Stats:
9am, 75F
7.09 mi at 8:02 avg pace (154 avg HR)
Walked a lap
3 x 400s with short recovery (1:47, 1:41, 1:34)
0.75 mi cool-down at 8:10 pace
Commentary:
Ran at the track since I had almost put in my goal miles for the week and I wanted a softer surface to minimize stress. I wanted to get some more miles at a consistent 8:00 pace and see how I did. I figured 10mi would be a bit too long even though I really had wanted to get in a 10mi long run before my half and it would have been cool to see if I could do it at an 8:00 pace. I settled on 7.09 mi at 8:00 pace or slightly below (had to get that 0.09 that I didn't get in yesterday haha). Pace was consistent between 7:50-8:00 for the first 5 miles then I started dropping off just slightly. Partly due to some leg fatigue, but mostly the boredom of the track and letting my mind wander a little more. I think the slowest split was about 8:10. HR was consistent at about 154-155 which is good for me. With some rest before the race, I should do OK. I think the 1:45 goal may be a little fast but I'm going to leave it there because hitting 1:45 would be AWESOME! I need to do some thinking about next week's plan. I haven't signed up for the Steeler 5k on Saturday, but I'm pretty sure I'll do it. We're supposed to have the ward picnic that day but the family isn't overly excited to go so maybe that isn't a factor. It's a "large" 5k (2,500 runners or so) which would be the biggest race I've run and you finish in the stadium which would be very cool. Assuming I do it and that I'm going to take the Thursday and Friday off prior to the half, which is the next weekend, I'm not sure what my quality runs will be next week. Wednesday will definitely be a quality run since we're doing fartleks for class. Maybe a long-ish run during the week? I need to put some thought into this, but I'll probably plan on a easy Friday run with Jake again since that seemed to work well and was fun for both of us.
The week of the half, I'll probably just do some easy miles Mon & Tues, class on Wed, then maybe just a couple of slow miles each day on Thurs & Fri. I want to be fresh for the half, so I need to take it easy. No real pains or concerns. I just need to keep stretching out the front of my right hip and my calves/achilles. I was getting a little pain under my right arch, but with some care it seems to have gone away. Basically, I'm feeling good mentally and physically going into the next week which feels great. Confidence is high and even if I don't meet my goals, I'm quite certain PRs are going to be broken.
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