Step by step, mile by mile

AM - 10 miles, 6:13 pace. ran clockwise on the track so i could run on a fast course and not have to worry about the distance/pace being over-measured. was meant to be a long run, but there was 10-20mph winds the whole time and getting hit with that on the backstretch broke me mentally. probably for the best since my left ankle is pissed off about 5 miles of left turns now that it's over. i'd like to think if i keep doing it my ankle will get stronger and in a month i can do long runs on it no problem, but in truth a 400m lap probably isn't the loop meant for a long run. still, think i could have held that pace a lot longer if it hadn't been so windy

AM - 2-mile shakeout, 6:18 pace. ankle still felt a bit pissy the first mile but better the second, but i still felt the better move would be to let it breathe this AM. i think the chances of me feeling fine on tonight's shakeout are far better than it still troubling me so i'm not worried, no more long runs attempts on the track though. i could have probably ran the same pace at hilton yesterday considering how easy 6:18 felt this morning, albeit just thirteen minutes of it.

PM - 6, no watch

AM - ~5 mile w/u, 8 x 200m w/ 200m jog rec in anywhere from 60 to 90 seconds. ran 28.9 on the first one, 30.3-30.9 on the next 6 and 31.5 on the last one. c/d for 10

that last repeat probably would have been another high 28, but the last ~40m the lactic acid finally overtook me to the point where i was reduced to jogging the final few meters. short rest is no joke; faster than i thought i'd run though. pretty sure the ankle is fine so should hit weights after my nap. found a loop on the warmup i might try for my next long run 

PM - weights

PM2 - 6 miles, 6:25 pace. ran the first 2 miles in 12:30 because i felt great then eased up a bit. feel like i'm gonna make a big breakthrough when i bother to be consistent with my mileage lol. at least i'm on the ball on workout days.

AM - 6, no watch. feels like i'm just a couple sessions away from not being capped in mileage the next morning.

PM - 4 miles after work, 6:26 pace. i was cold, tired, and, most importantly, hadn't eaten in 12 hours so stopped 2 miles early. stomach was/is hurting after, hopefully that's gone by the time i lace them up tomorrow morning.

AM - 8 miles, 5:59 pace. still felt a little tired, but figured with all these runs in the 6:15-6:35 range lately i'd see how much more effort it'd take to get these down to the 5:50-6:10 range. turns out not much. aerobically it was super doable; my legs just need to get a little bit stronger. average HR was 134!!! considering 4 months ago i was averaging probably 7:20's on my easier runs i think it's conceivable that this could be the normal "non-workout run" pace by the time i'm getting ready to race in early febuary. 

PM - off. legs feel alright but figured i'd give them a little extra rest for the workout in the morning. maybe i'd be better off running to loosen up. oh well, i'll go hard tomorrow

AM - 6, 6:08 pace

realized as i was driving to northport for my workout that i work next wednesday and friday, so i'd have to shift my workouts next week back a day, which means i'd shift my long run to tomorrow, and obviously i don't wanna run a workout the day before that. i guess i could tell myself yesterday was a workout so i don't lose too much sleep over it. gonna hit at least 20 miles tomorrow or die trying

AM - 12 miles, 6:31 pace. didn't die trying to hit 20, but felt like it. i ate light yesterday and not much for breakfast, plus i started way too late and it was already in the 70's by 30 minutes in. wanted to gut it out but those last 2 miles i could feel myself on the precipice of spiraling. pace should have still been a little faster but i was trying a new ~3000m loop and i'm still figuring out all the fastest tangents, smoothest hills, etc. , as opposed to hilton where i could probably run that 1200m loop with my eyes closed with how many times i've done it. haven't ran many hills lately, they're a nice touch to the run.