Practice To Suffer So Racing Becomes Easy

My plan for this race was to get out hard then find a pace to run comfortably hard on the way out for the out and back route.  My goal on the way back was drop 5 sec. per mile or atleast increase the effort each mile on the way back in.  I managed to accomplish most of the goal for a 35:23 breaking my old record by 2:39 from Feb. this year.  I fully expected the competition to be stiff as almost every Madison race is.  Most of the competition happened to be in the 5K as I didn't have anyone to run with after the 5K guys turned to go back.  Nonetheless, the 5K runners helped me get out to a fast start.

The first mile was slightly downhill and I came through the mile marker in 5:31, about what I envisioned.  I was closing in hard on the 5K leader and actually cut him off at the turn because I didn't realize he was running the 5K.  The 5K winner went 15:11, so he must have really ran a fast turn in to hit that time if he went out in about 5:27.  Anyway, I found a nice pace and started to listen for footsteps.  At about mile 2 I did hear some footsteps, so I was kind of excited for the competition!  Mile 2 was a 5:41 on the flat and into the wind.  I was feeling quite good running all alone at this point, the pace felt like a tempo effort to me.  The 3rd mile was a little uphill and really into the wind, plus we had to run on the sidewalk and wind around a small turn-about that I had to slow down on due to some slippery leaves.  I hit a split of 5:54 (not what I was hoping for).  My competition had closed the gap and was about 5-10 meters behind me, so going up the hill I put in a surge to crest the hill with a little pop in my stride.  Mile 4 I got a little downhill and I increased the effort spliting a 5:41.  I could still hear footseps ever so slightly, but I could tell I made a little breathing room for the final push.  Mile 5 was mostly flat, but I had to dodge 5K walkers, which slowed me down a little, split was 5:45.  Mile 6 was mostly uphill and I was still dodging walkers and had a car pull out in front of me and a biker cut me off.   I split a 5:48 for mile 6 and missed my .2 because I forgot to stop the watch. 

Great effort for me coming off a 99 mile week.  I later learned 2nd place was a full minute behind me, so I opened a 1 min. gap on my competition mile 4-6.2.  My race strategy was a success! 

PM:  4.35 miles @ 8:39 pace

Lunch 4.96 miles Avg 7:45 pace, felt surprisingly good!

PM:  10.01 miles Avg. 7:50 - the run started off good - avg. between 7:15-7:30 pace and about 6 miles in my right quad started hurting and it progressively got worse throughout the run.  I slowed down to 8:20 pace at the tail end of the run to be on the cautious side.  It's sore to touch and I can feel tension when walking.  Probably an overuse strain.  Hopefully, it will feel better with some good sleep and some slow recovery running tomorrow. 

Lunch:  3.8 very very easy miles - 9:20 pace

PM:  10.02 very easy miles on the tredmill due to storms - boring!  Avg 7:50 pace  Good news is the quad handled 7:50 pace tonight so, hopefully I'll be good to go the rest of the week.

Lunch:  4 very slow miles Avg 4:12, quad seems to be feeling better, but legs aren't feeling all that great.  The 10K really took more out of me than expected.  Kind of a downer, but I guess I have to expect that on high mileage weeks.  Hopefully, the easy running that past couple of days will help me get through the week.  Added 4x40 meter hill sprints @ 80-85% effort, w/walk downhill recoveries.

PM:  12 miles + 1 tempo mile + 5 mile repeats @ 5K + 30 sec. on my hilly grass mile loop. Plus 6x30 sec @ 1500 meter race pace (probably in the rain) to be continued....

Well, my workout was kind of strange.  Between the first interval and the last 4 miles the temp dropped from 75 to 55!  I really struggled with the workout and opted out of the 6x30 sec @ 1500 meter race pace because I had ZERO energy toward the end of the workout.  It's rare to feel like you can't take another step.  I felt like I had motion sickness.  A couple reasons for zero energy may be:  I ate very little because I was so busy with work today, low avg sleep, lingering affects of race from Sunday.  Nonetheless, managed the following:  6:23 for the tempo, then 6:04, 5:44, 5:45, 5:49, 5:46 for the intervals.  Finished with a very very slow cooldown and finished with 11.40 total miles at an Avg of 7:24 pace.  I zipped over to the China Buffet to refuel.  Feeling slightly better, but not great.  Looking forward to another couple of really easy running days.  Managed to hit the abs with some exercises.    

Lunch:  4.01 very easy miles Avg 8:15 pace

PM:  6.97 w/4x30sec @ 1500 meter race pace (while pushing Jameson), otherwise very easy miles Avg 7:51 pace

Lunch:  4.30 very easy miles @ 8:01 pace around observatory.  This was the 3rd time I've had to leap over a snake in the past 2 weeks.  They really get me jumping out of my socks!

PM:  11.14 very easy miles @ 8:06 pace Glacial Drumlin Trail pushing Jameson. I'm amazed at how well my son does in a stroller for that long.  Very windy out of the North, which made for a challenge pushing the stroller.

Lunch:  22.28 miles w/last 6 ~ marathon pace + 15 sec.  Very windy conditions today 25 mph winds with stronger gusts made for a tough run over the hilly country roads.  The last 6 went 6:37 (legs didn't want to move out of easy run pace), 6:41 (slow due to aid station drop), 6:26 (into the wind), 6:31 (windy and hilly), 6:22 (1/2 in the wind, 1/2 out of the wind on the flat), 6:01 (flat and with wind).  The last 6 I just tried to slightly increase effort each mile without too much worry about being exact with MP+15 sec because the quad was tight in the area I injured on Monday.  The quad and legs loosened up nicely over the last couple of miles and I think I could have maintained the pace another couple of miles comfortably in the 6:00-6:15 range.  My 22 mile loop took me through 3 counties.  Avg pace of the run was 7:11, which is 1 sec slower than my Las Vegas Marathon pace last December.  Feels good to know I can probably run a 3:07 marathon on a less than ideal day at the end of a 100+ week.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/121821875

 Late Evening:  5.08 miles pushing Jameson.  This run felt surprisingly good!  The legs were on cruise control.  Still windy, but not near as bad in town.  The run served a few purposes.  #1 shake out the legs, #2 put my son to sleep (he was out in less than a mile).  No wife, no son - just me and some college football.  Nice way to top off the day.