Of Mice and Marathons

AM: 9 miles. Oy Vey 5k in 17:58. Oy Vey, it was hot.

My running buddy asked if I wanted to a 5k today, so I decided last night I would do this in place of a long run. It ended up being warmer than I expected and I tanked pretty hard, but pretty much everyone did.

3 mile warm up with the guys. A few strides. I started out somewhat slow, working into the pace and trying not to kill any kids who jumped out in front. Settled into my pace and broke away from Leo, keeping Jonathan somewhat in sight and picking off some young guns. First mile was 5:23 and I felt great. I was sure I would break 17 despite the heat and on a certified course. I still felt good but started to slow some but always felt like I had another gear if necessary. Mile 2 was 5:43. 11 and change for the 2 mile split. I figured if I could maintain my average pace I could pour it on into the finish. Then I just tanked. Bad. I felt like I couldn't move my legs.

Leo came back and another guy (who was running the 10k) were just behind me. Leo passed me, but in the final minute and a half I dropped from 5:15 pace to 4:45 still feeling like I had another gear if necessary. Mile 3 was 6:10.

A very strange race. Not quite sure what to make of it other than it was hot and affected everyone and I was dehydrated.

Splits/HR: 5:23 (155?), 5:43 (182), 6:10 (182), 41 (185). Average HR was 174, which seems quite low. I've had workouts where I ran continuous miles with a similar heart rate. It took about 5 minutes to get into the upper 170s and to 180.

On to the next one. Lots of racing leading into B2B (one per week), so hopefully that gets me tough and ready.

PM: Treadmill - 4 miles. HR 133. Some light stretching and the usual pushups before and after.

Lunch: 7 miles. HR 142.

+ Stretching and core.

PM: 5 miles. HR 142. Soupy.

AM: 4 miles. HR 139. Super soupy.

PM: Track - 10 miles.

3.6 up/2 down. I copied Allie this week and did 4 (800/400). After the workout, I changed into my spikes and did 4 x 200 hard. Good workout. Weather was better later, but windy. Still warm but less soupy and we were gifted with some showers and a rainbow.

2:45.2, 2:48.2, 2:47.8, 2:47.9

79.9, 80.7, 80.4, 78.7 (I think I got a bit too complacent on these. They should have all been ~78)

30.9, ~31-32?, 32.5, 32.5 (I walked the first 200 with Leo, stopped my watch, started it before the rep and forgot to hit "lap" so I missed the correct time of lap 2 but he was pretty much the same distance behind me with a similar split to the previous one. I jogged 200 for the others).

Overall, a good workout. Not fast but warm, recovering from Sunday, and so on. I was pleased with my 200s. My first time in spikes. I know that's not fast for a lot of people but those are definitely the fastest ones I have ever run. The spikes make a difference.

AM: Walked about 4-5 miles. I met up with someone for whom I am dog sitting. She showed me the pup's usual route. Turns out there are some trails through the golf course (which I knew) that are for dog walking. They would be great for cross country practice if I did that sort of running.

Lunch - Trails - 7 miles SLOW. HR 133. Legs are pretty spanked. Not sore, just really really heavy.

+ Stretching and core

PM: 5 miles. HR 134.

Lunch - 9 miles. HR 143. Strides in the middle. 10 x 10 second hill sprints at the end.

(I got an extra mile for the hill sprints and recoveries so I am counting the mile. I need to find a longer hill but no other options present themselves that are safe. Might have to go a bit farther)

PM: 5 miles. HR 139.

AM: Flourtown Tempo Loop 10 miles. HR 152. Strides at the end. Pulled workout.

Planned to do mile repeats, as many as I could do, up to 7. I thought I had a weather window but it didn't come or I missed it. I figured I would start much slower than planned (6:00 rather than 5:45), but it was just too much in the weather and I pulled the plug about 1/5 mile into the third repeat.

I could tell it wasn't working when my recovery jogs were in the 11-12 minute range. My heart rate was pretty low, but the perceived effort and focus was a mess. They are back working on the loop so I had to shift from the sidewalk to the road and that just doesn't work.

6:04 (169), 6:01 (172)

Might have to adjust my schedule and do some high aerobic progession runs on the treadmill for my Friday workouts if the weather is going to continue. I just can't get any longer efforts in.

I was going to come home and hit the track for 4 x 400 very hard but there just wasn't time.

PM: Off. Travel to Erie, PA for a wedding.

Day off. 29 days on. I was planning to take tomorrow off, but getting up late, the timing of the wedding, and looking for a place to run made today a better option. A few miles tomorrow hopefully but it's our anniversary and we are driving 6 hours home, so we will see.