M'kay

16 miles in 2:20:56, 8:48/mi, HR 143 (4 miles road & 12 miles trail) & stretching.

My very first back-to-back long run days.  Okay, so today might not appear too terribly long to some and the total for both was only 40 miles, but considering that my legs didn't want to run 16 feet today much less 16 hilly miles, I'm chalking this up as a success.  Another 3600' of elevation change added to 5600' yesterday equals hamstrings and quads that stopped complaining....and working....hours ago.  Trying to wrap my head around the fact that an 8:48/mi average is probably okay for today's run.  Now what does the 3+ hours I spent mowing (more like haying) the lawn and the 2+ hours I spent pulling the yearly tractor maintenance qualify as?  All done before the run, because I knew it wouldn't get done afterwards.  I think tomorrow will be an easy day.

LM warmup (10 reps), 8 miles in 1:03:43, 7:58/mi, HR 139, PU/SU/Leg ladder (7/7/4) & stretching.

Legs feeling a bit beat up after the past 2 days, but after the first mile or so, warmed up nicely.  Even warmed up, they weren't going anywhere fast....wasn't sure I'd dip below the 8 min/mi mark until late in the run.  HR low, breathing fine, stride okay, but pace was on the slow side.  The weather mix was really strange:  sunny, cloudy, sunny & hot, gusty winds, cloudy, rainy, sunny, winds from the other direction, cloudy, winds from all directions, rainy, and finally hail.   Flirted with the idea of running hill sprints today to get back on schedule, but my left knee would hurt on the uphill stretches, so thought better of it.   

LM warmup (10 reps), 12 miles in ~1:32:00, 7:40/mi, HR 152, w/ 3.55 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 20 x 1 min on, 1 min off Fartleks, 3.25 mile cooldown.  1.5 mile walk w/ dogs & stretching.

I set out on this run 3 different times and was confronted with hail all 3 times within the first minute or so.  Finally just went and thankfully it didn't last too terribly long (and was pretty small).  Hit the repeat portion feeling pretty good....that didn't last long.  These repeats were hard, I'm guessing because the first 17 were mostly uphill.  Even though the grade wasn't too bad, it seems to make a big difference in perceived effort and therefore pace. Last week's 1 min on fartleks in very flat VA felt fast but pretty easy....kept breathing rhythm below the redline and the legs felt okay throughout.  Today, legs felt trashed after the first few were done, breathing hit the redline by the 30 sec mark generally, and I flirted with the serious pain zone for most of them.  I'm sure the neighbors are all wondering what the heck I was doing out there....my face was likely a reflection of the agony I was feeling, complete with spit and snot on display for emphasis.  The cooldown miles were a forced march, fortunately downhill to make them bearable.  I guess the good news is that I covered 3.5 miles of distance during the "on" segments this workout, a tad more than the 3.42 I covered on this same workout April 6th.  

My feet thanked me today.  It's been a while since I've worn my lightweight trainers and they felt like cushioned gloves on my feet.  They just seem to fit and support in all the right places. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 8.1 miles in 1:03:00, 7:46/mi, HR 144, w/ 10 x 12 sec Hill Sprints, & stretching.

Today was a slog.  Out-waited most of the rain fortunately, but the run itself felt long and not easy.  The hill repeats felt pretty good though and the mile back from the hill sprint hill went by pretty quickly.  First hill sprints in a couple of weeks. 

LM warmup (10 reps), 12.01 miles in 1:29:54, 7:29/mi, HR 157, w/ 3 mile warmup, 2 x Strides/Drills, 3 x 10 min Tempo Intervals w/ 3 min rest (6:14/mi, 6:15/mi, & 5:59/mi), 3 mile cooldown.

Nice weather today.  Decent warmup, drills were fine (done on the grass today, which was dry enough).  Back on the normal rolling course for the tempo intervals.  First two intervals goal was 6:19/mi at half-marathon pace, so both those turned out a bit fast.  Last interval goal was 5:57/mi at 10K pace, so a bit slow but I was maxed out on that one....legs tying up and breathing redlined the last couple of minutes.  My mind really didn't want to do this workout today and kept trying to talk me into skipping it or eliminating the last repeat, so I had my hands full ignoring myself.  

Probably won't be running much the next few days...headed out to Eastern WA for daughter's college graduation.  The last four years just flew by.