my makeup may be flaking

It was really cold so I did a kind of weak sauce fartlek. Basically I would start running fast for a bit and then gradually peter out to a jog. Kept that up for like 4 miles.

AM 12.9 miles

Figured if I'm not going to run fast I should at least go far.

College football playoff 5k. The winner got two tickets to the national championship game, essentially a $3000 prize for first place (men +women). So even though it was cold (about 25F) at the start, there was plenty of competition.

I got out really slowly and was in about 50th place at the first turn. Moved up to catch a big pack of women at the mile (5:20), including 2:43 marathoner Lacey Krout. The men's leaders were looooong gone as 8 guys were through the mile in sub 5 and the leaders were probably sub 4:30. First mile was very downhill and thus really fast.

I caught Bridget Lyons (1:13/2:35 elite woman+UGA grad) just after the mile, but she was having none of that and surged. We stayed together for about half a mile until I took the lead going up a slight hill. The only person within striking distance was another woman wearing Clemson gear. I hit the second mile in 11:04, Bridget and I passed the Clemson woman. She was now in 1st place and I was still just some schmuck.

We saw Allie at about mile 2.2 and she cheered for Bridget, prompting her to surge ahead of me again. The last mile of this race manages to be all uphill so the time was slow. Bridget and I went back and forth a little bit before she put on the after burners in the last 400m. She ran 17:23, I'm not really sure what my time was yet, but I was only a couple of seconds behind.

Men's race was won by Rob Mullet (a 2016 olympian from the UK) in 14:40.

4 by Mile on beltline in 5:32 avg 

38.5,38.0,34.9,35.1 

Dist	Time	Pace	xDist	xPace
2.85	17:52	6:16	2.99	5:59
1.93	12:25	6:26	2.08	5:58
1.14	7:26	6:31	1.19	6:15
2.45	15:30	6:20	2.57	6:02
1.70	10:16	6:02	1.73	5:56
10.07	1:03:28	6:18	10.57	6:00

10 miles at 6:18 pace. Nice temperature, but a little damp out which made things slippery. 

Crazy race. The starting line was 100meters wide like a cross country start. We even started out with a 400meter sprint across a huge field in Piedmont Park (the meadow) narrowing into a short steep hill. After that it was mostly road, winding through the park with bike marshalls yelling at each other to change the configuration as we navigated the different loops.

After the little climb I was in about 20th place but I could see a large lead group of 10 people. I fought like mad from about 500m to 1 mile to close the gap to the leaders. I picked off a couple of people dropping off the pack and had almost made contact when I reached the mile (5:34) in 7th place. The mile mark was at a top of a long hill and I guess this was the point that the top guys decided they were going to break it open. The top three guys pulled away, but I still managed to move into 4th.

Two guys stayed with me until about mile 2 (11:04) but then I started to open a little gap. I thought I would have a shot at sub 17 but somehow the last mile was really slow. Turns out most of the people I was running against were teens, which makes for an intense race.

3 by two mile with about 500m joggin recovery

11:45 (3:57, 3:57, 3:51)

11:43 (4:01, 3:51, 3:51)

11:48 (4:03, 3:56, 3:49)

4 by 900ish on beltline (3:13,3:17,3:07,3:15)

4 by 400 77, 79,74,78

4 by rhino hill

Had to stop running on the way to work because my foot hurt.

Ran down beltline hard in 10:49 (1.93 miles, 1.89 adjusted)

Traveling to England

Running in Bradford

Funeral

In car all day

3 by 2 mile in 11:59 (4:02, 4:00, 3:57); 11:45 (3:57, 3:57, 3:51) and 11:51 (4:00, 3:57, 3:54)

Then drills and strides.

4 by mile on beltline, wind was against me on the uphill (1,2,4) Also it was pretty muggy. 

36.4,35.1,35.0,34.3 

Track Attack!

3*(400-300-200) at Emory

Started with a few form drills.

1min/100m between 400 and 300, 1min standing rest between 300 and 200, then 2min/200m between sets.

Easy for me to say now, but my prediction was 74-75, 54-55 and 34-35

75.2, 55.3, 35.6

74.9, 54.2, 35.0

73.5, 55.4, 34.4

4.85 mile tempo run in 28:29

Up in 14:51 (9:09,5:42) down in 13:38 (5:15, 8:23)

Rained right before the workout so it was really nice.

4 by mile on beltline, wind was against me on the uphill (1,2,4) Also it was pretty muggy. 

37.3,36.4,36.4,35.6 

Track workout

8-4-2, 4-8-4, 2-4-2

Accidentally deleted the times something like: 2:40, 75, 35; 73, 2:41, 75; 34, 74, 35

It was a bit windy.

3rd straight intown 10k win. It was also my slowest of my three wins. I expected a bit more considering how well my recent workouts have gone.

Splits: 5:49, 5:45, 6:02, 6:17 (probably long), 5:59, 7:21

I ran alone the entire race. The 1st place women ran 38:04 and was the closest person to me. No one else broke 40mins. Previous years I had someone else to push me.

1600 5:33.1 (81,85,84,83)

90 secs rest

800 2:38.1 (78,80)

90 secs rest

400 74.7

Lap recovery

800 2:38.3 (77,81)

1600 5:35.5 (84,85,86,81)

800 2:40.6 (80,80)

Lap recovery

400 75.3

800 2:40.7 (80,81)

400 74.7

Friday night's all right for...a track workout.

3x(400-300-200) with 1min/100m rest b/w 4 and 3, 1min standing rest b/w 3 and 2. Then 200m/2min b/w sets.

73.8, 54.6, 34.1

74.9, 54.1, 33.9

73.2, 54.5, 33.4

4.5 mile tempo in 26:42

AM 5.5

PM 7.5 including 6 by 1000 with 90secs rest (3:23.0, 3:21.8, 3:23.2, 3:22.5,3:21.9,3:20.9)

Final ATL run.

Driveway Beach, Home ain't got no roof, Piedmont Bark, Noguchi Hellscape, Pondwater Collective, Walk sign is on the cross walk, GATech Fattie, Ponce Market, Brutalist Kroger, Your view is...a stapler, Alexander and Graham's factory, How about the roller derby?, Rhino hill, Stop for Tequila, Bollards, Barista Bus Stop, Jimmy Carter Cricket Stadium, Palcoholics, Disconcerting Median, Madame Lortab, Tattoo Lady, Bellring Guy, Elementary Hill, Can I Speak to that Homeless Guy's Manager?, Mailbox Impale, Oh **** a Roundabout, Extremely Large Otter, Sushi and Falafel?, Death Angel, Emory's Definition of Local, Church Waiting Room From 1992, Kill the Wabbit

East Ridge TN/GA

Lion's Park in Cheyenne

Murdock Canal Trail

Murdock Canal Trail

Murdock Canal Trail

Two loops of Green Lake (AKA piranha bay).

Overall it was 33:12 for 5.6 miles (5:56) pace. Almost entirely flat so no adjustment needed.

It's 2.8 miles for one loop (16:37,16:35) and the trail is markerd every .25 miles.

This means that there's a combination of mile and .8 mile splits

5:55, 4:40 (.8), 6:02,5:56,5:57,4:42 (.8)

AM 4.6

PM 9

Workout at Greenlake (there are splits every .25 miles!)

3 miles in 17:21

88,89,88,89,86,86,85,86,85,88,85,84

5 min rest

2 miles in 11:34

88,88,89,90,86,86,84,83

5 min rest

1 mile in 5:37

84,86,84,83

First ten mile tempo in seattle (actually 9.9, but I'm not sure that includes the 20 second stair climb). Started at Woodland Park, then ran to Green Lake, Ravenna, Burke Gilman Trial, Freemont Bridge, Westlake Trail to the Starbucks drive through at Lake Union Park (official finish line).

Total time of 61:38 (6:13 pace). Terrain is very flat and fast for the most part. There are a few downhills, but they are on gravel trails, as well as the aforementioned stair climb.

I took the following splits:

Start to Burke Gilman 4.76 in 29:49 (6:16 pace)

Burke Gilman 3.66 in 22:34 (6:10 pace)

Stairs+Bridge+Westlake: 1.47 in 9:14 (6:17 pace)

The bridge rises to allow ships to pass, and the barriers started coming down just after I had crossed, so I was fortunate that I didn't have to stop.In the future I'll need to leave earlier to ensure that I'm crossing the bridge prior to 9am (it was 9:10). 

4 by mile on Burke Gilman with 90 seconds rest

5:48, 5:52, 5:39, 5:37

Don't know what was going on with those first two.

2 x 3 miles at Green Lake

17:21 (87.89,89,89,87,86,86,88,84,86,86,83)

5 mins rest

17:13 (87,86,86,87,86,86,86,86,86,87,87,82)

Running back to Seattle from bellevue across 520.

Stopped at the montlake track to do 4 by 800 (2:39,43,44,40). Not a very good track.

First race as a Seattleite. This race is part of the Magnuson park series which has monthly, no-frills, races.

The course was an interesting mix of gravel paths, concrete, trails and grass. It kind of reminded me of the sort of 'cross country' courses that I would run in highschool. At the start a guy in black (not Teren) took off real fast and probably ran su 16. I was in a pack of 2-3-4 and it remained a close battle for 2nd the whole way.

Splits: 5:31, 5:39, 5:40, :31

Workout at queen anne track. The track, which is dirt turned out to be 370m not 400.

1850m in 6:33 (2k in 7:05)

lap jog

370m in 1:10 (400 in 76)

90 secs rest

740m in 2:28 (2:40)

90 secs rest

370m in 1:09 (75)

90 secs rest

740m in 2:29 (2:41)

lap jog

1480m in 5:03 (5:28)

AM I had a track attack this morning. Went to the Greenlake track (seattle track #3, dirt, danger of slamming headlong into people running the wrong way) for a short workit. I had forgotten my wibblies, but wibble enforcement was slacking this morning.

Did 6 by 400m with 90 secs rest.

75.4, 76.3, 76.9, 76.8, 75.3, 76.4

Then 3 by 200m with 200 recovery

35.1, 35.9, 35.1

14.1 Miles including 4 by 2 miles with .8 miles recovery in between.

12:00 (6:04, 5:56), 6:36 recovery

11:36 (5:50, 5:46), 7:04 recovery

11:34 (5:50, 5:44), 7:21 recovery

11:37 (5:53, 5:44)

4 by mile on Burke Gilman w/ 90 seconds rest.

5:53, 5:33, 5:42, 5:26

AM Woodland Park Track

4 by 800 w/90 seconds rest

2:41,41,41,38

5 min recovery jog

4 by 400 w/90 seconds rest

76,75,76,73

4 by piano hill

34.0,34.1,33.5,32.0

3-2-1 miles with 5 mins rest at greenlake

3 miles in 17:26 half miles splits=2:55, 2:55, 2:57,2:57.2:53, 2:49

2 miles in 11:33 86,86,87,88,88,86,86

 1 mile in 5:30 82,84,82,81

AM Greenlake Track

My patented bounce workout

16-8-4 w/90seconds rest in 5:37.0, 2:41.2, 77.7

lap recovery

8-16-8 w/90seconds rest in 2:41.1, 5:35.0, 2:42.0

lap recovery

4-8-4 w/90seconds rest in 77.4, 2:41.2, 76.1

AM 11.9 incl. 10 miles at 6:16 pace. It went ok, but I I think I'm a little fatigued from high mileage.

PM 3.4 miles running from UW home 

10 by .75 miles at Greenlake with .25 jogging recovery. This required about 3.5 loops of Greenlake meaning the 9th rep is actually about .79.

4:10,  4:15, 4:15, 4:16, 4:13, 4:15, 4:16, 4:14, 4:30 (slightly long), 4:17

A total of about 7.5 miles at 5:40 pace

Ran with some club northwest runners. 13.4 miles to the UW arboretum from Green Lake. Added on 4.8 miles running there and back.

AM 6.4

Tempo run on ship canal trail. Splits were all over the place.

At this point, I'm anxious to race again. It's months since I've been in a competitive race. On Sunday, I'm going to run Beat the Bridge 8k and see how I stack up against the local competition.

PM 9 miles. Lake Union/UW/RAvenna/Greenlake. Legs feel tired.

AM 5.4 miles Burke-Gilman. Stopped at Gasworks Park for some strides.

PM 4.6 miles home.

AM 9.8 miles

Track workout at Lower Woodland Park. Started with some plyos, then did 8 by 400m with 60 seconds rest.

76.6, 77.0, 77.4, 75.9, 77.8, 75.2, 77.0, 75.6

Then did the piano hillx4 34.7, 34.8, 33.0, 32.3

PM 4.6

After the magnuson park 5k, my goal was to run the same pace for 8k today, which suprisingly I did. I ran much faster than I thought my workouts indicated.

Warmed up about 2.5 miles to the startline from home w/ Allie. There were a ton of club northwest peeps doing strides and drills as well as some other fastees. I was feeling good doing warmups, but I also wasn't putting a ton of pressure on myself.

I lined up in about the 3rd row and when the gun went off I made no attempt to move up. I just wanted to try to go with the flow. There was a huge lead pack of about 20 guys in front with a few stragglers off the back, then a gap back to what I would call the chase pack. Pretty quickly we passed over a (non-eponymous) bridge which did not really agree with my skechers.

For the first mile, my breathing was good and my stride felt fine, but there was some burning in my legs that I hoped would go away. The lead group wasn't very far ahead so I was concerned that I had started too fast, but I think they were all just biding their time. First mile in 5:27, but it was slightly downhill. I definitely didn't feel comfortable, but I had a group of 3 other people to run with so I just decided to stick with them as long as I could.

After the mile mark we started to run up a slight hill, I was sticking right on the should of the guy ahead of me and breathing pretty hard. He kept side-eyeing me like "who is this joker", and I felt pretty sure that I was going to fall apart at any moment. Then we crested the hill and I started to feel a little better and push the pace. 5:36 for mile 2, 11:03 for 2 miles. This would be a pretty good 5k split for me, so I just told myself to just make it one more mile. I knew I could make it one more mile.

Right after the 2mile mark we cross the eponymous bridge and went up another very slight, but fairly length climb. I got dropped again by the 3 guys in my group and had to surge to catch back up, then lost them again. It was getting tough. We passed up one of the early leaders who had fallen off the pace, but now they were dropping me. We mercifully hit a downhill and I reflected that I was more than halfway done. 5:40 split for mile 3, 16:43 through two miles, I figured anything sub 17 would be good before the race.

When we got onto Montlake, I just started to churn my legs. I knew that I was in for a good time as long as I kept pushing. I passed one more person who was dropping back and then started to see the leaders coming back on the other side of the street, so I knew the turnaround (which was about mile 4) couldn't be far. Came to almost a dead stop at the turnaround and had trouble getting moving again. Passed one more person. No 4 mile marker, though, so I was unsure of my pace.

The last mile weaves through the UW campus and I didn't have a good sense of how much I had left. I picked off a couple more people, but never caught back up to my original group of 3 who stayed about 6-7 seconds ahead for the last 2miles of the race. Last 1.971 miles in 10:59 (5:34) pace.

This race was very hard, meaning I probably got about as much out of myself as I could. I think if I knew the course better I could have closed harder in the last 800m or so. At the same time, not knowing the course probably stopped me from overthinking things and just pushing.

Very happy with this race. I don't run a ton of 8ks, so I put it into Daniel's calculator. The VDOT is 60.7, equivalent to a 16:52 5k and 35:00 10k, which would both be PRs. Slightly inferior to my 3K PR still.

AM 4.6

My heart rate sitting at my desk was 43.

AM 8.6

4 by Mile on Burke Gilman w/90seconds rest

5:49, 5:40, 5:47, 5:34

Legs felt tired, I don't know why this workout is so difficult for me.

PM 4.6

AM 9

PM 4.6

AM 11 miles Track workout at lower woodland.

4 by 800m w/90 seconds rest

2:42.3, 2:41.6,  2:40.7, 2:36.4

5 min recovery w/ lap jog

4 by 400m w/60 seconds rest

75.1, 75.9, 74.3, 72.9

4 by piano hill

35.6, 33.8, 32.4, 32.0

PM 4.9 miles

Finish time is approximate for now.

Same course as the 5k a few weeks ago, so I felt pretty sure that I could beat my 15K PR (55:42 from 2014 SLCTC winter series). Course is somewhat challenging as there are many turns as well as gravel to contend with.

As I started out with the 5k runners, I got dragged along a little quickly to begin with: 5:45 first mile. After that I settled into a groove 5:53, 5:55, 5:55 for miles 2-4. My 5k split was aroung 18:10. Midway through the race I started to slip a little 6:01, 6:02 and then in the 7th mile I started hurting a lot on the steep climb: 6:08. When I saw that I knew I would have to refocus if I wanted a PR. Fortunately there was much more left in the tank 5:53 for mile 8 then 5:50 for mile 9. 5:33 pace for the final .321 miles.

Now the goal is to run this pace for the half marathon in two weeks (with some rest).

With club northwest (slow group) around Lake Union.

Day off, start of my taper for the Seattle Rock n Roll half. Went for a walk in Discovery Park.

AM 4.6 miles. Strangely sore today.

PM 4.6

AM Bounce workout

16-8-4 w/ 90 seconds resst

5:39.1, 2:43.3, 77.9

lap recovery

8-16-8 w/90 seconds rest

2:41.2, 5:39.7, 2:42.7

lap recovery

4-8-4 w/90 seconds rest

78.6, 2:40.7, 74.9

AM 9

PM 4.6

Although I broke 5k on the track last year, that was at an untimed all-comers meet.

I've had quite a few race performances that indicate sub 17 ability: the 17:23 in terrible conditions, my 35:16 10k, 27:42 8k, 9:34 3k, 17:05 at altitude. However, my workouts just haven't quite been there.

I resolved to go out hard in this race and hang on, which is not a very smart strategy but I though it would work for going sub 17 with my current fitness. I ran with Ari Schorr and Lance Thompson, two Club Northwest guys that said they were going to hit 5:15 for the mile. I was a little behind them at the mile and I got there in 5:13. I was really straining to stay with them as we had a nice group of about 4 but I just couldn't hack it. I just kind of died after that running 5:33 for mile 2 and then 5:35 for the last 1.107. Those splits aren't as bad they sound due to the terrain, but I definitely fell off the pace.

When I saw the clock at the finish line I strained real hard to get to the finish and I didn't think I had it until I saw the results just now. The finish of this race is about a 500-600m uphill into the sun (yikes).

After I was done I felt a little woozy, but still managed to cooldown with a few club northwest guys.

For anyone keeping score, that's 3 PRs in 3 races. It's especially encouraging that this race was run in far from ideal circumstances. I think that on the track, with fresh legs, I could take off a few more seconds.

14.1 Miles including 4 by 2 miles with .8 miles recovery in between.

11:49 (5:56, 5:53), 7:09 recovery

11:34 (5:47, 5:47), 7:33 recovery

11:35 (5:49, 5:46), 8:30 recovery

11:34 (5:49, 5:45)

AM 9.6 Short track workout

1600-800-400 w/ 90 seconds rest 5:38, 2:43, 74

4 by piano in 33.8, 31.1, 30.9, 31.2

PM 2.9

AM 6.4

4.34 mile tempo run on ship canal trail in 25:36 (5:54 pace). Although faster than last time, I gradually slowed down, possibly explained by a head wind the last two segments. However, it felt very difficult. Not sure I'm ready for a sub 6 minute pace half marathon. I think I may be in for a repeat of the Birmingham Half from last year.

PM 2.9 

Serious taper mode now.

That's 4 straight PRs! Given the difficulty of the course, I doubt I could have done much better.

Mile 1 6:20 (5:43 adjusted)

First mile had a ton of uphill. I knew that it would be slow ahead of time so I kept it pretty easy. Still, it ended up being faster than I needed. A ton of people around. I started running with someone in red singlet and a guy in a shirt that said "Elite runners and Sophie".

Mile 2 5:42 (6:01), 12:02 (1:18:42 projected finish)

In the second mile we lost pretty much all of the elevation gain from the first mile. Pretty steep downhill and I relaxed a ton. The two guys I was with took off, along with the lead woman. I ran with the 2nd and 3rd place women going down. This mile ended up being slower than I needed and I was behind goal pace.

Mile 3 5:56 (5:50), 17:58 (1:18:38)

I resolved to stay with the two women that I was with and so just followed them. We caught up to the 3 that had surged on the downhill. Another guy joined us and we formed a pack of 7 strong. I think we were places 9-16 in the half at that point. There were also two marathoners ahead of us.  At about mile 2.7 we took a hard right and hit about a 100m hill with about an 8% grade. That destroyed the pack, so I just stuck with the two lead women, now in spots 9-12.

Mile 4 6:03 (5:54), 24:01 (1:18:49)

The women slowed down ever so slightly, but I needed to speed up so I dropped them. Reach 5k in 18:37 in 9th place. I could see 8th place about ten seconds ahead. I could also see the 2nd place marathoner about 20 seconds up. Finally, the 6/7 place guys were about 30 seconds ahead. I couldn't see anyone else. This mile was one of my slowest miles and also the only one I ran alone.

Mile 5 5:55 (5:56) 29:56 (1:19:01)

I caught up to the 8th place guy (Simon Ong) just as I caught from behind by Allen OConnor. Both of these runners had crossed the start line after me so there were actually several seconds in front by chip time but I didn't know. I picked up the pace again, thanks largely to a flattening out of the course. My legs were starting to show the first signs of fatigue. This mile had the strongest headwind of the race.

Mile 6 5:56 (5:55) 35:52 (1:19:07)

Still running into the slight headwind. My legs were holding steady. I told myself that if I could make it through this mile I'd be over halfway, so fatigue was fine. At south lake union there was a machine setup that allowed you to give high fives to a bunch of diembodied hands. If you do then someone will donate some money to charity. Anyway, these things really hurt a ton. I would not recommend anyone doing that.

Mile 7 5:54 (5:37) 41:46 (1:18:37)

Now we turned back north again and had the wind at our backs. This had been my pre-determined point to surge and it worked out well. The 2nd place marathoner was coming back to us so I used him as a target. Hit 10k in 37:06 still leading a tight pack of 3. 7th place was only 15 seconds ahead at 10k, but had apparently also chosen that spot to surge as he started getting further away. 6th place was 45 seconds ahead. Top 5 were out of sight. This mile had the most significant climb since mile 1 and Allen surged by me. He clearly had the same idea about picking up the intensity. I tucked in behind for a few blocks and then took over again when we crested the hill.

Mile 8 5:51 (5:50) 47:37 (1:18:36)

Mile 8 was relatively flat and I picked up the pace again. We still had a slight tailwind. I knew that I needed to make these mile count due to the impending doom.

Mile 9 5:53 (5:56) 53:30 (1:18:45)

A switch back to another uphill and  slowed down a little. Allen again took the pace and I stayed right on him. I took over again as we crested yet another hill. I was hoping that this would be one of our fastest splits, but now we had a little headwind again. I was also dry heaving a little in this mile.

Mile 10 6:30 (5:53) 1:00:00 (1:18:46)

Legs very wobbly as I reached the bottom of the hill. Allen passed me again and for the first time gapped me. Hit 15k in 55:26, making for 5k splits of 18:37, 18:29, 18:15. When I saw this it pushed any negative thoughts out of my head. I knew I was behind goal pace but I definitely wasn't tanking. Big problem though, was that we had to climb one of the craziest hills I've ever seen in a major race. Starting off at about a 10-12% grade for 100m, it then kicked up to 20% for the next 100m. There were actually timing mats at the top and bottom to encourage people to race up it, but in typical RNR fashion it doesn't seem like they worked. At the base of the hill I was 6 seconds behind Allen and 7 seconds ahead of Simon. I climbed the hill so slowly that Simon closed the gap completely during those .1 miles. Despite climbing slowly my legs felt like garbage at the top. Somehow I managed to keep them moving and didn't lose any ground. I pushed hard to catch Allen and caught up to him again before the tenth mile.

Mile 11 5:52 (5:44) 1:05:52 (1:18:36)

After a bit of recovery I picked up the intensity again. Allen gave me some words of enouragement as I caught up and we started going back and forth again. I know the end of this course very well as its the same as the seattle half marathon which I have run many times in another life.

Mile 12 5:51 (5:33) 1:11:43 (1:18:15)

My best mile of the race. It climbs once again, but it's the last climb (basically). Allen came up along side and I pointed to the overpass peeking through the trees and said it was the top. I caught and passed the 7th place runner as we crested the last hill and just started to roll down to the finish.

Mile 13.1 6:33 (5:50) 1:18:16  

The last mile was mostly down, but my legs were too trashed to take advantage. Allen surged and was gone. I just kept up the same pace, knowing that there was one final kicker. The last .3 was another climb, much harder than I anticipated. Simon once again passed me having crushed the final mile and I managed to stay on his shoulder to the finish. I also ended up losing to another guy in chip time so I was 10th overall.

Great race. I obviously need to work on my strength as I was not very aerobically challenged but my legs were dead when I was finished. So dead that I couldn't even cooldown. So I walked all the way home.

Splits: 77.1, 78.5, 79.5, 81.1, 82.1, 81.7, 81.1, 36.7

Bit of a rust buster after not doing much for the last 10 days. Pleased with how I could still find a fast pace (5:16 split at 1600). Will be doing mostly track races for the rest of the summer.

AM  9.6 Time to get back into it. Woodland park track attack style. Started with some drills and strides then did 6 by 1200m with 400m jog in between.

Goal was 4:05 (17 flat pace). Not a very ambitious goal but I was wearing my skechers and running on a dirt track. I was feeling a bit sick to my stomach, so I didn't push all that hard until the last one.

4:06.6, 4:06.2, 4:04.1, 4:04.4, 4:04.4, 4:01.9 Avg=4:04.6

4.5 miles total in 24:27.6 (5:26 pace)

I lost the shirt after the second one.

Legs felt great after having four down weeks. Hopefully, I don't feel too much worse when I bump the mileage back to 80.

Afterwards did a couple laps of jogging on the infield and then 4 by piano hill:

36.2, 34.4, 33.2, 32.9

AM 4.34 mile tempo run in 26:21 (6:04 pace). Splits of 8:57, 9:13 and 8:11. Had a hard time getting moving this morning for some reason. Breathing felt very easy, probably could have kept going. 

Splits (approx): 76 (409),75,77,74

Later did the 5k

81.6, 80.0, 81.9, 81.3, 83.0, 83.3, 83.1, 84.2, 84.5, 85.4, 84.2, 83.2, 38.9=17:15

km splits 3:23, 3:24, 3:30, 3:31, 3:27

Unlike last week I had plenty of people to run with. My main focus was the mile, and I just didn't have the nerve to really push it. I could have closed a gap to the group ahead of me about 500m in, but I didn't really go for it.

For the 5k I was tired so I just tried to hold sub 17 pace as long as I could. That turned out to be about 4 laps.

AM 9.3

6 by 400m at Woodland Park track. (1 minute rest between reps)

74.8, 75.6, 75.6, 74.7, 74.1, 73.8

4 by piano hill

35.1, 33.9, 32.9, 32.6

Should probably bump this back up to 8 by 400.

PM 2.9

Feeling a little sick so toned down my planned workout.

3 by 1600 w/400m jogging recovery.

5:37, 5:30, 5:27

AM 2.9

PM 4.6

AM 9

PM 2.9

Third magnuson park race. Lance Thompson and Spencer Walsh showed up as well as a few other club northwest people. There seemed to be quite a few folks running the 10k this time.

I started out really fast following the 5k runners. I was in 5th at the mile in 5:34. This mile felt suprisingly easy. During mile 2 I passed the 4th place guy (5:41). After that I had no one to run with. Tahoma and Spencer were in sight but too far ahead. I also started to feel the effects of (still) being a little sick. Remaining miles were 5:50, 5:56, 5:56, 6:00, and then 1:12 (5:36 pace).

PM After hiking up Mt pilchuk I ran 5.3 miles at 6:10 pace (downhill), to retrieve our car. Always check your parking brake.

AM Bbbbbounce workout.

5:31.0, 2:41.5, 76.8

2:38.1, 5:29.1, 2:41.6

77.0, 2:37.8, 76.0

Another 5000m PR, but just barely.

There were more people running this week and based on seed times it seemed like there would be a lot of people running around 17flat. It only took about 200m for a group of 6 to form. I hit 200m in 41 right on the heels of three runners from the tacoma city running club as well as Antonio Hernandez, who ran 17:03 two weeks ago (when I ran 17:14). There was another guy right on my shoulder with really long hair.

The lead guy from Tacoma was olympic trial qualifier greg leak and I think he was pacing the other two to 17flat.

The first 4 laps were great, maybe a little faster than I wanted.

81.7, 79.0,80.5, 80.4

We hit the mile at about 5:21, but then it stopped being easy. The 5th lap was only 81.7 and the tacoma city runners were starting to breath a lot harder. At 2000m I moved the front of the pack and started to set the pace more to my own liking. I figured that if I started to lose it then someone would pass me back. I ran 81.6 for the 6th lap.  I was starting to gain on the 2nd place guy (1st was long gone). However right as I caught him I heard some rapid breathing and a high school age runner passed by me. I only ran 82.0 for that lap then 81.5, 81.5 trying to stay with the new guy.  Mile 2 5:27.

With 3.5 laps to go I was really hurting and I still had 3-4 guys right on my heels. I let off the gas a little bit as I always seem to do in the 5k. 82.3 for lap 10 and 82.7 for lap 11. Picked it up again with a 81.0 for lap 12 and then 36.5 final 200m.

km splits 3:21, 3:22,3:24,3:23,3:22

AM 8.6

7 mile tempo run in 43:37 (6:13 per mile). Didnt really focus the first 15 minutes or so. 

Attempt at a workout. My plan was 4 by 800 followed by 4 by 400.

I made it through the 4 by 800 (kind of), with the last rep being really lousy.

2:43.6, 2:43.2, 2:46.9, 2:52.9

Normally I would just persevere, but I was concerned about low salt levels which for me can lead to fainting. I haven't been taking any electrolytes for a few days and it's catching up with me. So I decided to just quit the workout and head home.

AM 9

8 by 200m with 200m jogging recovery (or in n out 200s as we used to call them in the '00s).

Orignal plan was 8000 by 200m but the 'ol ball 'n' chain put the kibosh on it. Said I was talking through my hat. Really took the wind out of my oars.

Anyway:

34.5, 34.9, 34.3, 34.1, 34.6, 34.1, 33.4!, 34.2

1500m in 4:38 (54, 77, 75, 72). Really went to sleep on that 2nd lap.

3000m in 9:59  (79.3, 80.5, 79.3, 80.4, 80.6, 81.3, 81.0, 37.0)

AM 4 by 800, 4 by 400

2:39.6, 2:40.3, 2:41.0, 2:38.7 (60 seconds rest between each)

5min recovery with lap jog

76.6, 73.6, 73.6, 73.3 (60 seconds rest)

AM Track workout

3 by 1600-1min rest-400 with 1 lap recovery jog

5:30.2, 74.9

5:27.4, 75.3

5:28.3, 74.5

Long cooldown

AM Short track workout

6 by 200 w/200 recovery

35.4, 35.5, 34.9, 34.9, 33.8, 34.4

6 by 100 w/100 recovery (barefoot on grass)

?,?,16.3, 15.8, 15.8, 16.1

The final 5k of the season at the all comers meets (only 3ks from here on out) so I decided to run it fresh.

I had already run 16:52, 2 weeks ago which is 81 per lap. Based on my track workouts it was hard to envision that I was capable of much faster than that. I therefore decided that I would go out hard perhaps at a pace that I couldn't sustain, and then just try to hold on as best I could.

As this was the last 5k of the season quite a few people showed up including many, many highschoolers. Despite the presence of Max Randal and Tony Hernandez (who ran 9:37 and 9:53 to my 9:59 in the 3k last week), my 16:52 gave me the fastest seed time. 

I'm beginning to realize that I don't like being seeded number one as I am not very quick off the line, so I get boxed in very easily. A huge crowd of 10-12 guys hit 200m together at about 38/39 with a couple of the highschoolers up front. I came through the first lap in 79.6 but I head '80'. Although it was PR pace, it wasn't as agressive as I wanted. As we approached 600m I moved to lane 3 and took the lead from the high schoolers. Max and Tony immediately followed and everything started to string out.

I was at 2:38.0 through 800m which is danger zone for me. However, my breathing was fine, especially compared to Max's. The next lap was even faster as I continued my surge: 3:55.5 at 1200m, which is really absurd. I could feel the lactic acid creeping into my legs but I just kept doubling down, trying to stick with the pace as long as I could. I was at 5:14.4 at 1600 and now Max was really getting antsy with the 79 second lap. He took the lead from me and Tony followed. I maintained contact for another lap but then started to fall back 6:34.2 at 2k. I slowed down dramatically in lap 6, and got passed by someone I don't know 7:55.9 at 2400m. Then lap 7 was slower still (83.1=17:19 pace), but 9:19.0 at 2800m meant I was still on PR pace. I hit 3k at almost exactly 10:00, so I knew that a PR was still possible. At 3200 (10:41) meters I moved back into 3rd and I could see that Max and Tony weren't that far ahead of me.

I really suffered the last mile of this race. I dropped another 83.1 on lap 9 (12:04.6), but I was only 3 seconds back from the leaders. At 4k (13:27.0) I finally caught back up to the leaders. I made a strong move with about 900m to go but it really wasn't that impressive (81.6 quarter). I was at 600m to go at 14:48.6 and I remember thinking I needed a 2:03 final 600m or better to PR, which seemed essentially impossible. Just then a high schooler came flying by me. I initially though that I was toast as he quickly put about 10m on me. However, by the time we hit the bell I could tell he was laboring. I passed him back with about 250m left and hit 4800m in 16:08.8. I kicked like mad (35.6) but barely held off Tony who was closing me down in the last 50m.

This was a really hard race. That said I think that a 16:10-16:20 5k is possible for me. I need to do a little bit more V02 max work. 3 year ago I would have thought a 16:44 5k was totally unrealistic (I was still running 17:30s).

Update: Results posted so it's official. I am old (well, not really).

Very sore today, left hammy very tight. May have to bag some workouts.

AM 9.5

6 by 800 with 60 seconds rest

2:38.5, 2:38.8, 2:38.3, 2:39.4, 2:38.2, 2:37.4

avg=2:38.4