M'kay

5.5 miles in 41:48, 7:36/mi, HR 147.

Legs felt better today but not quite 100%.  Right achilles acted up a bit....probably nothing.

Adrenaline 8s (Blue) - 287.93 miles.

3 mile warmup (with 1/2 mile at threshold pace) in 22:57, 7:38/mi, HR 160.  13.1 miles (13.26 mi by garmin) in 1:25:33, 6:32/mi, HR 168.  3.11 mile cooldown in 28:36, 9:12/mi, HR 133.

Good race today, stuck with my race plan, felt good throughout and finished strong with a new 42 second PR.  Arrived plenty early and got in a good 3 mile warmup with 1/2 mile at race pace in the middle on the river trail where the course ends.  Wound up getting my picture taken by the race photographers on the way out and back during my warmup so I should look fresh in the pics but also like I'm sandbagging!  Main goals for this race were to pace well, finish strong, average between 6:30 and 6:35 minute miles, and PR in that order.  Oh, and wore my new lightweight trainers, my version of "Fast Shoes".  Figured if having fast shoes worked for Cody, I'd give it a try.

Lined up a several rows back from the start (1/2 marathon and 4 mile start combined) and saw David Nelson from the blog a few rows up just before the start.  Started pretty much on time.  Splits according to Garmin:

• 6:37 - Working my way through people running slower than they were lined up...grrrr...
  
• 6:36 - Still a bit slow but not worried.  Feeling light and easy.
  
• 6:27 - Advantaged some small downhills.
  
• 6:31
  
• 6:21 - Some more downhills sections.  Onto the river trail with some turns.
  
• 6:26 - More turns but still feeling good so picked up the effort a bit.
  
• 6:43 - The "big hill" in the course...wanted to make sure I didn't overdo it and pay later.
  
• 6:21 - Made up some with the reciprocal downhills.
  
• 6:27
• 6:18 - Nice final downhill back to the river trail.  Fifth metatarsal on left foot starts to hurt.
  
• 6:25
  
• 6:29 - Left foot really hurting bad.  Glad this is only a half-marathon.  Some headwinds here, so I tucked in behind another runner for a short stretch, but mostly just pushed.
  
• 6:29 - Started the push to the end in the last quarter.  Uphill to the finish.
  
• 1:25 (0.26 mi, 5:29/mi pace by Garmin)

NB 903 - 58.41 miles.

5.5 miles in 40:50, 7:25/mi, HR 147.

Didn't mean to run this easy run so fast, especially after yesterday's race, but legs were itching to go.  Nice weather (sunny & cool @ 62F) so the grass gets cut later today before it's taller than I am.

Asics 2130 Blue - 52.26 miles.

4 miles in 29:58, 7:29/mi, HR 146.

Legs tired, especially the calves.  Still, managed a healthy pace.  This should make me tired enough to force tomorrow to be easier so that I'm well rested for Thursday's hard workout.  Plus, good practice running a bit more aggressively on tired legs.

Asics 2130 Blue - 56.26 miles.

6.5 miles in 48:58, 7:32/mi, HR 148.

Tired legs, nice sunny & pleasant day (64F).  

Adrenaline 8 - 510.68 miles.

3.93 miles in 30:04, 7:38/mi, HR 147.

Turned what was supposed to be my hard workout warmup into my secondary workout for the day....too many high-schoolers walking and gabbing on the track to have any chance of getting Yasso 800s in.  Will try again this evening.

NB 903 - 42.15 miles.

10 x Yasso 800 Workout.  16.26 miles in 1:58:59, 7:19/mi, HR 153.  30 minute warmup, 4.04 mi, 7:25/mi, HR 146.  10 x 800m repeats, w/ ~2:55 rest.  30 minute cooldown, 3.72 mi, 8:04/mi, HR 146.

My goal was to keep the repeats at 2:55 or under and to stay consistent.  Missed the mark on both accounts.  Average was 2:55.6 so not too far off on the average but I obviously faded towards the end, pretty badly on repeat 9.  Wound up taking a bit longer rest between repeats 6 & 7 to make some shoe adjustments (more on that later).  My legs felt tired early and they just got deader as the repeats progressed.  I tried various mental tricks to get more consistent speed out on the repeats with some success but not enough.  The fade on the last few was in the last lap.....I was on pace for the first 400m but faded on the second.  Workout pretty comparable to the 8 x 800s version I did in March but not as good as the one I did in April so more work still to be done just to get back to that fitness level.  There was a bit of an unfriendly crosswind/headwind that picked up later in the repeats and I did wind up running this in the evening after flipping the day's workouts but no excuses....should've been better.

The hot spot under my 5th metatarsal on my left foot appeared again and started getting painful so I tightened up the laces, which helped but didn't eliminate the problem so I need to investigate that further.  Only happens when wearing these lightweight trainers and running fast and long.....didn't occur on hill repeats so I think it crops up in longer intervals/races.

NB 903 - 42.15 miles.

6.5 miles in 49:24, 7:36/mi, HR 147.  

Sunny and warm (69F)..late start so mid-afternoon when I got started.  A bit of stiffness that worked itself out but the tiredness in my legs didn't and got worse the last couple of miles.  Poor sleep last night didn't help any (due to external factors, not yesterday's workout).

Adrenaline 8s (Blue) - 294.43 miles.

22 miles in 3:01:23, 8:14/mi, HR 150.

Ran from town up to Forest Road 1000 and up into the hills.  Turned out to be a long tough climb with some short downhills on the way out and reverse in return (except still tough).  Tired at the start...one of those days where early on you don't feel like you're going to make it even halfway, so I told myself just get to halfway (didn't want to mentally talk myself into a shorter distance).  Some of the hills were so long and steep that I wound up walking some segments so I'd be able to complete the distance.  Made it but my legs were toast by the halfway mark and the return just pounded them into jello.  Managed to smack my right knee against the gate on the way out, and despite the ice bath afterwards, my knee stiffened up later in the day.  Just glad to have this run in the bank....how do those ultra guys & gals go up hills twice this size?  Overall climb was from 800' up to 3400'. 

Asics 2130 Blue - 76.26 miles.