Bret

AM - 3 miles easy with 30 mins of core/plyo work.  Feeling a bit weak and sluggish this morning.

PM -- 7 miles on the treadmill at an easy to moderate pace.  Felt much better than this morning.

AM - early start due to an early morning meeting at work.  3.0 miles easy with core/plyos for 30 mins. 

PM - workout at lunch was interesting - not so much the workout itself but how it came about.  I have been feeling a bit weak and kinda crappy since late last week.  I attribute that to increased training workload and restricted caloric intake as I am dropping some weight (6-8 lbs) to be race ready by the end of July.  So I was not really motivated to take on a tough quality workout today - mentally or physically.  So, I decided I would try a tempo run of about 60 mins on the treadmill. After a mile or so of a warm up I increased the speed to my tempo pace, but within a few minutes I knew it was going to be a bit of struggle.  I slowed the pace back down slightly, then increased it back again for a few minutes, but that did not help.  So after a mile at tempo pace, I changed the workout to 6 x 800 with 400 recovery. I did the first one at 3 mins and then increased the speed by 4 second the next 800, and steadily dropped the pace per interval until I did the last one at 2:44 followed by a mile cool down.  I did not feel great but I managed them well, even the last one.  Pleased that got a decent quality workout in and was able to adapt to how I was feeling in order to change it  up a bit. 

AM - 60 mins of core/plyos, but no time for a run.

PM - lunchtime run - 7.5 miles from Carillon past the dump and around the lake in front of ValPak twice in the midday heat.  Probably pushed the envelope a little bit as the heat index was 91.  Was trying to avoid three days in a row on the treadmill.  Kept the pace modest so it was manageable, but the shower just wouldn't "take" afterwards.

AM - Core/plyos/stretching for 45 mins, then 3.0 miles with Delaney around the neighborhood.  Her first day of training for the fall cross country season.  She has not run a step since track season ended in April (aside from soccer training and games).  We ran together in the mornings last summer to prepare for cross country last year.  A bit of a struggle last time around to get her going -- but this year she was eager to get started.  She has a plan of running every morning with me and to do runs with her team who will meet 3 times per week in the evenings.  Running camp at Brevard College in Asheville, NC in July for 2 weeks.  We had a nice run, after the first mile which was 9:12 - she ran sub 8:30 miles without too much difficulty.  Her weight is up a bit, (she loves to bake and eat her creations)but she's also grown about a inch since the end of her fall season - so some good training and healthy eating should have her well ready by the end of August.

PM - lunchtime run on the treadmill.  8.0 miles in 62 mins.  Felt a little rough for the first mile or two, but once I got rolling, it was very comfortable run - mostly at 7:15 pace or better.

Evening - did a 1.5 mile walk with Tracy after dinner through the neighborhood.

AM - 3 miles with Delaney this morning.  Felt very sore and did not feel "normal" especially in the first mile or so.  Attribute it to the increased workload of training with the core/plyos and the caloric restrictions.  Weight has dropped well over the last 10 day.  Another 5 days or so of conscious focus on limiting intake and improving quality of foods should have me at my ideal weight.  For now though, I don't feel all that great.  Am planning to race tonight - 5k on the roads.   

PM - Race Report

Had a decent race at the Oldmar Tap House 5k - which is the third time they have done this event.  With lots of free stuff afterward, including the Tap House's specialty, this race attracted over 2000 runners for a Friday evening.

I ran a bit conservatively, this week as compare to last week, making certain to keep an eye on my heartrate - so that I would not blow up.  First mile was a cautious 6:00 on my Garmin though the mile marker had me at 5:47.  Second mile was slightly slower at 6:08 as my HR crept up to 176 so I tried to keep it in check.  Third mile was good until about halfway through it, then I started feeling a little ragged - think that may have been around 6:22.  Finished 33rd overall and got one of the coveted "boots" - which was a plastic mug in the shape of a boot - that were given to the top 50 males and top 50 females.  No age group or masters awards for this event and the focus seems to be on the post race party.

Did a good cool down on a warm evening of near 90 degrees at the start.  Using Daniel's conversion tables for higher temperatures, I am confident at below 60 degrees I would have been in the mid to low 18:00's for this race. 

I saw my friend Ken who I used to train with, who ran with his wife.  Ken used to work for Runner's World many years and pounds ago.  Good to see him. 

PM - core/pylos for 1 hour then 4 miles with Delaney as a recovery run.  Thought I needed a bit of a rest, so I pushed my long run from today to tomorrow.