dedication, perseverance, self-discipline

Today is my anniversary.  1 year!

Easy run with Sasha, Mary Ann, and Matt.  We went to the lake and back.  Total time of 1:15:40.

I ran with Sasha, Mary Ann, and Daniel this morning.  Daniel turned around after 4 miles and the rest of us went to the lake and back.  I tried out the new racing flats that I got yesterday.  Everything felt fine.  I think I will run one more time in them before the race on Saturday.  Total time of 1:13:43 for 10.1 miles.

Everything today was the same as yesterday, except that we kept the pace a little slower on purpose.  Total time of 1:18:06 for 10.1 miles.

PM:  4 miles in 31:07.  I saw three thermometers on the side of the bank while I was running and all of them were registering temperatures over 60 degrees, yet I was running in the same stuff I wear when it is 10 degrees outside.  Needless to say, it was hot, but suprisingly bearable.  Maybe it was the wind that helped it not feel so hot.

10.1 miles with Sasha and Mary Ann this morning.  Daniel joined us for the first 3.  Total time of 1:17:37.

PM:  4 miles in 28:46 with a couple sections thrown in the middle at a higher intensity.  The first hard section was 1.5 miles into the run, and I ran .5 in 2:33.  It would have been a 2:32 but I slowed near the end because of my turn-around, and I didn't want to stop suddenly.  Then I ran an easy quarter before running one more quarter hard in 1:18.  This last quarter involved running through a tunnel and almost plowing over a lady pushing a stroller, so it is also a little slower than it should have been.  I then finished up running home.

The whole purpose of doing this was to simulate race pace for Saturday without really pushing it too hard.  I feel like 5:10 pace should be reasonable for the majority of the race as long as the weather is good.

I ran with Sasha, Mary Ann, and another lady this morning (sorry I forgot your name already).  We ran out the normal route to the lake and back for a total of 10.1 miles in 1:22:49.  I felt pretty good.  We did run about 500m at close to 6:00 pace because Sasha wanted to showcase how well I can sing while running, but otherwise we kept the pace easy.

I ran the last race of the race series today.  There was a light headwind at the beginning of the race so I didn't want to lead out.  However, I quickly realized that the pace was too slow.  I decided to just run with everyone else anyhow, and after 2 miles I threw in a short surge to test the waters and see who would follow me.  Seth Wold was the only taker, and just before the 3 mile mark I sped up again, this time for good. 

My splits are as follows:  5:36, 5:26, 5:27, 5:14, 5:12, 5:11, 5:09, 5:13, 5:06, 1:38 (5:05 pace). 

1st half 25:10, second half 24:02, 5k split 17:02, 10k split 33:12-33:13 (not sure if it was one or the other), last 10k 32:10 (new pr), last 5k 15:59-16:00. 

So, I felt like I could hold 5:10 pace forever, but when Seth made a move with just under a mile left I felt like there was nothing in me to speed up at all, and 5:05-5:06 pace was all I could do.  he came in 8 seconds in front of me, with all of it coming in the last mile.