't ideal today. Today served as a great workout and I did win the women's race :) Afterwards, I watched the half marathoners come in, froze, then ran a 2 mile cooldown with Collin and Kassi. Overall a well-run event and I was pleased with the organization. Big congrats to Jake A for a HUGE PR today!

Pics from the race here.