The Renegade

Tough workout today, but it was a great way to kick off my big spring break training week. It was a workout that we did for cross country this year, but I didn't finish it because I ws having a tough day. Definitley more af an aerobic stimulus than anything else, and I haven't really had that in while. It was 1 min hard, 1 min easy, 2 hard, 2 easy, 3 hard, 3 easy, and so on all the way up to five and then do the same thing backwards down to one again. I warmed up two miles to Merlin-Olsen Park and started there, and the workout took me all the way past the Stokes Nature Center before I had to turn around. It was pretty easy going up, and then my first 5 min segment was up the canyon into headwinds, so that was pretty slow, and then the next 5 min one after turning around I was sort of cruising, but it still felt hard. Coming back down canyon road was super tough, I'd have to say the second 4 and 3 were the toughest part of the workout. I just went in to oxygen debt. Probably because on the way down the rest is shorter than the previous tempo segment. I could hear the toilet calling me by the end, so that made it even worse. Where I started was right where Canyon Rd. starts but I ended up finishing past that in the park. And if the restrooms were not unlocked I think I would have died. Anyways after that I did some strides on the field. On the cool down I didn't feel bad at all and my form felt good. Overally great workout. I think I needed it and it will make the mile feel a bit shorter. I just calculated the pace the best I could and it was maybe 6:30-6:40 avg. for 8.5 miles. I was surprised and it makes me even more satisfied with the workout. Tomorrow  is and easy day, I'll probably run at least 7 miles (trying to make this a high volume week, as long as I don't get injured), and then wednesday I'll be in Salt Lake but I'll get on Highland's track and do the workout there, using sugar-house park for the tempo parts of it. It should be fun.

Recovery run today. I felt really tight and constricted with my stride when I started, just the opposite of loose. I was tired too because of the hard high volume workout yesterday. I ran the long way to Old Main, up 5th North, and then came back home the normal way by the temple. But not before I stopped off at the track to do some strides, 2 200s in 32 and 33, and then some 40m flys on the turf. I then just ran home. So today was pretty easy, but not so much that it didn't feel like somewhat of a grind. And that's fine because this week will be just that, a grind. I just better not get injured. Tomorrw I have the "Michigan" workout in Salt Lake. 

Well today was quite the KILLER workout. I'd can't say it didn't go my way. I went by feel and made it feel hard and that's what matters. I warmed up a mile around the loop that I was going to use for the tempos (North loop of the state course) and then did my warm ups and stuff. I geuss I'll lay down all the times. (Three minute recovery in between all sets) 

1200m- 4:17

Mile 1- 6:45

1200m- 4:15

Mile 2- 6:42

800m- 2:44

Mile 3- 6:39

400m- 70

After getting fully recovered I did some two 29 second 200s. I felt pretty powerful on those, at least in the first 150m. That workout went great everything on the track was just as fast as I intended or faster. The recoveries felt pretty long, especially after the tempos because I didn't have to jog anywhere. The tempos were slower than I predicted, but only because they were on grass and uphill for about 150m. They didn't feel to bad, I just tried to stay relaxed but go fast. The worst part was the second 1200m. I was in a world of hurt at that part. The 800 wasn't so bad because it was at the same pace as the 1200s. The last mile I was feeling a little bit of lactic acid seeping in, but I think I did a pretty good job staying below my thresh-hold. And the four hundred I just pretended I was finishing a race. I think I could havegone harder on it though. I did maybe a mile cooldown after my strides.

Ran for thirty minutes at Murray park to try and break in the new shoes I got today. I felt really crappy and tight and the shoes weren't super comfortable either, but they just need some more breaking in. I did a few strides, too, but I never really felt like I got warmed up. I geuss I didn't do any stretching. My left shin was really bothering me, too. I'll ice it when I get home tonight and it should be good. Tomorrow we're doing a workout in Mantua around the reservoir, a threshold so that should be good, as long as I don't feel like crap.

Good tempo around Mantua Reservoir. We warmed up a mile, and my shoes felt MUCH better today. They just needed a little breaking in. Then we did our dynamic warmups at the park across the street. It's four miles around the lake, and I was to do 3 miles tempo, wait three minutes, and then do one more tempo mile. I started out pretty relaxed from the start and made it a point not sprint out, and just ease into the pace. Opened with 6:40, just going at kind of a cruise pace, and hit three miles in 20:04, so I pretty maintained that pace. I never went over my aerobic threshold, and the time that I ran pretty much around that, my legs were burning like nothing else.  So I've improved there. I mainly just tried to stay relatively relaxed and it worked. The single mile was a 6:28, and I tried to go about the effort I did the tempos on Wednesday, and I think it was the same. The hard headwind slowed me down a lot, but that was the only part of thee workout where I was facing that direction. The thing that was frustrating was that there was only three of us there because most people were too lazy to show up, and even the kids who were out of town most likely didn't do the workout anyway. After that we cooled down two, road the bus back, jogged a half like around the track, and then did some strides. I runs an extra quarter when I got home to round it off. I'm at 41 now, so if I run 12 tomorrow I'll break my weekly mileage PR that I set in August. If it weren't for my injury I would have already crushed that!

This run was okay, it just took me a while to get warmed up. I ran a variation of the canal trail-cliffside-river heights loop. Felt okay but kind of tired up until the run starred going downhill, and then I felt better, which is expected. That was after about 45 minutes. I was planning on going 70 minutes but it ended up being 76. Picked it up in the last mile, even though I was tired. So good training week overall. Hopefully after such an aerobic week I can improve well.

Next week I have the hill workout on Monday, and that's becoming less of a novelty and more of grind, but it'll really help my 800. Then a good distance run on Tuesday at a good pace with solid strides. Moderate day Wednesday, dual meet Thursday where I'll battle it out with Keith in the two mile (if he runs it) and most definetley PR, super easy day Friday, and then Grizzly Invitational on Saturday where I'll be looking for a substantial mile PR from good spring break training and an effort at racing smarter, plus possibly an 800 PR, but I don't know.