The Next Step

Just an easy run today. Weather was windy and around 40. Felt ok throughout the run. I have been having a little pain in my calf but seems to get better as I go along.

8 miles, 64:08, 8:01

It has been a long time since I have been on the track so today I wanted to do an interval workout to see how my body has been responding to the training. I planned on doing 5 x 1000 in 3:57 with around 2:00 recovery. It was very windy and cool today (32) so not the greatest day for the workout but after a 2 mile warm up I got into the intervals. The first one seemed a little tough as my legs were still getting loosened up and adjusting to the faster pace. I finished it in 3:55. The rest of the intervals went by without much problem. The forth and fifth I started feeling like I was pushing a little but not to the point of struggling. Here are the splits:

3:55, 3:55, 3:54, 3:53: 3:52

I was happy that each one went faster and that the total for the 5k was 19:29. This is a much better result than a similar workout that I did a couple of months ago. I was faster and didn't feel like I struggled as much.

7 miles, 56:05

Today was the first run of the fall below freezing (27 degrees). Even though I don't mind the cold much I am wondering why I complained so much about the summer heat. I guess I still perfer the cold over those hot and humid days.

I did an easy 10 mile run on my normal route so not much to report. Only thing I noticed is that my heart rate was about 6 or 7 beats higher than normal for the pace I was running. I am not sure if this is a result of the cold or maybe just a little tired.

10 miles, 1:21:30, 8:09

Today I did an easy run with some strides at the end. I think I am going to run a local 10k on Sat if the weather stays good and my schedule stays open. I didn't want to push it to much today if I am going to race on Sat. I did pickup the pace for about a mile in the middle of the run just to see how the legs would respond. Everything felt good so hopefully I will be able to make it on Sat. If I get a chance to run I am not planning anything big. I will probably treat it more like a workout. So tomorrow I will probably keep it easy as well and then see how Sat goes.

7 miles, 55:08, 5 x 20 sec strides

Today I did an easy run on the local XC course. It was a good change to get away from the road, cars and into the woods. I should do this more often but usually it is faster and easier to just head out the door and run on the road.

Tomorrow I am running a 10k so I didn't want to do to much today. I am keeping the 10k low key. I want to treat it more like a tempo training run. I have not run many 10ks so my PR is pretty weak. I have actually ran faster in a half marathon than I did in my 10k PR so unless I am totally off tomorrow I should be able to manage a PR. I want to see how I am progressing on my fitness but other than that don't have any real goals for the race. I think I will be for something around 43:00. We will see how it goes.

6.2 miles, 52:39, 8:30

Today I ran in the Forest Park 10k. It was a beautiful morning driving to the race. The temperature was 38 degrees and there was very little wind. I have not done this race before so I wasn't sure what to expect from the course but I noticed a few hills as I was driving into the park but nothing bad.

I did a 2 mile warm up before the race and felt pretty good. I was thinking about what to shoot for in the race since I didn't have a lot of plans for this race. I thought if I could hit something between 6:45 and 6:50 pace I would be happy. I have not run a lot of 10ks but ran one about 3 months ago in 44:12 which was not long after I had started training seriously again. So a PR seemed inevitable but I really wanted to see how my training has been progressing since I have consistent picked up my training.

There are a 5k and a 10k race and it seemed most people were doing the 5k. It seemed like there was around 200 runners doing the 10k. We started right at 9:00 and I tried to settle into a comfortable pace. I was trying to hold myself back but I felt easy and smooth. Part of the first mile was down a hill so I expected it to be quicker. I hit the first mile in 6:17 which was a real wake up. This was much faster than I had planned. I thought don't worry to try to settle into a comfortable pace and see where it would take me. I latched on to a couple of runners and tried to run with them for a while. One of the guys amazed me because he was breathing so hard it sounded like he was coming in for a sprint finish instead of just going by the first mile. Anyway the second mile felt good and I didn't feel any real strain at this point so I calmed down after the fast first mile. I came through the second mile in 6:31 which was better but still faster than I had planned. I was now running closer to 5k pace than 10k. I tried to just stayed focused on the pace on not panic. I still felt good so I thought I would see if I could hold it. The 3rd mile was pretty much the same. I didn't feel like I was pushing but it was getting harder. I came through the 3rd mile in 6:33. Now I started thinking about a big PR and wanted to see if I could hold the pace to the finish. I got my answer about a half mile later as I really started feeling the strain of the pace. I was able to hold it together pretty good and came through the 4th mile in 6:41. I didn't feel like I was crashing but I knew that I couldn't run anymore 6:30's at this point so I focused on trying to stay in the 6:45 range to the finish. The 5th mile was the hardest mile so far and I was starting to struggle some. It was also more difficult since the field had strung out and I was running by myself. I tried to focus on the runners ahead of my to see if I could make up some distance. Even with these issues I managed a 6:48 for the 5th mile. Now I was focusing on the finish and wanted to see if I could hold my pace and not slow down anymore. Another runner passed my just after the 5 mile mark and he looked pretty strong so I just focused on trying to go with him. He was pulling away a little from me but we were also passing some other runners which lifted my spirits. I knew at this point that I was paying for the fast early pace but I also knew that if I could keep it together it would be a good time for me. I was really glad to see the 6 mile mark and more glad to see that I came through in 6:36. The last .2 was up a decent hill and I wanted to push in as fast as I could. I got back in the park and rounded a curve to the finish. This was the first time I got a chance to see the clock. It was getting very close to 41:00 minutes and I thought if I can sprint I might be able to get under 41. I started pushing hard (I can't say sprinting because it was definitely not sprinting) but it was looking like I would lose the battle. I hit the line right as the clock switched over to 41.

Regardless I was very happy when I finished. This was much better than anything that I imagined and much better than all the predictor calculators that I played around with last week. It was very satisfying to see the results of sticking with a consistent training plan. This really pumps me up to stay with the plan and see where it takes me. I never kept my mileage consistent through the winter. I have always cut way back and it shows in the spring. I really want to focus on building a good base this winter that I can build from.