I am one with the levee and the levee with me

AM - It was 27F and blowing about 20 mph. Happy New Year. I got out for a short 6, and then started my antibiotics. This sickness has been ongoing for 8ish days and getting worse. Lodged itself in my chest and I'm worried about it developing into bronchitis.

PM - 4 easy.

Fitness maintenance workout. 2 x 2 mile + 4 x 30s fast. The antibiotics are doing their job and I feel 100x's better today. It was 23F and windy this morning, so I got home early for my workout at around 3:30pm when temps were 33F and the winds were down to almost nothing.

10:40 (5:22, 5:18)

10:33 (5:18, 5:15)

4 x 30s

Felt great. I'm still getting used to the Streaks. My right foot keeps falling asleep, and I'll need to figure that out before the race. Either need to loosen the lacing or go up half a size. They fit more snug than the Lunaracers, which already were a tight fit at my usual 10.5.

10 easy. Legs are a little bit sore from yesterday. It always amazes me how taking just 2 days off always leads to muscle soreness once I get back into it. It's like my body atrophies at 10x's the normal rate.

10 easy

8 easy + 8 x 40s levee sprints

12 easy

AM - 4 easy

PM - 4 easy

3 x mile + 2 x 30s

Final tune-up run.

5:18

5:15

5:26

Felt great, relaxed a bit on #3 (maybe too much) but all is done. Just rest now before Sunday (and fingers crossed I stay healthy).

Interestingly, I found out recently that I am imunoglobin-A deficient. Seems like I always happens before big races, and this might help explain it. 

8 easy. Foggy and cool morning. My legs still have muscle soreness. I'll never understand how I can be >2000 miles into a season and still get muscle soreness. Especially during a taper.

6 easy

6 easy including 4 x 30s sprints.

4 easy and then drove out to Houston.

I had a great experience in Houston. It's a 5ish hour drive from New Orleans, and I took my wife and kids with me for this one. I'd like to travel a little more for races, and this was a test run for how the kids would do. They passed. Erica gave the green light for more. My 10-week old even gave us a late Christmas present by sleeping through the night. 

We booked an Airbnb apartment in Midtown and arrived with just enough time to hit the packet pickup and make our dinner reservation. I've discovered that my body responds really well to sushi with the plus side that sushi restaurants don't get overcrowded with runners. 

Morning of the race I had to adjust my usual warmup routine. I was in the ADP corral, and I had to be in the corral 25 minutes before the start. The corral offered almost no room for additional warmup. So I ran from the apartment to the start line at 5:45 and did my best from there to stay warm. It was about 35F, and that wasn't easy. But when the gun went off I found that I felt pretty good, and the poor warmup turned into a non-issue.

I was wanting to run 5:20ish from the start and ratchet up the pace as the race went along to try to get to sub-1:10, hopefully as low as 1:09:30. I met a friend who planned to start at the same pace, and from the gun we worked together through the first 6 miles before he dropped back. The start was crowded, and the first mile ended up a little slow as a result (Garmin showed 5:24), but from there we settled into several sub-5:20s.

I felt fantastic. Plenty of spring in my stride, breathing was easy. There was a little discomfort starting to show in my legs, but things looked really good. And even though my pace buddy had dropped back, there was another guy with us who moved up and continued to push the pace. He was taking water at most of the stations, so I figured he had to be in the marathon. And sure enough at 8 miles the courses split and we wished each other luck.

At that point I found myself completely alone. There wasn't another body for what looked like 400m. I still felt good and wanted to push hard from 8 to 12. I kept my foot on the gas, trying to maintain what my marathon pal and I had done from 6 to 8. I hit 5:16 on miles 9, though cracks were starting to show.

Heading into mile 10, I could feel my body trying hard to slow down. My turnover started to feel sluggish, and I didn't have another runner to gauge my pace on. I tried flipping my watch to instant pace mode, but it wasn't holding a steady reading. I was sure I'd reach mile 10 in 5:40, but was relieved to see 5:22. I can live with that. I felt like I'd banked some time to sub-1:10, and holding low-5:20s would still give me a chance.

Mile 11 had a slight downhill, but I only managed 5:23. A little discouraging, especially with mile 12 heading up a gentle hill. It was a very gentle hill, but it lasted the entire mile (and a little beyond). It felt like an eternity, and I was really hurting. I was relieved to see 5:25 flash at mile 12.... I was sure I'd bled off much more than that.

I finally caught the runner I'd seen in the distance during that long uphill mile. I invited him to hang onto me, which he did for about half a mile. Huge help having him there. Other than him, I'd only passed one other female runner in the last 4 miles. Once he dropped again, there were no other bodies in sight.

Mile 13 was a fight for survival. I kept urging my turnover to quicken and my legs kept rebelling. With a half mile to go I made another attempt to surge. Ultimately I reached 13 in 5:23 and finished the last 0.2 (by my watch) in 5:05 pace.

Funny thing is, all the way through to the finish, until the clock came into view, I still thought sub-1:10 was possible. In reviewing the timing mat splits, it looks like my paces on the course were a little slower. 5k splits from the course were:

Which teaches me a couple things:

1) Run tangents better

2) Don't rely on GPS for splits

Things I should know by now.

I really wanted to at least crack 1:10, but obviously the fitness isn't quite there. I'm satisfied I ran the best I could, and I'm glad I was a little bit aggressive through mile 9. The fade in the last 6k is fixable.

This was my goal race for this training cycle, and in thinking back on how the buildup went, I rate myself a C on preparation. Not being overly critical, but I had a big drop in volume from October on (expected, enouraged even, with a new baby in the family), and then the illness over the last month or so has kind of nuked the last few weeks of prep. The drops in volume showed up.

I'm pleased with the race, and am looking forward to beginning a marathon prep cycle and trying to lower my half PR en route.

8 mile recovery. No watch, but estimate 7:20-7:30. Felt surprisingly good despite sore everything.

10 moderate/easy. 7:01 average. My illness that never totally went away has reared its ugly head again. Houston seems to have stoked its anger. I don't think it affected Houston, but the sore throat and congestion lingered through that week. I woke up today with a nasty cough and a pounding headache. Going through a second round of antibiotics for it.

On the plus side, New Orleans got some freezing rain and a light dusting of snow last night, which is enough to literally shut the city down. I got to stay home, sleep in, and run in the relative warmth of the afternoon (~30F). Despite my chest feeling like poo, I otherwise felt pretty good on the run.

Whatever bug I got was nasty enough to take me out for the last couple days. Might've been the flu, not an extension of whatever I had in December. Either way, I got out for an easy 4 pushing Rylie, and it was not kind on my chest. Lots of coughing. Otherwise it was good to be out.

8 very easy. 7:50 avg. Lungs felt like my 2-year old daughter was sitting on them.

10 easy. 7:45 avg, felt a little better at first before absolutely tanking the last several miles. 8:31 final mile.

12 miles @ 7:23 avg. Aside from a few coughing breaks, I'm feeling closer to normal.

6 w/ Rylie. 7:21 avg, not bad for pushing the stroller.

6 x mile @ T pace w/ 1:00 rests + 2 x 30s fast. Perfect weather with 44°F and almost not wind. I'm still coughing a bit, but my runs have been feeling better and I figured I'm in good enough shape to try a workout.

5:18

5:21

5:21

5:20

5:19

5:18

AVG 5:19.5

I wanted to work on running more by feel, so I checked myself at halfway on the first rep and then didn't glance at the watch aside from the final split. That first rep felt a little hard (always does), but then I felt very much in control. Felt a little fatigue going into #5 and #6, but nothing beyond the fatigue I want this run to stimulate. Very happy with how it went.

I'm having some runner's knee post-Houston, so I pulled out the knee sleeve post-run. Will wear it most of the day, and maybe for a few easy runs until things feel better.

AM - 8 easy. 7:18 avg, 7:42 first mile. I'm keeping a watch on my easy runs for a few weeks. I like making my easy days easy, but I think I was starting to take that to an extreme. 7:20 is fine. 7:50 should only happen on pure recovery days. I saw a lot of 7:50s in my Houston buildup. I'm not looking at it during the run, just using it afterwards to gauge my pace.

PM - 4 stroller miles w/ Rylie. Of course after the watch comment I forgot to bring it on this run. No matter. It started raining on us, so I averaged a pretty quick clip to get the little girl inside. Estimating 7:15 average.

Long run at City Park. ~60F and breezy. Warmed up 6 then went into a 10-mile tempo-ish effort. A little slower than marathon pace, though honestly I'm not really sure where my marathon pace is. Since I went hard Thursday I wanted to keep this under control.

I stopped twice in the first 2 miles. Once for bathroom, then I stopped by my car to ditch the shirt and swap the Launches for my Lunaracers. I couldn't stand trying to run faster in the Launches. Doesn't feel good. The rest of the run was uneventful.

I found a great loop in City Park that's just over 3 miles and has one of the few runable hills in New Orleans. It's an overpass over the interstate. I'll take what I can get.

6:15

6:12

6:04

6:03

5:59

6:01

5:59

6:04

5:55

5:51

AM - 4 recovery miles, 7:53 pace. Legs are a little sore. I did some squats with Rylie on my back, and as embarrassing as it is to admit, that did my legs in. I need to lift more.

12 on the levee including 6 x strides. Hammies are a little sore from the Rylie squats, and the quads are a little sore from the other work last week. Otherwise this felt pretty good. 7:11 avg. The monotony of the levee got to me before I headed out. Every time that happens I remind myself of my goals and how satisfying it will be to reach them. Some mornings that's what I need to get out the door.

12 easy. The wind was blowing pretty good, so I moved the workout to tomorrow. 7:20 avg.

AM - Medium 5k workout today. I registered for a 15k in Pensacola this weekend, so I kept this to just 5k of total volume. I rolled out of bed at 4:10 AM and was out the door just after 4:30. I'm finding that the faster the workout, the harder it is to do this early in the morning. All through my warmup I was grumbling about having to do this on the levee instead of a track. But so it is. Maybe I can work a way to get to City Park early. There is a track less than 2 miles from my house, but it's buried in a drug lord neighborhood. I'd rather suffer on the levee than venture in there in the dark. 

Officially 45°F according to wunderground.com, but there was frost on the grass and it felt closer to freezing to me. Or maybe I've just gone soft. Not a breath of wind, which made me feel validated in waiting a day.

I only have a couple of dedicated 5k workouts on my schedule before the marathon. I'm clearly underdeveloped in this area, and this workout was uncomfortable right from the start. I did my 3 miles of warmup, a few drills and strides, and then got into it. 5 x 1k w/ 3:00 rests. Targeting 3:02-3:03. 

3:02

3:03

3:03

3:05

3:08

Pretty close to target. #5 was due to lost focus rather than fatigue, and I could tell by feel before the watch beeped that I went too easy. Not a big deal. I figure on the track in better flats or spikes these run 3 seconds faster, so overall not a bad workout.

Also as I was finishing up the workout I looked up and had a great view of the eclipse in progress. I must've missed the headlines for it, because it caught me by surprise. Pretty cool.

PM - 4 easy miles w/ Rylie -- ~7:30 avg.

12 leisurely miles. 7:29 average. My right hip is giving me some grief after some of my runs. I've been having lower abdomen/hip pain for the last 4 years -- it finally dawned on me that I might have a sports hernia or something along those lines. At the moment I figure as long as it doesn't cause me problems while training I might as well finish out the training cycle and then reassess.

8 easy on the levee. Windy morning. Legs feel good despite the bump in miles, which is good since I'm racing tomorrow. Run today started at 7:40 and worked down to 7:03 for a 7:19 average.

This landed on my race calendar after I messed up registration for a 15k in Nashville in a couple weeks. That would have lined up a little better with my training schedule, but Pensacola is half the distance from home, and this a pretty competitive race. Plus, the Florida beaches are always beautiful, even in February.

With it being last minute, I couldn't find an Airbnb I liked, so we decided to try a hotel with both kiddos in the same room with us. Sounded like disaster. And at first it looked that way with Eli screaming unconsolably every time we tried to lay him down to sleep. Finally he knocked out, and the next thing I knew it was 4:15 and my alarm was waking me up. What a relief.

This is a point-to-point course, and the weather forecast kept showing unfavorable winds for race morning. And that was about right. It was 40F or so with 10-15 mph winds that weren't directly head on, but angling into your face. I hopped on a shuttle that got me to the start line at 6am, so I had plenty of time to putter around and warm up.

At the start a couple guys shot to the front, and a chase pack formed of 4 guys. The chase pack started a lot more aggressively than I wanted. I showed a 74 first quarter by my watch. I sort of hung off the back of them, but decided I had to commit to a fast pace, or else I'd be battling the wind by myself all the way. 5:07 first mile.

2nd mile turned directly into the wind and had a long gradual uphill. I had tucked directly behind 2 guys, and they slowed here. It was needed, and I felt myself recovering from the too-quick pace. 5:18 for #2.

Mile 3 started the same before turning onto the first bridge, and the wind was now blowing cross-ways with a strong "in your face" component. My wind blocks became less useful, and they also picked up the pace to around 5:10. I hung on, but that's too fast for me at this point in those conditions. I was just hoping one of them would drop before I did. 5:13 for #3.

The bridge crosses Pensacola Bay and is 3 miles long with an overpass about midway through. I continued to hang on but could feel the cracks forming. When I caught myself drifting back I threw in a few mini-surges to maintain contact. Eventually a gap formed and I knew that was it. I kept them in contact for a bit, but the end of mile 4 goes up the overpass, and once we hit the hill I was done. I've got to find more hills to run in New Orleans. 5:15 at mile 4.

I watched them pull away and glanced back to see where our 4th pack member had run off to. He was a long ways back. I tried to keep the pace up so that I could strike if one of the other 2 dropped off, but they stayed together all the way to the finish. Without position or a fast time to chase, I had a hard time keeping up race effort. I slipped to 5:31 for mile 5, then 6-8 in 5:32 (10k in ~32:30), 5:34, and 5:35. I picked it up on mile 9 a little for 5:25 and then cruised into the finish on the beach to grab the last money spot. The race timers had me at 49:12, which is a joke, so I'm going with my watch time. Tyler McCandless won in 44:52, although it looks like all the times are messed up, so I'm guessing he was a minute back from that.

I would like to have placed higher, but 3rd and 4th place were just in better shape than me. They ended up ~90 seconds up. Afterwards, I ran back to the hotel and finished up 20 miles on the treadmill. 

8 easy -- 7:13 avg. It's about 70F this afternoon. Messes with my system to go from 30s to 70s so frequently.

12 easy (7:19 avg) including 8 x ~100m strides.

Right knee is still sore (intermittently), so I slapped the knee sleeve on after the run. It doesn't feel like it's going to blow up or get worse. Just another sore spot to deal with. My bigger concern is still my hips. They are sore. Primarily the right side. It has very little effect on my running, but it seems like I'm feeling a deep ache more and more after runs.

Big workout. I shamelessly borrowed this one straight out of Paul Petersen's playbook because I thought it would fit really well into my schedule. Weather was nice this morning. 62F (61 dew point) and a light wind.

3 warmup, 2 uptempo, 8x1k @ CV (2:00 rests), 1 uptempo, 1.5 cooldown

Ran the first 2 uptempo in 6:06 & 6:13. Had a pit stop before starting the k's.

1k's:

3:12

3:11

3:15

3:15 (big dip)

3:10

3:13

3:09

3:10

Avg = 3:11.9

Jogged a few minutes before running 1 mile uptempo in 5:55.

I liked this workout. I'd like to work a little more of Tinman's CV into my schedule. I'm left with a really satisfying fatigue in my body.

AM - 12 very easy miles. 7:38 avg.

PM - 3.5 easy - 7:35 avg. Legs are pretty tired from yesterday. Needed some slower miles today.

10 easy. Starting slow and finishing right around 7:00 pace. 7:21 average. I had 12 on the schedule but my legs are feeling a little tired. 

Medium workout. I had more planned, but my body is telling me not to get overenthusiastic. I'm trying to listen. 

Warmed up 3, went through my strides and drills while staring down the creeper parked on the levee. He eventually drove away. I won. Then 3 x 2 miles w/ 2:00 rests.

10:41 (5:20, 5:21)

10:46 (5:25, 5:21)

10:38 (5:22, 5:16)

Then 4 x 30s fast.

I felt pretty sluggish the first 4 miles, then things clicked on the last 2. Glad I listened to my legs and didn't do more, though. This has been a big week. Weather was nice with 60F and low winds. 

18 on the levee. 6:50 average. Wanted to hit Audobon and do a big city loop, but it's Mardi Gras. Running through the French Quarter and driving through town, even early in the morning, sounded like a bad idea.

After an 8:08 first mile, I settled into a decent pace. I expected to be pretty beat after the last week, but I actually felt good. After 4 miles I decided to relax and let the pace come, and I started working down from 6:55 to 6:30 at the end. Wanted to keep it in the easy zone. No crash, which is a nice sign.

8 very easy. 7:44 average. Legs feeling okay but wanted to keep this to a jog.

AM - 10 easy + 8 x ~200m levee hill sprints. Right hip was bugging me a bit and never totally loosened up. Also took awhile warming into the hill sprints, which has been typical lately. First 3 are pretend hill sprints.

PM - 4 easy. 7:33 avg. Soreness turned more into sciatic pain than anything. Stretched/massaged after.

AM - 8 easy (7:18 avg). Happy Mardi Gras everyone. I'll be avoiding going anywhere besides a couple runs on the levee today.

PM - 6 easy (7:22 avg). Okay I lied. We took the kids out to the Barataria Preserve to walk among the alligators and water moccasins. It was a good way to avoid the craziness of the city.

Big workout. Warmed up 4 miles, 8 mile progression, jogged 1/2 mile then 4 x 30s fast. Jog home.

My legs are feelings a little tired from the ramp up in mileage, but this went fairly well. I don't have some of the intermediate paces ingrained in my legs, and there was some yo-yoing while I tried to find the right groove. I started at 5:15 pace, then slowed too much to about 6:00, then mostly settled into what I wanted. 

5:39, 5:36, 5:36, 5:30, 5:37 (turnaround), 5:31, 5:27, 5:21

Avg = 5:32

12 recovery in 8:01 avg. Little man didn't sleep well last night, which means I didn't sleep much either. It's a good thing babies are cute.

12 easy/recovery - 7:40 avg.

My registration went through for the NOLA Rock n Roll half. I'm sad this race has fallen so far recently. It wasn't that long ago that Martin Lel, Sammy Wanjiru, and Mo Farah were in the field. Still, it will be a great chance to race on a fast course. The profile is flatter than even Houston with fewer turns.

Big workout. 3.5 mile WU; 3 x 3200m (400m/~2:00 rests); 7 miles @ 7:10; 1 x 3200m; 1 mile CD. City Park track. Warm/humid but not terrible. 65-70F with 65-68F dew points.

This was a variation on a Daniels marathon workout. Later on I'll do 2 x 3200m at the beginning and end of a 20-miler. And further down the road it'll be 2 x 3200m to start, then 6400m continuous to finish. I've never done a workout like this, so I was a little apprehensive of the late rep.

10:33 (5:16.x/5:16.x)

10:28 (5:14/5:14)

10:25 (5:12/5:13)

7 miles @ 7:10

10:24 (5:12/5:12)

It could not have gone better, and I'm thrilled with the paces. The last 3200m ended up being miles 18 & 19 of the run, and it was a totally different sensation than the first 3 reps. I felt a little more light headed, almost like I was hyperventilating. But even though it was difficult, I had no trouble maintaining pace. 

AM - 6 recovery, 8:05 avg.

PM - 4 recovery, 7:42 avg.

10 easy + 8 x ~200m levee sprints. Sore calves, but otherwise the hill sprints felt ok. 7:29 avg.

12 easy (7:24 avg). Had a hard time getting out the door. Just wanted to sleep!

9 x 1k w/ 2:00 rests @ CV pace + 4 x 200m on the levee. Conditions were warm and humid, 72 F air/70F dew point. I can't believe we're seeing 70° dew points so soon.

3:11, 3:10, 3:09, 3:12, 3:15 (big dip), 3:11, 3:11, 3:09, 3:07

Avg: 3:10.6

I started a 10th but came through 400 in 80s and decided I was good for the day.

I think I'm going to send my Streak 6s back. I'm probably going to lose a toenail from them being a little too short. I've made them work to this point, but I don't trust them for a marathon. 

AM - 12 easy/recovery. Started at about 8:10 and worked down to 7:08. 7:34 avg.

PM - 4 easy stroller miles w/ Rylie. 7:29 avg.

12 easy. Started >8:00 and dropped to <7:10s for the second half. 7:22 average.

10 easy + 10 @ MP, 1 CD on the levee. Warm and humid. It was 75F w/ 71F dew point by the finish. Can't say how frustrated I am that it's this humid in February. I did the first 10 as an out and back and stopped at the house to switch to flats. I tried taking some honey and water at that point as well.

5:36, 5:36, 5:38, 5:48 (big dip & headwind), 5:39 (turnaround), 5:29, 5:31 (big dip & tailwind), 5:38, 5:44, 5:41

Avg = 5:38

The 2 5:30 miles surprised me since I didn't feel like I'd sped up. I was hoping to finish a little stronger, but I think the humidity got to me. There was some headwind on the last 3, maybe 5-10 mph, and those last 3 miles were pretty tough.

6 recovery, 7:58 avg.

AM - 10 easy + 8 x 200m levee sprints.

PM - 6 easy (7:30 avg).

12 easy. 7:34 avg.

6 x 1 mile @ LT pace (1:00 rest) + 4 x 200m. Weather was good if a little humid. 65F air & 65F dew point. There were pockets of cool dry air coming off the river that helped me feel fresher.

5:21, 5:26, 5:10, 5:12, 5:12, 5:12

Took a minute to find the right pace. Said a few choice words after #2 and focused on a brisk pace for #3, but was still surprised to see it go so fast. It felt really good from there. My calves started to complain from #5 on, which is residual fatigue from Saturday's long run. The rest of the week is a mini taper before the RnR half on Sunday.

Recovery @ 7:50 average. Was going to go 10 but I'm feeling pretty fatigued and chose to shorten it up a bit. Calves are whining. 

Day off.

4 easy + 4 x 20s strides at HM pace.

I came into this race hoping for some guys to run with. Unfortunately, the Rock n Roll series is on a serious decline since Triathlon bought them, but last year there was a nice group in the 1:10-1:11 range, with the winner in low-1:09. With an elevation profile that looks like this:

I wanted to set myself up for a potentially fast race. I was feeling fatigued from the last couple weeks and took a big taper from Thursday on. I felt really great on race day.

Unfortunately, none of those 1:09-1:10 guys returned. Kevin Castille was on the line, and I know well enough to just let him go. He ran away with it in 1:05:58. Blazing fast for a solo run. I started quick to get away from the crowd, but then settled into ~5:20 pace. One guy followed me, but he dropped back after about a half mile and I was alone, and I remained alone from there.

The weather was decent, sunny and starting in the mid-50s and warming a bit through the race. Winds were about 5 mph, and I knew that holding pace would get tough into the wind. The first 4.5 miles had a tailwind down St. Charles, and I went 5:19, 5:19, 5:12, 5:17 for the first 4. Felt great, and I was happy to bank a little time on the 1:10 mark. Hit the U-turn at Audobon Park and turned back into the wind and slowed a little. Miles 5-7 in 5:17, 5:22, 5:23. I was feeling okay, but the pace was starting to get tough with the headwind, and I couldn't maintain it solo. Around mile 10 the course would turn towards City Park, and I knew from there the wind would be favorable. If I could reach 10 in 53:30 I'd need 16:30 over the last 5k to have a shot at cracking 1:10.

In last Saturday's long run, I tried taking some honey at 10 miles before starting the 10 miles @ MP. I got a nasty side stitch that just about derailed the run, and it resurfaced here in the second half of the race.

Miles 8-10 cut through downtown and the French Quarter. The wind and the side stitch got to me. 5:28, 5:28, 5:31. Clock read 53:35 at 10, and I wasn't sure I could manage a 16:25 last 5k. Figured I really needed 16:20 to be safe. I picked up the pace and reached mile 11 in 5:25 leaving me in more of a hole. 3rd place was a few minutes behind, I was hurting, and I eased off the gas a little. Mile 12 & 13 slowed to 5:30 & 5:43. 

I'm bummed. Not so much that I packed it in (though that doesn't feel great) but more at running the thing solo. Looking beyond this spring, I'd like to make the effort to run bigger races. I'm just not going to reach my goals racing solo.

Took the day off

AM - Went out for my usual 12 out-and-back, but a monster thunderstorm cut me off. Had to hop off the levee to lower ground and cut through some of the neigborhoods. Ended up at 10.6 for the run. 7:39 avg.

PM - 4 stroller miles with Rylie. No watch.

No run. I didn't plan to take the day off, but I just felt like I needed another day off from running. Was able to sleep in after a bad night with Eli, then got off work early enough to play with the kids. 

12 on the faster side of easy. 7:07 avg w/ 6 strides. Thought about a workout today or tomorrow, but the strides did not feel good. I think I'll just run easy till Saturday.

12 easy, no watch. Estimating 7:10-7:15 avg.

Long run. Set a PR for longest run ever. Drove out to Audobon and did a Big City Loop, tacking on a few loops around Audobon after. I wanted to run fairly steady through 10, then pick it up a little through 18, then 4-5 miles at MP and a cool down mile at steady pace. 

First 10 progressed from 7:08 to 6:18, averaging 6:32.

The next 8 averaged 6:09.

Stopped at my car to switch to marathon flats, then 18-22 were in 5:33, 5:42, 5:42, 5:39. Finished 23 in 6:17. Averaged 6:14 for the whole thing. Aside from some chocolate on the way to Audobon, I only took water during the run and there was no bonk. I'm happy with that.

I started too fast on the MP section, but then 5:39-5:42 felt decent. I have plans to work a little more at MP, because right now it feels odd. It's right at the break where I want to push my footstrike forward, so I'm not sure whether to toe up or keep back on my heels. Keeping on my heels might save my calves a beating.

6 recovery. No watch, estimating 7:30 avg.

AM - 12 including 8 x 200m hill sprints. Feeling fatigued/sore in the quads and glutes following Saturday's run, but in a very good way. It was hard to get going on the hill sprints, but I managed to get into a rhythm. The wind was howling today and made what was otherwise a recovery run feel burdensome. 7:39 avg pace.

PM - 5 windy stroller miles with Rylie. Despite the wind we managed a respectable 7:15 avg.

12 easy. 7:32 avg.

Big-ish workout. 3 WU, 10 x 1k @ CV (2:00 rests), 4 x 200m @ mile pace as part of 3 miles back to the house.

Weather was PERFECT. Have to soak it in now while it lasts. Mid-40s with just a very slight cross wind.

3:11, 3:12, 3:10, 3:11, 3:09, 3:09, 3:08, 3:08, 3:09, 3:08

Saturday's long run has really wiped me out. My legs did not want to respond at first, and it took 4 reps before it started to feel good. Reps 5-8 felt easy, and I was thinking "Oh great, I'll really crank it up on the last 2." Then the fatigue caught up with me and "cranking it up" turned into maintaining pace. I felt very much in control, just had the muscle fatigue starting to take over.

This workout has progressed nicely:

Feb 6: 2 miles (6:10 avg), 8 x 1k (3:12 avg), 1 mile (5:55)

Feb 21: 9 x 1k (3:10.6 avg)

Mar 14: 10 x 1k (3:09.5 avg)

All on the levee, all with similar weather. I have one more scheduled in 3 weeks and hope to see similar progress.

Post-run my legs feel.... thrashed. It didn't seem like too intense of a run, but the training is accumulating. Have to be careful and listen to my body moving forward.

PM - 4 shakeout stroller miles w/ Rylie. 7:27 avg.

AM - 12 recovery. 7:35 avg

PM - 4 stroller miles. 7:30 avg.

AM - 8 easy. 7:35 avg.

PM - 4 easy, no watch.

Big workout / long run.

3.5 miles WU; 2 x 3200m (400m jog rest); 7 miles in 7:07 avg; 2 x 3200m (400m jog rest), 1 mile CD.

It was very warm and humid this morning. Good prep for my possible marathon conditions, I suppose, but I about melted out there. Started at 66F air / 65F dew point and finished at 75F air / 68F dew point by the end.

10:27 (5:13.x/5:13.x)

10:27 (5:12/5:15)

7 miles @ 7:07 avg

10:24 (5:14/5:10)

10:29 (5:14/5:15)

This one is structured so the last 2 reps are at miles 16-19 of the run. I didn't mean to hit 5:10, but the math in my brain got fuzzy and I thought I was barely holding 5:15 pace. It about fried me for the last rep. I don't go to the well in many workouts, but the last 1600m had me dipping in just a little. I'm okay with doing that every now and then.

Also just noticed this is a weekly mileage PR. Previous best of 100.2.

AM - 4 recovery

PM - 6 recovery. No watch either run. Avg = 8:00ish.

AM - 10 recovery + 8 x 200m hills. 7:54 avg.

PM - 5 stroller miles w/ Eli. First run with the little man, and he did great. No watch, but guessing 7:30 average or slightly faster.

12 easy, 7:31 average. Legs feeling exhausted. If I can get through this week then it's mostly smooth sailing. Will have to reevaluate the week after tomorrow's workout.

Had a 4-3-2-1 planned, but had to scrap it due to fatigue. The plan was to start the 4 at MP, then drop to LT for 3-2-1. I felt pretty bad on the warmup but thought I might be able to warm into it, but then I went 6:00 and 6:11 for the first 2 miles. I paused, took a breather, and tried to reset and start again. No luck, I just felt worse, so easy jogging for the remainder of the run.

Easy miles for the rest of the week, and I may reduce Saturday's long run/workout as well. 

6 stroller miles easy. No watch. I woke up this morning early to run, but my sleepy self decided I'd better play it safe and go back to bed. No harm done, I think.

12 easy, 7:28 avg. Still having beautiful weather. My memory says last year it was 80 degrees from February on. 45 degrees this morning with no wind is just spoiling me.

Big workout/long run. I moved my failed 4-3-2-1 workout to today and it went much better. Headed to City Park this morning and had pretty decent weather, though it was a little windy. About 65F with low-60s dew points. 6400m @ MP [800m jog], 4800m @ LT [600m jog], 3200m @ LT [400m jog], 1600m @ LT.

22:28 (5:35, 5:38, 5:35, 5:40)

15:28 (5:08, 5:08, 5:12)

10:23 (5:10.x, 5:12.x)

5:09

Fitness is coming around. I started LT pace a little quicker than intended, but it felt pretty good and sometimes I like to roll with it when that happens. I could tell after the second 5:08 the pace was just a touch hot and backed off.

PM - 4 recovery. No watch, but over 8:00 pace.

AM - 6 recovery. 7:39 avg.

PM - 4 stroller miles.

10 easy + 8 x 200m levee sprints. 7:30 avg.

10 recovery. 7:45 avg.

3 WU, 5 @ MP, 4 CD including 4 x 200m sprints.

Race on Saturday, so I made this a light workout. I practiced taking a GU at MP for the first time, and that seemed to go okay. It was windy out and my splits were varied.

5:43, 5:55, 6:03 (headwind & big dip), 5:39 (tailwind, 180, big dip), 5:42 (headwind). 

The last few weeks I have a bit of work at MP, which I need so that I get used to it, if nothing else. I tend to either push too hard or back off too much.

8 easy, no watch.

4 easy with 3 short pickups.

Usually I'm pretty good about estimating my fitness for races, but I got it wrong today. I figured I was in about 31:30 shape given recent workouts and the favorable conditions on the course. My primary goal for the race was to beat all the local runners, which is worth $300 all or nothing. The weather was unusually awesome, with about 60F and low humidity with hardly any wind.

My game plan was to run with the elite women for 5k and push the final 5k if I felt good. Usually the women go out in about 16:00, and the local guys are usually in that pack. I should be able to close in 15:45 fairly comfortably off that pace, and that is almost always good enough for the local win. 

The pace was perfect through 3 miles. I had straight 5:08s on my Garmin for 1-3, although the pack ran bad tangents and we were 16:08 through 5k. I did a self-assessment at mile 3 and everything was feeling good. I stuck to my plan and ratcheted down the pace. The lead woman and the rest of the pack began to drop back.

One local guy made a surge and caught me a little before mile 4. I've underestimated him before, so I decided to work with him for a bit and try a bigger move in mile 6. Mile 4 was 5:04 on my watch.

The bad thing was that the small drop in pace didn't feel good. He made a surge around 4.5 and all of sudden I was hanging on for dear life. He managed to get a little separation before mile 5 and I couldn't respond. 5:09 on the Garmin.

I didn't run mile 6 well and gave up a few more seconds than necessary, but I was beaten. 5:20. He continued to pull away and ended up 13 or 14 seconds up on me, about 10 of that in mile 6. I may have managed closer to 5:10 if I'd focused a little better, but there really wasn't much left in the tank. 

I feel bad about losing this one, but I'm not sure there was anything I could do different. Hoping it's just a case of marathon legs not handling a faster pace. The VDOT for this does point to a 2:28-high marathon, which is pretty much my goal. Not panicking yet.

PM - Added 6 stroller miles with Rylie. 7:08 avg.

AM - 8 easy. No watch, estimating 7:15 avg.

PM - 4 easy. No watch, 7:30 estimate.

AM - 12 easy. 7:25 average. Lots of sore muscles today.

PM - 5 stroller miles, no watch. 7:30 estimate.

12 very easy. Soreness is going down, but it felt like a good morning for a leisurely stroll. 7:52 avg.

3-2-1 with 3:00/2:00 rests + 4 x 30s fast.

A front blew through overnight and cooled things down. Steady rain through the run, though thankfully any lightning was a ways off. Low winds. 

16:16 (5:25, 5:28, 5:23)

10:33 (5:19, 5:14)

5:11

I felt sluggish to start, and my shoes weren't getting good traction on the wet pavement. I focused on quickening my cadence and relaxing after the 3 mile segment, and the pace dropped without much effort.

I've had a couple of sharp twinges on the outside of my left ankle the last couple days. Not while running. Both times it's happened while sitting down, but I can't make it hurt if I try to repeat the motion. Just noting it in case I see any development. Planning to do some peroneal tendon stretches and ice the area tonight.

12 recovery, 7:51 average. 

12 easy, 7:24 avg. Feeling refreshed but kept the pace pretty easy.

Big city loop ending with 7 miles of MP in Audobon Park. Started easy for the first 2, then progressed from 6:40 to 6:10 through 16. I switched to marathon flats back at Audobon for the last 7 miles.

Miles 17-23 in 5:37, 5:43, 5:42, 5:45, 5:41, 5:38, 5:37 for 5:40.4 avg. 6:16 avg for the whole run.

The MP segment felt mostly good, though it got fairly tough the last couple miles. My left quad started to complain quite a bit. I practiced with GUs throughout the run. Took 3 different flavors at miles 5, 12, and 20. No issues with any of them.

8 recovery @ 8:04 avg. It was mid-40s this morning, amazing weather for April.

10 easy + 8 x 200m levee sprints. 7:29 average pace, aside from a little tightness in my left hip flexor/upper quad things felt pretty good.

12 easy, 7:39 avg. I mentioned last week that I felt a couple of sharp twinges on the outside of my heel, possibly related to the peroneal tendon. Those pains occurred when I wasn't running and I couldn't get them to reproduce. This week I'm getting some tightness in the area, so it seems I wasn't imagining things. It's not painful at this point, just constant tightness throughout the run. Will have to work on it and watch it closely.

I had 6 x mile on the schedule, but I was working pretty hard through 4 and figured I'd done enough for what the workout was for. 

5:25, 5:20, 5:20, 5:25 (1:00 rests)

Nice morning. Low-50s with a brisk north breeze. I dropped down to Patterson along the levee and enjoyed a sheltered path.

I'm probably still recovering from Saturday's long run, but I was up several times last night with the baby and calls from work, and I'm sure that didn't help. Outside of heel continues to be tight with no pain.

12 easy, 7:29 avg.

12 easy, no watch. 7:30 estimate.

Half-marathon at MP. I parked my car on the levee with some cups of Powerade on the trunk and took some GUs with me. The wind was howling, so hitting pace was out of the question. The weather has been nice to me up to this point.

I used a 2-mile stretch for out and backs. Took a cup of Powerade every 4 miles, and GUs at mile 3 and 10. Taking Powerade was not smooth.

1:16:15 for 5:49 avg. Splits: 5:35, 5:54, 5:44, 5:55, 5:36, 5:47, 5:48, 6:01, 5:44, 5:52, 6:01, 6:10, 5:34.

Had mostly a tailwind on the 2-miles out, and headwind on the way back. The wind beat me up. I eventually had to stop caring about splits and just run by feel.

PM - 4 recovery, no watch.

Day off

8 easy + 8 x 200m levee sprints.

8 stroller miles. No watch, beautiful day.

4 x mile @ HMP (1:00 rests), 2 miles @ MP, 2 x 30s sprint

5:17, 5:17, 5:15, 5:12

11:21

Nice morning. Low-60s with about 100% humidity, but with the cool temps it wasn't a big deal. A light cross wind that didn't really impact me. I felt really, really good. Although MP is still an awkward feeling for me. It's right at the pace where I want to get up on my toes, but I've been teaching myself to run it more midfoot. I don't think my calves will handle 26 miles of forefoot strikes. Also MP is low enough intensity that I tend to relax too much to the point that suddenly I'm running 6:00 pace. Effort-wise it doesn't feel much different.

But enough rambling. Everything felt great this morning.

10 recovery, no watch.

8 easy, no watch. 

1 week to go.

3 miles warmup, 1 @ HMP, 4 @ MP, 1 @ HMP. 1:00 rests

5:10

22:36 (5:43, 5:40, 5:35, 5:38)

5:15

I've been trying to teach myself to run midfoot at MP, but I think that's a mistake. I've had a bit of quad soreness the last couple weeks, and it seems to be from trying to force my form in this way. My quads started to complain in the first 2 miles of the MP segment, and overall it was uncomfortable. I went up on my toes the last couple miles, and I went faster while working less. I'm concerned my calves won't hold up to that much pounding in the real thing, but I have a gut feeling I'm going to wear out faster if I run flat on my feet.

rest

8 easy, no watch. Feeling an extra spring in my step with the taper. The forecast for Louisville on Saturday is showing 45-50 F with <5 mph winds during race time. That's a dream. Hope it stays that way. 

4 x 1k @ LT pace. Started off a little sluggish but then got into it.

3:28, 3:19, 3:15, 3:18 for average of 3:20.

6 easy. I feel so lazy. Fresh, but lazy.

4 easy with 4 x 30s pickups to MP.

AM - 3 easy. Hit the road yesterday and stayed the night in Birmingham. It helped to get a few in this morning to unkink the legs.

PM - 10 minutes easy with some short pickups. Again trying to wake the legs after the rest of the drive up to Louisville. Stopped at Iroqoise Park to get a feel of the hilly sections of the race for this shakeout.

Wow. I've been talking about getting into marathon running for years, and I finally knocked off the first one. I'm ecstatic. The race really could not have gone any better.

Erica and the kids came with me, and we took a long 2-day trip to get up to Louisville. I liked this approach. It's driveable in a day from home, but it split up the trip for the kids and gave me a chance to run the drive out of my legs between days. 

The weather was pretty close to perfect. It was around 45 degrees at the start and I don't think it was above 50 when I finished. We had a little wind, maybe 5-10 mph, which was head-on from about mile 15 to the finish. I set my "A" goal to sub-2:28, but I made my race plan to try to guarantee a sub-2:30, and anything faster would depend on a strong 2nd half.

In the first couple miles I found a pack of HM'ers running dead on what I wanted to hit, and they towed me through the first 9 miles in about 5:38-5:39 average. I didn't have to think and they broke any wind that happened to swirl its way in front of us. The course heads through Churchill Downs and the two groups split just after. I was all alone from there and stayed alone all the way to the finish. My left calf started complaining somewhere around mile 5, which is awfully early even by my calves' standards.

I had no idea how many guys were in front of me. I couldn't see anyone, though I figured there had to be a pack up there somewhere. Miles 9-11 continued straight and flat, and I pretty much stayed on pace. I did hit 5:31 on mile 11 and had to remind myself not to go crazy. The first 11 miles were a breeze.

Miles 12-16 headed through hilly Iroqouis Park, and I was bracing for some difficult climbs. The course map calls the first in mile 12 a 240 foot gain over less than a mile, but I found myself cresting it and dropping over a short downhill when I was still expecting it to get worse. I'd budgeted roughly 12:00 over miles 12 & 13, depending on how the hills fell, and I ended up with 11:47. Awesome, gained a few seconds against my game plan. I reached the half in 1:14:36, about 20s ahead of the plan. I was starting to feel the race, but I was getting excited about how good things felt. Left calf was letting me know it was there, but it wasn't getting worse.

Cruising over the remaining rollers and dropping out of the park I was hoping to open up a little from 16-20. But as I rounded mile 15 the wind hit me in the face. It felt strong. The rest of the race would be directly into it, and my conservative gameplan called for not making brave dashes into soul-sucking headwinds. I just focused on maintaining effort. The focus on effort yielded good things, and I continued to notch a good number of on-pace miles.

Mile 17 was one of my planned Powerade stops, but there weren't any volunteers there. I almost ran past it without noticing, but managed to grab a cup at the last second. In my tiring state, I sloshed most of it into my nose and eyes and had to groan out loud at my own clumsiness that had me blinded 9 miles from the finish. My paper cup drinking skills haven't improved since my last practice with them.

Somewhere in 18-20 I passed a Kenyan who had blown up. He looked to be in rough shape. Somewhere after that a spectator told me I was in 4th, and not seeing another body anywhere in sight figured that's where I'd end up. Finishing top-3 was my secondary goal. See, 3rd place is in the money and 4th place isn't. 3rd place good, 4th place bad. It's common sense.

At mile 20 I did another self assessment. All systems seemed to be in decent shape. I felt okay. My left calf was more tender, but other things were getting tender too, and it all seemed to balance out. I didn't have to poo (thank you Imodium), my breathing was regular, I had no sideaches or calf cramps or any of the other nightmares that reach up through the pavement and steal the souls of noobs and veterans alike. The pounding was getting to me, but the wall was nowhere to be seen and I considered making a big push to the finish. Maybe I could hit 5:35s all the way home. But since I was in uncharted territory and still had the wind in my face, I opted to stay on the current pace. If I still felt good at 23 I could try some bravado.

I didn't feel good at 23. 23 sucked. 23 put me up the last hill and battered me with the strongest headwinds of the day. 23 had me thinking I'd be looking at 6:00s+ the rest of the way and be lucky to make my #1 goal of cracking 2:30. Seriously, 23 kicked my butt. This wasn't the wall, but my calves and hammies were letting me know they didn't have much left.

24 had a nice downhill that kept my spirits up, but it was what I saw in my view from that hill that turned those final miles around for me. I saw blood. I saw skinny legs off in the distance that weren't churning nearly fast enough. How could I not have seen him before now? Because he's going backwards. Fast. 4th place bad. 3rd place good. It was plenty of motivation to get to work. So I worked.

I focused on form. I focused on relaxing my face. I focused on not being a pansy. I focused on how disappointed I would feel, even if I ran minutes faster than my goal, if I didn't catch this guy who was sitting right there for the taking.

Somewhere before 25, I got him. He offered no resistance. I figured he was toast, but knowing there's a really fast guy within striking distance was enough to keep me running scared all the way home. I couldn't glance back at any point out of fear that my legs would give out.

On reaching 25, the elation started to come. I was going to finish this thing. The final 1.2 my calves and hammies threatened to cramp. I could feel them still clenched at points of my stride when they should be loose. I turned down the final bend to the finish, did a few fist pumps, and crossed in a very happy and very delirious state.

The hammies seized up almost immediately and stayed that way for a good 10 minutes.

I'm elated. Training has gone very well these last few months. After the Houston Half I gave myself a fairly critical review of my training up to that point (and I still feel that review is correct), but since then I would rate my training an A-. There is almost nothing that I would have changed since then.

Days like this I'm grateful to be a runner.

Splits:

4 easy, new shoes. Legs not sore but not 100%  yet.

4 easy

6 easy

6 easy

6 easy + weights. Started a gym membership to work on strength this summer. I'm horribly weak. 3 sets of 5-6 each on squats (95 lbs), deadlift (95 lbs), bench (115 lbs) and chin-ups. It's really sad how badly those squats wrecked me.

Off

8 easy. My legs are starting to feel pretty good again.

6 on the levee with 5 x strides. Kept the pace honest, but no watch.

Did not run due to excessive laziness.

8 miles fairly moderate. No watch. 5 x strides.

6 easy, no watch.

10 steady, including 8 x 200m levee sprints. 6:43 avg. Dew point was 75F, and it didn't feel too bad. That's promising.

Added weights later.

10 easy

8 miles steady. I heard someone call this type of run an "aerobic builder," and I like that phrase. I ran about 1 mile very easy, then dropped to ~6:30 pace through 4 miles, then 3 miles in 6:04, 5:54, 6:00. Final mile included 4 x strides. Avg pace = 6:28.

The humidity was about as high as it gets this morning. The 3 miles at 6:00 pace were a little out of my comfort zone thanks to the heat, but overall this was a nice stimulus. 

2 miles to the gym, lifted squats/deadlift/hips, then 6 more. 7:24 avg.

12 moderate. 7:50 opening mile and 6:51 overall avg. Got a sprinkling of rain in the middle that kept me cool. Skipped strides since my legs are a little sore from lifting and I don't want to add too many stressors all at once.

8 easy, no watch. Estimating ~7:00 avg.

12 easy, 7:14 avg.

I met up with the Power Miler club for their Tuesday workout. Been wanting to do this for a long while. My wife and kids are out of town, so was a good opportunity to do it.

Their workout was a fartlek with 2 sets of 3-2-2-1-1-1 mins on w/ 45s rest, and 3:00 between sets. I was thinking we'd more or less cruise the segments since it's very early summer, but they really hammered them. I haven't checked my Garmin data yet, but I'm estimating close to or under 5:00 pace for the "on" portions.

I fell off the pace after the first set. I'm just not ready to run that hard, especially not in the heat/humity. It was 88/73 at the start of our run. I overheated early and the second set was a death march.

10 very, very easy. I am totally wiped out from last night, and this run was brutal just to get through. Shoes were squishy by mile 6. Estimating >8:00 avg.

8 easy + 4 x strides.

12 easy. No watch, but estimating 7:15 avg.

10 in 6:49 avg.

6 easy, 7:22 avg.

12 easy in 7:08 avg. 4 x sprints.

Evening run with the local group. This workout fit better into my summer plans.

Met at the Lakefront to do hills. 3 sets of 4 x bridge with about 2:1 rests between reps, and about a mile between sets at 6:20-6:30. I'm guessing the bridge was ~300m. It rained today and knocked down the heat a little and made things bearable. 

6:53 average for the run.

AM - 12 miles easy. No watch, but tried to keep the pace honest. Estimating 7:15-7:20 avg after a very slow first mile.

PM - 4 very easy. Estimating 8:00 avg.

Moderate run with 3 in 6:06, 6:03, 5:57. I tried for 4, but the first mile of the pickup I must have still been warming up and only came through in 6:24. The effort was equivalent to the last 3.

Added 4 strides.

12 easy. Was aiming for a 7:00-ish pace but it turned into 7:30 avg on the nose.

Flew into Spokane last night. Ran the Liberty Lake loop from my bro's house. It's a big climb that beats me up. Love it. Only 13 on the watch, but it's a 1:48:00 death loop.

Rest

12 moderate. Warmed into it a couple of miles and averaged 6:42. Ran a good chunk of it around 6:20-6:30. Added 6 x strides and weights.

12 easy in Cle Elum. Hopped on a canal trail to keep it flat. 7:31 avg.

Came down with a stomach bug that's laid me out for the day. Hopefully will be back at it tomorrow.

Stomach was feeling better, but my legs still aren't under me. 8 super easy in over 8:00 avg.

12 easy. Took more time off than intended from being sick and traveling back to New Orleans. The heat/humidity was a brutal shock this morning after Washington, and I slogged through this one in 7:32 avg.

2 WU, 6 x 200m levee sprints, 2 miles steady, 6 x 200m levee sprints, steady cooldown. It was about 80F with 76F dew points this morning. The sprints felt great and I ran the steady miles in ~6:30 avg. 6:56 avg for the run.

I wanted to cruise this one on the faster side of things, and maybe finish up with a few miles around marathon pace. I didn't feel great so it ended up being a middle-ish effort. 6:59 avg with the last 4 around 6:50. 

Added weights in the PM.

Lazy

2 sets of 6 x 200m at City Park. 200m jogs between reps, 600m jog between sets. Swampy conditions with 80F air temp and 76F dew point.

32.9, 33.2, 32.6, 32.3, 32.8, 33.0

32.5, 32.1, 32.2, 32.5, 32.8, 31.3

Avg = 32.5

Not an overly stressful workout, but I was pleased with how it went. I was expecting about a second slower per rep.

City loop with some of the local guys. 7:07 avg, dropping to 6:35 avg for the final 4.6. It was outrageously swampy, even by New Orleans standards. I normally make it to mile 9 or 10 before my shoes go squishy, but I didn't even make 5.

AM - 12 recovery. No watch, but estimating 7:45 or so average.

PM - Weights

10 easy, 7:24 avg.

Skipped my morning run because I'm in the middle of a head cold. It will hurt the mileage this week, but I really needed the rest.

The local track club has a 4-part 2-mile race series alternating between road and XC courses. I missed the first one. Had a lot of fun with this one tonight. It was 89°F with a 77°F dew point coupled with poor footing and a poorly marked hilly course. Time is meaningless. I had low expectations due to the cold and general lack of sharpness from base building.

The usual suspects were there. The guy I respectfully refer to as "local hero" (LH) predictably took it out hard and I hung back with a small pack of HS students. Hit the 1/2 mile mark in 2:22 and was 5 or more seconds back of LH. After a bit I passed the guys in my pack and started working up to LH.

2 seconds back at the mile (4:56). The course was only marked by a painted line. White for the first mile, bronze for the second. Very poor choice of color for the second mile as it is the color of dead grass and was practically invisible. Literally invisible for my colorblind training partner. 2nd mile used the hills in the park (woohoo!) and I moved up to LH's shoulder. Around 1.5 miles we lost the bronze line and wandered around for a bit trying to find it. Resumed chasing LH. Tried to get around him but the course was too tight. Finally got by him before the final turn and opened up full throttle. I got a jump on the sprint and thought I had him. But he creeped past my right shoulder about 30m out and took the win.

Quick takes:

- Lots of fun in this low-key race. I was happy to hang with LH since he's in decent shape and I'm in base building mode, though he clearly has a gear that I can't quite match. Will have to try to gain control of the race for the next one before we hit the hills.

- I was really pleased with my kick. I lose a lot of places in the final kick, but this was one of my better sprints. It was nice to find my top gear and see what it could do. 

- I never felt terribly uncomfortable. I thought a short race like this in the heat would be brutal, but I felt strong all the way. There's more in there. I think the increased strength from weight lifting is peeking through.

AM - 12 recovery. 7:53 avg. Was hoping to push the pace a little this morning, but I felt terrible after the first 2 miles and only managed 8:00+ from there. Likely a dehydration issue from last night's race. 

PM - 4 very easy. Likely 8:00 avg. Still not feeling good.

Still wasn't feeling well and skipped the morning run. I was feeling good by evening and snuck out for a decent effort. 2 miles easy, 8 miles averaging ~6:00 (6:14, 6:01, 6:00, 6:07, 6:09, 5:51, 5:54, 5:46), + 5 x strides. Felt great. 6:24 avg for the run. 80F air, 77F dew point.

6 easy. No watch.

12 medium. 6:56 avg overall, last 10 in ~6:40. Started at 7:54 and worked down to <6:30.

Levee sprints in a downpour. Thankfully there was little lightning, and the rain was mostly welcome. It was certainly nice to not have heat be my limiting factor today. 76°F air/76°F dew point.

2 sets of 8 x ~200m levee sprints. Ran 4 miles between sets. It was supposed to be medium effort rest, but medium ended up around 7:05 avg. I felt pretty strong throughout.

PM - Weights

AM - 10 recovery. I slept in and missed the pre-dawn hours. Had to cut the run a little short due to overheating.

AM - 12 easy, 7:27 avg. I wanted to log a few miles close to 6:00 pace, but my body rejected that idea after a mile of moderate acceleration. 

PM - 6 easy,7:29 avg.