Bret

AM - 5 miles easy before work.  Had an unplanned day off on Saturday and then no opportunity for a make up day yesterday - so with 2 days off, legs and body were quite fresh this morning.

PM - lunchtime around the Carillon Office Park - 5 miles - nice weather - felt fresh still - and was moving along at a relaxed pace - not realizing I had done the last two miles at MRP.  Finished up with 4 striders.

PM - Lunchtime workout - Tempo run, but something different for me.  Alternations.  After 2 mile warm up on the treadmill, I did 8 miles of tempo pace running where I would go 800 meters at 10 seconds faster than my goal MP (or 6:40) then 800 meters at 20 secs slower than goal MP (or about 7:10) then a 1 mile cool down.  The idea is to progress with this workout each week where I will increase the pace and the length of the fast "on" segment and likewise decrease the length of the "off" segment but also increase the pace of the "off" segment too.   I will also add miles each week until my marathon in April.  If the body adapts properly, or theorhetically I suppose, the resting segments will be at MP or better, and shorter than the "on" segments.   We'll see how it goes.  I would not rate this workout as having been "hard" - but I was appropriately tired at the end of the workout.

PM - lunchtime - easy 5 - very light running, a bit tight / sore from yesterday.

PM - 5 more on the treadmill after work.  Actually felt better after this workout than before.

PM - lunchtime workout - 8 x 400 @ 5k pace 400 recovery; then 4 x 200 at 5k pace, 200 recovery - 2 mile warm up 1 mile cool down.  Ran these outside around the lake at Carillon on a muggy windy day in the low 80's.  Found it to be a bit tricky on the first few reps to go too fast instead of locking in on 5k pace - and so as a result several of these were a bit quicker than planned - likewise with the 200's - mostly at 39/40 secs which is slightly faster than the planned 5k effort.  Felt pretty leg weary afterwards, hoping for a quick recovery.   

Ran across this story of a movement to have the Mile distance returned to HS track meets and to the Olympics:  http://bringbackthemile.com/home  Just get all nostalgic at the historic references to great runners and races at that distance: 

Great Scott!, this date, Feb 20, was an historic one for the Mile with Eamonn Coghlan, 41, becoming the first Master (and only 40+) to break four minutes in the Mile (3:58:15) and also Steve Scott (USA) runs his last sub-4 minute Mile (3:59.88) in Los Angeles (1993) – #136 for Steve, the most ever! Two incredible achievements. Photo credit: Track & Field News

AM - easy 6 untimed miles before work.  Felt surprisingly good.

PM - lunchtime on the treadmill on a very warm muggy and windy day (so I stayed inside) 5.5 miles.  

AM - So I needed to get a long run in this weekend; and there was a race in downtown St. Pete (5 and 10k) that I did not want to race - but Richie coaxed me to go down.  So I got downtown early and did 16 miles from the Pier up along Coffee Pot Bayou and up to 62 Ave - over through Shore Acres and Snell Isle and arrived just in time for the 5k start - which I planned to do at as a fast finish to my long run.  I ran with Richie for the first half mile and let him go, but ended up running much faster than expected, but in a controlled/just short of threshold effort running 6:24, 6:17 and then 6:24 and then did a short cool down.  Finished just behind Richie on a cool very windy morning.  Felt very good about this run as I never felt spent or beat up and the fast finish was pleasant surprise.