Bret

PM - lunchtime easy run with some striders.  Still quite warm/hot but good bit less humidity - so conditions were better than normal.  Legs felt heavy and sluggish.  Did the striders in mile 3 and then did some surging/fartlek type of running in the last mile.  Thought occurred to me that at one time in my running life this would probably have been my average workout whereas now it is an easy day or in my mind as close to a "zero" day as I ever will consider doing.

Not sure I would call this a real race report as I did this one as a confidence builder to run at marathon race pace for part of the race and then let go. Ran with my training partner, Richie who kept us at 6:50 pace through 3 miles and then I let go and averaged 6:18 the last three miles - was a good workout and gave me some reassurance regarding race pace for the marathon next month. Felt very comfortable and almost slow in the first part of the race and Richie had to keep reigning me in. Weather was much better this week in the 70's and lower humidity. Ran 41:25 and was 27th overall - had I raced the whole thing I felt reasonably sure I could have gone 38 or 39 mins today or better.

PM - did an easy 6.5 mile recovery run this evening.  Did an ice bath thereafter - first time I have tried it.  Brrr. 

PM - easy to moderate 6.0 mile recovery run.  Weather was good - much less humidity and mid 80's - felt like Fall.

PM - at the gym, did 20 miles on the treadmill.  Richie joined me for the first 10 miles or so, mostly running, but taking time to stretch and chat and show me some core exercises I should incorporate in my strength training.  Felt fine running at 7:30 pace with a 1% grade for most of the way.  Started feeling a little crappy at 16 miles so in mile 17 I ran a marathon race pace mile - to change things up.  That wore me out, so I ran the last two  miles at 7:40 pace with no incline.  LOL.  Drank a myoplex protein drink and some gatorade and then did an ice bath when I got home.  Rob, thanks for the suggestion to use swim jammers with the ice bath - that made it a little more tolerable.  Little bit concerned about feeling rough toward the end, but still have time to be rested before the race and I am training pretty hard.

PM - lunchtime run - easy recovery run - first few miles were around 8 - 8:30 then increased to comfortable 7:30's or better but still in recovery feel.  Richie met me at the trail around the lake at Feathersound at the end of the run and took me through a core strength training routine for about 20 mins that pretty much nearly killed me.  Then I jogged back to the gym. 

AM - early start - 9.0 miles or so including warm up and cool down - track workout.  Richie met me at the Palm Harbor Middle School track at 5:30 am.  Cruise intervals with short rest.  3 x. 1 mile and 3 x 800.  Plan was to do the miles at 6:20 with a short rest and then the halves at 3 mins with a shorter rest.  Did the miles all at 6:10 - 6:13 and the halves all at 2:53- 2:55.  2.5 min rest on the miles and 1 min rest on the halves.  I was pretty tired/fatigued from Monday's 20 miler and yesterday's strength / core training and was not mentally up for this workout.  Richie was constantly in my ear pushing me through - can't thank him enough for the commitment - the track was dark (no lights) so at one point he found a flashlight app on his i-phone and ran next to me for a while shining the light on the track!  LOL.

Felt good to get the workout done - and pushed through some tired mental thoughts today.

PM - lunchtime recovery run of 6.0 miles.  Kept it light and easy - then did buttkicks, high knees, bounding and striders at the end.  Followed up with core/strength work for about 15 mins in gym.  Quite sore still from my first day of core work on Tuesday.

Rest day

AM - 10 miles total - 2 mile warm up with 8 miles at marathon race pace.  Did not feel all that great this morning - but decided to push through it.  Felt good about mental toughness of running on a day when it would have been my preference to back off the pace when I wasn't feeling it.

AM - easy 8.0 miles recovery run.  Had some stomach issues yesterday and was still feeling them this morning, but had a nice relaxing run quite early before the sun was up this morning. 

AM - took an early and long lunch to cover 14.0 miles on the treadmill at about 7:25 pace.  Felt very relaxed and comfortable at that pace. 

Rest day.

Early AM - 8 x 800 at 2:55 w/ 90 second rest.  Did these with Richie at the park / lake in Carillon at 6 am.  4.0 miles of warm up and cool down.  Felt like I was working as hard as I could with this short rest.  Good confidence builder workout.  Richie ran part of a few with me, having gone to the Rays game last night, he was a bit groggy and perhaps still had a few drinks in him! 

AM - easy 3.0 mile recovery run before work.  Busy days this week including today.

PM - 7.0 miles easy to moderate with last 2 miles at mrp.  Long day at work, stress reliever type run.  Impromptu last 2 miles at mrp just because I felt like pushing it a little bit.  Core / strength work afterwards. 

AM - before work at the gym - treadmill run with "hills" - sort of a fartlek workout.  2 mile warm up at 7:30 pace and then 4 miles of off and on increased grades up to 3% for 3 mins on and a couple of mins off to get a sense of rolling hills for the race next month.  2 mile cool down.  Nice weather coming in for the weekend - will plan to do my last long run outside on Sunday - 3 weeks out.  Felt a little tired today perhaps from the core work last night.  Starting a pre-taper to stay ahead of fatigue after this week.

AM - easy 6.0 mile recovery run.  Very pleasant weather this morning.  Probably the first time since the spring that I needed to wear a shirt to run.

Early AM - 21.0 miles - my last long run before NYC.  Was expecting much cooler drier weather today, but only one of the two happened - which was fine.  Temps in the low 60's but humidity was about 85%.  No worries.  Started very slow the first mile but worked into a comfortable pace.  Ipod lost the battery at 8 miles - so it was just me and the quiet early morning air for the rest of the way.  Second half was much faster and last 6 miles was what I would call a fast finish with the last two miles at mrp.  Pleased with the run this morning in terms of fitness and confidence.

PM - Lunchtime run - easy 3.5 miles recovery followed by core/strength training.  Ran reasonably well - did not feel as though I had done a long run yesterday.  Felt a bit weak and tired after the core work though.

AM - 7.0 miles moderate pace (7:20) after a 2 mile warm up - finished with 7 striders.  Did not feel like running when I awoke this morning - but ran ok once I got moving.  Had some pain on the lower part of my right leg near the shin - almost like shin splints but very localized - no weakness or increased pain with running.  May have tweaked something on Sunday's long run.

PM - lunchtime run on treadmill.  Tempo workout.  2 mile warm up.  5 miles @ 6:17 pace on treadmill at 1% grade.  1 mile cool down.  This was a tough workout for me today.  Around 3.5 miles I moved the grade to .5% but kept the same speed which took just enough edge off for me to finish the last part without too much distress.

AM - 6 mile recovery run at 7:30 pace with 6 striders at the end, followed by core/strength work.  Considering how tired I was late in the day following  yesterday's workout I felt remarkably good this morning.  Delaney has the Dunedin Invitational cross country race later today - my old high school home course...She's hoping to dip under 22 mins today.  Conference and District meets in the next couple of weeks - so hopefully she's peaking at the right time.

AM - on the treadmill.  1 mile warm up.  8 miles at MRP.  (6:48 pace 1% grade) 1 mile cool down.  Felt reasonably comfortable this morning.  Did this workout about 2 weeks ago and had to suffer through it a bit - so was able to see some measurable improvement in feel.

AM - 6.00 mile recovery run plus 6 striders.  Felt very heavy legged this morning.  At UF visiting my daughter for parent's weekend.  As a part of my run this morning I did a mile around the track at the University which was inspirational.  Feeling a bit achy and tired today - not sure if that is as a result of training or if I am getting sick.

PM - 16.0 miles on the treadmill mostly at 7:15 pace.  Felt very good today - was holding back and would love to feel this comfortable on race day.  Still a little achy but I don't think I am getting sick.

Rest day

AM - 6 mile recovery run with 6 striders followed by core/strength work.  Change of plans this morning - was going to do a track workout but my quads had some deep soreness in them.  Will delay the hard workout until tomorrow.

AM - 2 mile warm up then 2 x 2 miles @ 6:15 pace; 2 min recovery; then 1 mile @ MRP (6:50) then 1 mile cool down.  Was a bit tired near the end of each of the two mile intervals - had to really focus to get them done - but was rewarded with feeling great on the 1 mile at MRP.  Good confidence boost workout.

AM - 3.5 miles easy recovery run.  Ran extremely easy and slow and felt very good and refreshed at the end.

AM - 6 miles total.  2 mile warm up and 2 mile cool down.  3 x 800 @ sub 2:55 with 1 min rest was the plan - did 2:47, 2:50 and 2:50.  So hit a little faster than the target, but had solid turnover and pressed the heartrate - but did not have a huge quantity workload today.   

AM - 4.0 easy recovery miles at no faster than 7:50 pace.  Good shake out run - slightly fatigued - but no real soreness or heaviness.  Got 8 hours of sleep - (which is unusual for me - generally 5-6 hours).

PM - 10 miles total.  2 mile warm up then 4 miles at MRP and then 4 miles at 7:30 pace.  Felt very good.  Used the heartrate monitor for the first time in quite a while.  Was able to keep the HR right in the 148-150 range at MRP - which gave me a boost of confidence.