I only run on days that end in a "y."

Happy New Year everyone.

 Ran the 8 mile loop from my house with the killer hills on the last 2 miles.  Had a good pace going but needless to say I faded on the hills.   I figured with a full 7 days off my legs would be raring to go and they were until around mile 5-6.  Not sure when I will be 100% again but this is getting old.  Almost a full month since the marathon.

7:50's AP for the run.

Got some free time so headed to the gym.  I ran 8 miles on the treadmill - which was good for me since I could force myself to stick to a steady and easy pace.  Most at 7:53 - 8:10 pace.  Legs felt a bit sore at first but it was a good run.  I think that my red Kinvara's are shot cushioning wise and that has been part of my issue as of late.  I am retiring them.

I ordered the Saucony cushioned version of the Kinvaras for long runs and recovery runs.  It will be interesting to see how they work out.

Chilly am - temps in low 30's.  I ran the hilly out and back from the house. Hopefully I can get some solid mileage in this week and then start going back to the workouts next week.  7.25 miles - AP 8:15.

Woke up a bit early with enough time for a quick run before needing to be home to get the kiddos ready.  Going out at lunchtime for a nice double.  Legs feeling better day by day.  2k repeats tomorrow - should I or shouldn't I?

 Quick 5.2 mile run at lunchtime on a soft park trail - had to run it twice.  AP 8:06.

I decided I would take the leap and do a hard workout.  I figured even though my legs have not been feeling that great that surely they must be fully recovered by now.  Besides, I have found sometimes what my legs need is a good hard workout to make them all better.

I showed up at the group this morning.  There is a separate Boston training schedule that differs from the regular group.  After the coach cut that group loose there were only 10 or so of us left.  I looked around and was worried - it looked like I would be running by myself because no one else would be running faster or at my training paces.  I thought about the 3 months to come and how this could be a very long and lonely training period.  Fortunately Russ showed up at the last minute. He is a super strong runner.  Even though my marathon PR is faster it is not due to a lack of talent.  Russ can throw down a 3:05-3:10 marathon on 4 days a week of training and minimal mileage.  So I think we will both benefit from each other - I am trying to talk him in to committing the time to training to run a sub-3 and he can push me in the workouts.

We did a warm up to Zilker park and then 4 x 2ks on the road around the park.  I guess the time off did me well because 2 and 3 are the fastest 2Ks I have ever run I think.  The 4th was painful and I fell off due to lack of aerobic conditioning.  I know it will come back in a couple weeks though.  Russ took off and finished 15 seconds in front of me on the last one.

1.5 miles warm up to Zilker at 8:20 pace.

1. 2k in 7:38 (6:08 pace)

2. 2k in 7:16 (5:51 pace)

3. 2k in 7:23 (5:56 pace)

4. 2k in 7:32 (6:03 pace)

1.5 easy @ 7:30 pace back to the annex.

Went out for a recovery run - 7 miles in 60 minutes for 8:34 AP.  Hit some good trails that I have not been on before so it was somewhat of an adventure.  I have a hard time getting my legs to slow down the cadence on the the open road though - running 8:00-8:10s before looking at my watch and slowing down.  

Tried out the Cortanas today.  The jury is still out.  They are definitely roomy.   I had to stop a couple time to tighten up the shoe laces as my feet were moving around.  Definitely pretty well cushioned and only 2 more ounces heavier than the Kinvaras.  The plan is to wear them on my easy days and some long runs.  Hopefully it will reduce a bit of the pounding, which in turn should lead to quicker recovery and the ability to run more miles.

The group did a point-to-point course today.  It's a great course but always a hassle arranging a ride back and finding a group to run with.  The groups tend to get splintered and I usually find myself running alone.  

I met up with a small group for 16 miles and ran with them for 2 before picking up the pace.  From then on I was by myself but passed a lot of runners that had started and different times and different starts depending on how many miles they were running.  

 All in all it was a solid run and a good week.  The legs are feeling good again. The last 2 miles were hard but expected at this point.

8:42, 8:23, 7:12, 7:22, 7:25, 7:10, 7:12, 7:16, 7:16, 7:24, 7:12, 7:03, 7:05, 6:41, 6:58, 6:59, .25 @ 6:30.