AZ Run Dad

9.59 miles: Got out really early so we could watch the marathon as close to live as possible. I didn't like running in Show Low in the dark. The street wasn't lit very well and you never know what animals you'll run into (today skunk and yesterday fox). Didn't feel great today but I got it in and didn't push at all (I could tell I couldn't have if I wanted to. I was really happy when this run was over and I'll be okay with no hills for a few days. Avg. 7:27 pace

AM #1: 8 miles without looking at the watch.  Had it on but didn't peek.  I didn't feel great Sunday so I wanted to run off feel today.  I ran easy and my legs felt good.  Avg. 7:03 pace.

AM #2: 4.65 miles easy.  Since I run so early I can get run #2 in at 9:30 and still get 5.5 hours between the end of my first run and the start of my next run.  No watch on this one.

AM: 12 miles: Another tough workout. Warmed up about 3 miles including drills and strides then did 10 x 1k in 3:25, 3:26, 3:25, 3:29, 3:27, 3:26, 3:27, 3:28, 3:27, 3:24. The goal was 3:30 so I was a little fast. I did 200m jogs in between each one in 1:05-1:10. This was a long and mentally tough workout. It felt really hot this morning as well (probably because it was). I'll take it though. Good solid workout for the half marathon. On a side night I signed up for CIM last night so I'll be giving the marathon another shot.

PM: 4 miles easy on the way home from work.  Hottest run of the summer.  Great day for the US at the Olympics!

10 miles easy avg 7:14 pace. Elected for a single longer run this morning. Running in the afternoon is getting so tough because of the heat and I just wanted a break from it. I was happy to just be done for the day after work.

About 12 miles avg. 6:23 pace. Did 7 miles at about 6:45 pace then went straight into a 5 mile tempo. Splits were 5:53, 6:00, 5:52, 5:51, 5:50. The tempo part felt somewhere between half marathon and marathon effort. I really wanted to feel in control and I did so I'm happy with this one. Overall I fellt pretty good today despite these insane running conditions. It was 116 yesterday! I read a very interesting article on the marathon training approach of Renato Canova last night from the latest issue of Running Times. I recommend it.

8 miles w/12 x 200 w/200 jogs. I did this on the street in front of my house so I set the Garmin to auto lap at .13. Just a tad longer than 200. Splits were all 33-34 which I where I was aiming. I love 200 workouts because they make you feel fit and fast with little wear on the body. I warmed up three miles and cooled down 2 miles. Good workout today!

I had a day off of running yesterday which usually completely freshens me up but I was still a little tired and unmotivated this morning. Yesterday I spent some time looking at my past training and it helped me to realize some things about my current training. Last year in the fall when I was setting a lot of PRs I was running 55-65 miles per week and I remember feeling really good. As I worked my way up to the marathon in the spring a had 5-6 weeks in the mid 80s and I peaked at 90. When I came back from the marathon a couple months ago I was back in the 80s after four weeks and I've been feeling tired. I am not the high mileage that I think I am quite yet and it's starting to show up in how I'm feeling. Just because I ran a handful of weeks in the 80s for the marathon doesn't mean that that should be my normal mileage now. I think I'm better off with 70-75 right now building up towards 90 as I peak for the marathon in the fall. Also, it's extremely hot here and running some of the doubles I was doing may have been doing more harm than good. Anyway, I'm glad I realized this now before I experience total burnout. I will be cutting back next week with a half marathon but I hope to find a nice weekly mileage on the 70s that doesn't tire me out. Always learning!