I am one with the levee and the levee with me

AM - 3 wake-up miles this morning. 21:43 total time.

Later - Did a 4-mile tempo down the river trail in 21:45. Didn't have the time to go the full 5, so I warmed up 1.5 miles and started a little ways down from 800 N. Since the run was shorter, I wanted to push it at 5:20 pace, but I was still feeling tired from Saturday's race and 5:20 was too hard. Plus I had to go through all the tunnels -- that added a few seconds.

I started fine; the first half was 2:40 and I felt good and relaxed. The next half was through the tunnels, 2:45. Mile 2 was 5:21 and I reached the turnaround in 10:46, but I felt like I lost all my momentum and my legs felt like lead and Mile 3 was 5:35. I tried to regroup a little and got up on my forefoot more and managed 5:24 for the last mile. Once I got my momentum back it didn't feel too bad, but I was definitely still feeling the race.

60 lunges and 50 pushups after the run... I've been doing these after nearly every hard day.

Splits:

5:25

5:21 (10:46)

5:35 (16:21)

5:24 (21:45; 5:26.25 avg.)

I haven't had a chance to run yet today, but I went to talk to Coach Eyestone today, and he had some really good things to say. He says if I can get under 15:00 in the 5k, I'll be in a good position for XC. My 15:36 converts to about 15:16 at sea-level, so I don't have too far to go. He also encouraged me to find a sea-level race where I can really go for that barrier, so I'm starting my search. There's a UW/WSU dual-meet in Pullman, WA... not sure about the altitude, but I'll be in the area that weekend. I think Oregon also has one that weekend -- either one should produce some fast times.

PM - 10 miles up Hobble Creek Canyon... absolutely loved the weather. For some reason, rain and clouds put me in a good mood. 1:10:43

AM - 5 miles early this morning, not much to report on. 35:43

Later AM - Headed to the track for a speed workout. It didn't go well. I did 8x400 with 1:30 rests in a 65.7 average, and my body was shutting down on me right from the start. I had planned to start at 65 and cut down to 62, but it was all I could do to maintain 65s. My body did not want to work today, so even though I had more planned, I agreed with myself that rest was needed. I hate not finishing a workout, but there was no point in continuing.

I thought that two workouts and a race would be a good idea... guess I was wrong.

So in other news, here are my options so far for a lower-altitude race:

April 25 - 26: Oregon relays - 400 ft
May 2: Boise state -- 2700 ft
May 3: WSU/UW dual meet, Pullman -- 2500 ft
Pacific University Twilight -- 195 ft, not sure about the competition level here

2500 ft is a little higher than I'd like, but maybe that altitude isn't an issue for times.

AM - 8 easy miles down the river, 7:20 pace avg. I think it's time for new shoes, these ones are starting to give me aches. 

AM - 3 easy miles this morning, I'm starting to feel more rested. Should be ready to go tomorrow.

I bought a brand-spankin' new pair of the Brooks Switch yesterday. They were $15 cheaper than the Adrenaline, and I fell instantly in love with them. However, I'd like to observe a moment of silence in memory of my old Adrenaline's, they have been good, faithful friends through many, many miles, now doomed to a miserable state of disuse and dust....

PM - 8 more easy miles around Springville. Did about a 20 second pickup at 5k pace to get the legs moving.

Woke up the legs in the morning with an easy 4 miler and arived at Weber State about 2 hours before the race started.

I have mixed feelings about this race.... it wasn't bad but it certainly wasn't my best. Only 5 guys raced, and I thought I could challenge for the win, but I ended up running alone for most of the race and not running as hard as I needed to.

The pace was quick at the start, my first quarter was 73, the leaders 72, and I was trying to maintain contact. Last week's winner, Brian McKenna, and another BYU hopeful who beat me last week pulled away from me in the second lap, and like last week, I let them get too much on me. I went through 1600 in 5:00, they were 4:50, and by this time I was well into no-man's land, holding onto third.

The BYU hopeful dropped the pace well into the second mile, and I caught him by the 3200m mark in 10:01, another 5:01, not bad and I'm still feeling good. At this point, however, I chickened out from going after McKenna. He had 10 seconds on me, I knew I had second place locked in, and it just seemed like too much distance to make up.

So I slowed a little, running the next 800m in 2:38. I covered the final 800m in 2:30 with a final time of 15:44. McKenna finished in 15:30, which certainly wasn't out of reach with a mile to go. I'm kicking myself now for not gutting it out and going after him, so I just need to learn from my mistake and move on. I race him again next week, I want to forget about time and splits and just go after him.

So, like I said, not a terrible race, but a ways from my best.

Splits:

5:00

5:01 (10:01)

5:08 (15:09)

0:35 (15:44)