The Next Step

After yesterday's 17 miler I hadn't even planned on running today much less running a race but my wife and daughters were off doing different things and I was left with some free time on my hands.  They had a Sunday night race in town because of labor day tomorrow so I decided to jump in it.  I did a 1.5 mile warmup and my legs felt pretty tired.  It was a little better at the end of the warmup but I didn't know what to expect.  I decided to just go out at around 6:15 pace and see how long I could hold it.  I got off to a good start and here are my splits:

1st - 6:10

2nd - 6:25

3rd - 6:25

4th - 6:04

The second mile was into the wind and had a long gentle rise to it.  My legs were feeling pretty weak so I was concerned I wouldn't be able to hold it.  Around 2.5 miles there were two guys up ahead of me and I noticed that I was gaining on them slowly.  I just focused on them and set out to catch them.  I started feeling a little better around this point as well and felt like I was picking up the pace.  At around 3 miles I caught one of the guys and was gaining on the other one.  The last mile I just started pushing as hard as I could trying to catch the other guy.  I finally caught him at around 3.75 and kept running hard past him so he wouldn't come back on me.  Based on how I finished the last mile I think I might have been able to push the 2nd and 3rd miles harder.  This is around a 1 min PR for me but I have only ran 4 mile races a couple of other times.  I am very happy with the result considering the 17 miler yesterday and that last week was my highest mileage week of the year.

It was warm (65) and humid this morning.  I went to Southeastway Park to just do an easy run.  The last three days have been pretty hard running for me so I just wanted to go real easy.  I felt pretty good and just tired to enjoy the nice morning and being in the woods.  There were a couple of XC teams out running this morning at the park and a lot of people out walking which is good to see. Now just going to enjoy the rest of the day with my family.  Happy Labor Day!

68.53 (8:26 avg)

PM:  Went for an easy 15 mile bike ride with a friend.  Rained on us a little bit but a nice ride.

It was 67 and humid this morning.  I didn't feel very good this morning.  I feel like I am getting a cold or have some kind of sinus issue.  Anyway, starting out my legs felt like they were still asleep and it took me a while to get going.  I mostly just took it easy but did add in 8 x hill sprints at the end.  My legs felt lifeless on these but did them anyway so hopefully it will help.

9.53m in 76:31 (8:01 avg)

PM:  My daughter's soccer game got cancelled so I had some extra time before dinner and got out for a short ease run. Nothing special but felt ok.

5.52m in 42:33 (7:42 avg)

It was foggy and 59 this morning so I went to the track to run.  The plan for today was 5 x 1200 in 4:30 with a 400 recovery.  I felt stiff and tired in the warmup.  I feel a little beat up right now.  Just a few aches and pains in different places.  I assume from the increase in miles and intensity.  After the 2 mile warmup I felt better.  Started the 1200's and knew right from the start that there wasn't much zip in the legs.  Here are the splits:

1st - 4: 31

2nd - 4:28

3rd - 4:28

4th - 4:28

5th - 4:29

I was happy with meeting my goal times for the 1200's and this is one more than I did last week so I guess that is good.  The 4th and 5th were pretty tough.  When I started the 5th one I almost quit after the first 400 but stuck with it and I am glad that I did because I was able to hang on and still meet my goal.  I also felt good with the splits since I fell like I am running on tied legs.  Hopefully when my body adjusts to the increase in mileage I will see the improvement.

62:49 (7:51 avg)

Beautiful morning (58, sunny, calm).  This head cold I have had the last few days got worse yesterday and really slept bad last night.  I felt some better after getting up this morning.  I did an easy 8 miles and didn't want to push it too hard so hopefully I can shake this cold.  Going to work today but will try to rest as much as possible and drink lots of fluids.

64:29 (8:04 avg)

Cold was worse today so didn't run.  Hope to shake this thing soon.

Felt a little better today but still not over this crazy cold.  I did feel good enough to get in an easy 8 miles.  I didn't get out until later because I was trying to rest and it was in the mid 70's by the time I started running.  I felt good running but didn't want to push it I just want to get back to normal and then get back on track.

63:25 (7:56 avg)