I am one with the levee and the levee with me

10 easy on the Urb. 

11 miles on Galbraith with Sam and Derek. It decided to snow again, so the going was slick and wet. 1:26 total time.

10 easy, Padden + a little. 

Track day. Same workout as last week; 4x200, 6x400, 4x200. I ran these just a touch faster and felt a touch better, so I suppose that's progress.

Rests were 1:1 jogs and worked out to ~1:10 following 200s and ~2:20 following 400s. 

First 200s: Low 33s across the board.

400s: 66, 65, 66, 65, 65, 65.

Final 200s: Mid- to high-31s across the board.

Average pace: ~65s

I'm a little discouraged with how difficult the 400s started to feel. #5 and 6 were tough, and with the long rests, I don't think this workout isn't meant to feel taxing. At the end, I felt like I'd been lifting heavy weights. Maybe I've just been away from speedwork so long it feels foreign, but I remember 400m repeats feeling easier than this.

But then, it is the beginning of March. There's still 3 months of training to go. I should be patient. 

10 miles easy. 2 Padden loops from my place.

Easy loop around Whatcom. Added 4x200m on the track after (33.5, 32.5, 31.8, 32.5). 

All nighter last night + paper deadline + work the rest of the day = no run today. I could've squeezed in a few miles around midnight, but decided sleep would be better for me.

1500m race at PLU in Tacoma. My legs felt really good today. I did my usual warmup routine (20ish minutes + strides/drills). I got out well, my goal was to come through 800m in 2:10 and that's right about where I was. 2:10/2:11, I felt fantastic and was moving up quickly on the leaders. However, it was pouring during the race, and I was tucked in behind a nice pack and runners and got hosed by their feet for that first 800m. Right after 800, my whole body tightened and I slowed (50s from 800-1100m). A last lap of 67 left me at 4:08. Neck, chest, arms, hamstrings, quads... it was a pretty intense sensation.

I felt like the tightening was mostly from the cold water on my legs. I felt great early in the race, and afterwards I didn't feel particularly winded. I didn't feel like acid was responsible for it, and I find that encouraging. I think I'm ready for a big jump in times.

12 easy on Galbraith with Sam and Keith. 1:30:30

Track day. 4 mile warmup including strides and drills. This workout was a tweak on the last couple. 4x200m, 1x800m, 4x400m, 4x200m, all at mile pace with matching distance rests (e.g. ~2:00 between 400s). I was really anticipating that 800m, but and after I got through it the rest was cake.

4x200: 33, 34, 32, 33

800m: 2:13.5 (came through in mid-65 but slowed on the second half)

4x400: 66.5, 65.8, 66.1, 64.8

4x200: 32.5, 32.5, 31.8, 31.8

I wanted to nail that 800m a little better, but technically it was dead on my current mile pace. I had a scare this weekend that maybe I'm getting sick, so I started this workout planning to drop if my body wasn't having it. But I felt fine, hopefully whatever it is doesn't progress further.

Added full core after.

On a positive note, all my aches and pains have all vanished. The shins feel good, knees are solid, the hip flexors have relaxed and my hips are showing good mobility. I had a minor bit of tightness in my left achilles today I need to keep an eye on, but my body is handling this faster training very well so far.

10 easy around Padden. 64ish minutes for the 9.6 around Padden and then 4x100m strides. I ran this with Tanner and, as usual, the pace was faster than I really wanted. But the legs felt good considering the workout yesterday.

5k pace workout. 5600m total: 4x(800m, 400m, 200m) at 5k pace, with (60s, 30s, 30s) rests. I had beautiful warm weather with little wind and sunshine. Intervals went as follows:

Set 1: 2:25.0, 72, 36

Set 2: 2:24.5, 72, 36

Set 3: 2:25.0, 72, 35

Set 4: 2:25.8, 72, 35

I had a little mental lapse on the 4th 800, that should have been a touch faster. I was wanting to run 2:23-2:24 for all the 800s, but I seemed to slip a bit off pace on the 3rd 200m each time. But overall I think this was a great workout. I felt very relaxed through the first 3 sets, and the 4th 800m was a bit tougher, but the lactic acid hadn't built up till that point. My legs are tired, but they responded nicely thorughout the workout.

There was a pickup game of soccer going on in the infield, and I had to dodge wayward soccer balls throughout the workout. Very frustrating. I even got hit at one point, the ball hit my trail leg during the 3rd 800. I didn't fall, but the hit foot swung back and kicked my right calf pretty hard. It was sore through the rest of the workout and is very tender to the touch at the moment. I've got ice on it and am going to baby it tonight and tomorrow. Crossing my fingers there wasn't any damage done.

10 easy down the Urb. My calf was very sore but warmed up about 3 miles in. Seems to be a minor strain.

Track workout: 2x3200 @ threshold (2:00 rests), 2x800 @ 5k pace (2:00 rests), 2x400 @ mile pace (2:00 rest).

The weather was nice again today, warm and sunny, although the wind has come up again and the homestretch was tough on the faster stuff. The threshold work was easy and I rattled off 5:15s and hit 10:30 on the nose for each.

The 800s were tougher. I went 2:26, 2:25. The 400s even worse at 67.7, 68.0. I severely underestimated how difficult it would be to pick up the pace at the end.

What excited me most is how easy 5:15 pace felt. I felt like I could run it forever.

Oh and the calf seems fine. I was ready to hold off a day on the workout if it acted up, but it didn't complain through my warmup or strides, so I went with it. It's just another sore muscle at this point.

10 super easy around Padden.

1:50 run on Galbraith with a few buddies. It was drizzly and a little muddy, I but I thoroughly enjoyed this run. We ran up to the towers for the view and then wound our way back down. My groin has been tight on both sides, and it was complaining by the time we reached the top, but on the way down I got a new sensation in my lower abdomen. Not a good sensation... it felt like pain either in the lower stomach muscles or connective tissue, hard to say which. But it was very uncomfortable. I came home and stretched everything I could get at and rolled out my upper quads, groin, and hips. 

8 easy down the Urb. I decided to shift my workout days back a day to let this stomach issue rest. 

Mile pace workout. Same as last Monday - 4x200m, 1x800m, 4x400m, 4x200m. I kept a watch on the rests to keep them at exactly 1:00, 2:00, 4:00 for the respective intervals. I did this workout in my old pair of Matumbos and remembered how much I dislike the spike plate in them. 

Reps went as follows:

4x200 (33.8, 33.8, 33.5, 32.8)

800m (2:12.0; 65.9,66.1 splits)

4x400 (65.1, 65.0, 65.7, 65.3)

4x200 (32.3, 32.2, 31.9, 31.8)

I felt great. My lower abdomen continues to be sore, including during the warmup and cooldown, but I didn't feel it during the workout. 

Easy run around Whatcom with Tanner.

5k workout. Same as last Wednesday, 4x(8-4-2) w/ 60s, 30s, 30s rests. Pete and Casey met up with me, it was nice to have a couple buddies for a change. Reps went as follows:

2:26.5, 72, 35

2:25.1, 72, 35

2:23.7, 71.8, 35

2:22.0, 69.0, 34

Overall average of 71.5 per quarter. I felt really smooth and controlled. My fitness is definitely coming around, I never reached a point where I was in pain. It was a hard effort, but never uncomfortable, and maybe ought to start pushing a little harder.

The weather was beautiful again; sunny, warm(ish), and no wind. I ran in my old pair of Eldoret's and realized that I really love that shoe.

Cooled down with Pete and Casey and enjoyed the sun. I'm registered for the Willamette Invite now, so I'm pretty eager to race my first 5k of the season. I think the training is really starting to come together.

10 easy, 2 loops around padden from my place.

4x1600m (60s rests) @ tempo pace, 1:30 rest, 1x1600m @ 5k pace, 4:00 rest, 2x400m @ mile pace.

I had to start this workout at 7am, and I just never felt great. I warmed up 3.5 miles, did drills and strides and just felt flat. Anyway, I went 5:16, 5:19, 5:16, 5:20, 4:52, 68, 67. It was also cold this morning, so maybe that had some effect. Anyway, I got the work done. I was a few seconds off what I wanted for the 4:52, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.

10 super easy with my little bro. I didn't know he could even run half this far, so it was pretty sweet. 1:27 total time.

5k pace workout, 5x1k (2:30 rests), 30s rest after the last one, then 1x300m @ mile pace. Weather was a little drizzly but warm (50ish degrees).

Reps went as follows: 3:04, 3:03, 2:58, 2:59, 2:58, 2:57. 30s rest, then the 300 in 46s. I felt really good. Looking forward to the 5k this weekend.

8 easy on the Urb. My right hip flexor got a little aggravated on the way back, otherwise a nice, easy run.

Easy run up to WWU campus and around Boulevard and the Urb. I stopped by the track for a short 4x200m session. 32.6, 31.6, 31.5, 31.4. 

6 easy with Tanner and Nathan.

This wasn't quite the result I hoped for, but I felt like I ran to today's ability.

I drove down to Salem late last night. I was originally going to camp out last night, but I got a late enough start I ended up just getting a room.

The wind was up today. Forecast said 15-25 mph, but it was more like 10-15 on the track. There was a bit of jostling at the start, but it settled in after the first lap, which was a bit slow. A couple guys were nice enough to pick up the pace and break the wind for a few laps, and we reached 1600m in 4:46. My volunteer pacers dropped the pace after that, and we reached 2k in 6:00. The next lap was a 73, so I chose to take over leading from them and move into 2nd. My friend Chip had taken off at his own pace, and he was running well in 1st. 

I hit the next lap in 72, but from there it seemed as though the wind eroded my strength. I reached 3k in 9:03 and 3200m in 9:39 (4:53) and was still feeling fine. I felt optimistic I could keep it close enough to kick it in for a shot at the sub-15, but a couple more straights into the wind zapped me. I reached 4k in 12:10 and 4800m in 14:40 (5:01). The finish was into the wind, and I shuffled in a 35 for the last 200m. 3rd place had been dogging me 4 seconds behind, and it looks like he roughly maintained that distance to the finish.

So in windy conditions, running half the race alone, I have to be satisfied with my performance. This was a PR by 10 seconds, however I know I'm in shape for faster. But I was completely spent by the finish, I know that without something changing that was beyond my control (weather or running a faster heat) I couldn't have drawn more out of my body.

And due to Willamette's fantastic timing system, I have a complete set of splits: 36.6 first 200m, then

There are few times I finish a run and feel absolutely miserable. 6 miles into Galbraith and the rain came pouring down, the wind came up, and the temperature dropped about 5 degrees. I was mildly hypothermic by the end. 12 miles total.

10 easy around Padden. Beautiful sunny day.