THOU SHALT BE A COMEBACK

Tested the waters today.  Went way better than expected!  I didn't wear a watch, just ran.  Warmed up a half mile slow jog with the rest of the Badgers, then did two strides.  The plan was to run 2 miles relaxed, ease into tempo pace the middle two, and go for it if I gelt good the last 2.  Leg held up fine, was just a little tight at the end.  I felt great and mostly comfortable the whole time.  Much more optimistic about how much fitness I have maintained!!

slow,  very slow

8 ez on the mill except for one in the middle at 6:40 because of a good song.  20 minutes weights after then came home and did 20 minutes abs.  Need to start deciding how to go about serious marathon training in July.  I want that sub-3 bad and I believe it is possible.

Sad little trot between shifts while my daughter was at her appointment. So

tired, have gotten unused to night shift and having a hard time sleeping. Meant

to get up for a second little run but opted for another hour of sleep. Recovery

is still important, no need to push. Looking forward to a longer, more leisurely

run tomorrow. So tempting to launch into tempos and stuff but reminding myself

that June is to build, build, build and regain strength. Patience!!!

91% humidity. 71 degrees.  overcast, breezy. Actually quite a pleasant jaunt.  First double digits since the accident!!  45 minutes weights/abs after

Treadmill at the Y.  5 ez, 2 fast increasing speed every half mile 6:40, 6:35, 6:31, 6:27  jogged a little cooldown then 1 more mile on the indoor track with strides.  feeling smooth today!

3 on the outdoor track, kiddo got bored, so off to kidzone at the Y, 5 more on the indoor track then 45 minutes of core and weights.

7:51 pace with the HS gang.  felt great and lightfooted today.  Beautiful weather!

First post-accident long run.  Nice n easy with Pre on the HS course.  Was tired after the long night at work but legs felt fine.  just fatigued.  yawn.  'night

It was only 47% humidity but it was 91 sunny degrees.  Ran a slow 8, no watch, not yet acclimated, had to grab a bottle of water at mile 7 to finish the run.  40 minutes weights and abs after.

am:  5 ez shakeout on the indoor track

pm:  GoRun track workout.  3/4 mile warm up, then 10 seconds on/10 off, 20 on/20 off....you get the picture...all the way to 90 on/off, a few minutes rest, and then back down the ladder.  Lost track of laps so I'm just gonna count the whole thing as 5 but it was probably more.  10 minutes of abs after.

8 ez on the home dreadmill while Vanessa watched tv.  Then off to the Y for 50 minutes of weights and core, then swimming pool fun!

Dreadmill.  4 mile warm up, 3 mile tempo increasing speed every half mile 6:40, 6:35, 6:31, 6:27, 6:22, 6:18.  3 mile cooldown.  Tempo felt surprisingly decent and controlled until the last half mile, that one was a bit difficult, definitely cross some kinda threshold at sub 6:20 pace.  still, this is progress.

afternoon slog.  bank sign said 100 degrees.  started with a frozen solid water bottle and it was thawed and warm by halfway through.  ran slow enough the heat didn't get me too much.  55 minutes core and weights after.

Very slow on the track at the downtown Y.  I got roped into a little 4 mile race tomorrow.

Pretty fun race today, you ran with a partner and they combined your times and average age to determine place.  My similarly aged partner Ron knocked down a 23:30!  wow!  very sticky and humid but only in the 70s and it was overcast so that helped.  Warmed up a very slow .5 miles.  Felt pretty solid throughout the whole race, I once again need to learn to push these short races, I definitely had more gas in the tank when it was done, because I was able to kick and pass two gals in the final quarter mile, which felt good.  Splits were 6:24, 6:23, 6:35, 6:34, and then like 5:30 pace for the change at the end.  This is about 20 seconds per mile faster than the River Run 10k two weeks ago, and I feel that fitness is progressing nicely and coming back.  Honestly I aerobically felt really strong, wish I would have pushed that back half harder. Ran a 12 mile cooldown after. 

recovery circles at downtown Y, followed by a brief 20 minute core session.  not sore from yesterday

8am:  tired after a long 12 hour night at work, haven't slept since my last run, but needed to kill a little time while Vanessa was at her appointment.  5 minute warm up, then 15 x 1 minute on/1 minute off.  Minutes "on" were nothing to write home about--6:05 to 6:50 pace but staggering on no sleep through gnarly heat and humidity I wasn't expecting much, just getting some leg turnover.  Cooled down 3 minutes or so and then Vanessa was done and I could go home and sleep a little.  5.2 miles, 7:28 AP

afternoon--stumbled out of bed for a very toasty 5.1 mile shakeout before heading for another night at work

84 degree afternoon run at a nice recovery pace, actually felt quite comfortable.  50 minutes weights and core.

ez on the mill.  was supposed to do a tempo today but my legs were so heavy and dead I pushed the workout to tomorrow in hopes of getting more quality out of it.  I went and got some new shoes, and allowed a little video gait analysis.  Mistake!!  Any visions I have of being a somewhat graceful runner are shattered.  That is the ugliest, most horrific gait I have ever seen.  The shoe story guy, my teammate, was quite silent watching the video, and then handily tried to blame the accident as a possible culprit.  Anywho, one foot turns in and supinates, the other one turns out and overpronates, and I am all heelstrike.   Bah!  I don't care, it gets me from point A to point B and it is going to get me there faster than ever in October!  And I love my knew kicks, bright yellow Kinvaras.

8:04 AP.  Big change of plans, my friend needed to do his long run today and for me it was nice to get it done before I start my first of 3 x 12 hour shifts for the weekend so I went for it.  It was a bit of a late start, and the temps were in the 90's with the sun beating down for the back half of the run.  We had planted some water and got a drink at mile 9 but were hurting again soon after, finally found a row of sprinklers around mile 13.5 and crawled on our bellies in the grass with our faces in the spiggots, pretty desperate for a drink and some cooling.  It was enough to make it to the finish.  Not exactly pretty, but it was a solid enough long run in the heat.  Now I have a day to rest and toss around the idea of a 5k Sunday for speedwork.

Pretty happy about this.  I worked all night then had a monster zero-carb energy drink(gross, I know) and warmed up for the 5k.  It was 80+ degrees, muggy, and a gnarly 21 mph headwind in miles 2 and 3, so I was thrilled to roll in under 20 minutes.  Now I'm going to bed, hopefully will get up and get a shakeout in before work.  Splits reflect the wind, 6:09(tailwind, felt great), 6:30, 6:39, 5:36 pace for the final .1.  6:09 would have been sustainable without the headwind I think.  Will work toward getting my 5k under 19 minutes, hopefully within a month.

8:24 AP, not bad for my roll-out-of-bed 90 degree afternoon slog.  It was overcast and  windy so that made it feel fairly comfortable.  45 minutes weights and core after.

80 degrees and a rocking 20mph wind--quick morning trot while Vanessa was at her appointment.  5 at 6:58 AP.  That surprised me, knew the pace was brisk but didn't know it was THAT brisk.  I am feeling stronger and stronger.  Track workout tonight with team GoRun so I will have a few more miles later.  I passed by non-waving running lady twice.  I saw her last Tuesday too.  I wave, she glares, weird!

pm.  5.5 at the Gorun track workout.  1.5 warmup, 2x200 in 37 seconds, 4x400 with 400 recovery, 3x400 as part of a relay team.  Not sure on my splits--messed up on my Garmin, but with the 20+mph headwind this was an effort based deal more than anything--and I worked!!  .75 cooldown and a few planks

8 recovery on the home dreadmill

40 minutes weights/core later at the Y

Glad to get this workout done since I totally bailed on it last week--was too tired and knew I couldn't make it happen.  Today was a different story.  I was pretty bleary-eyed to start the warm-up, rolled out of bed and drank coffee on the way to the Y.  It was 105 degrees outside, so I was actually pretty happy to hit the mill.  15 minutes from bed to on the belt.  3 mile warmup 8:34 pace, then 4 mile tempo increasing speed every half mile 6:40,6:35,6:31,6:27,6:22,6:18,6:15,6:11, felt very solid, wasn't teribbly aerobically challenged until the last mile.  I tried to work on a more open, powerful stride to relax into at these paces, as I hope this is someday marathon pace and I need to become comfortable with this kind of stride, definitely need to do more box jumps and power-type drills to make my legs stronger.  cooled down 3 miles

only 93 degrees.  ez recovery pace

indoor track ez cruise then 30 minutes weights and core.  long run tomorrow

7:26 ap.  Hit the roads at 5am, and enjoyed a glorious 64 degrees.  It was a beautiful morning.  Felt strong and sturdy, sped up a little at the end.