Wheeler Farm Loops

AM - 8 miles.

PM - 4 miles.

Beautiful, sunshiny day.

AM - 13 miles. 15K AT Tempo in 50:41 (5:26/mile). AZ tempo loop. 3 up, 1 down. Wanted to keep it ~5:30 pace so maybe just a smidge too quick, but still in the right effort range. Splits - 5:27, 5:34, 5:28, 5:18, 5:25, 5:30, 5:23, 5:31, 5:27, 1:36.

PM - 4 miles.

Spent the afternoon at the Rio Salada Sportsman's Club near Usery Pass (where the PHX Marathon starts) playing with some of my parents' new toys. I haven't done a push-up in about 2 months, and that was evident after the first shot with the .357 Magnum :-) We did a lot of sporting clays too, which I am definitely NOT very good at, but it's a fun challenge. Good times... typical Krong family holiday activity. We're only at 3/4 strength this year, though, because my sister went to Europe with her boyfriend for a couple weeks. 

AM - 13 miles. Started at Paseo Park with my parents. Ran the first 6.5 w/ my Dad along the canal, then back to their house once he was finished. No shirt weather. Great morning!

AM - 10 miles. 12 x 400m (200m jog) at 5K effort on the dirt track near my parent's house. No marks on the track, inside lane muddy and not runnable... Rift Valley style... except for the slower pace! Averaged 73.3 seconds for whatever distance these were. 3 up, 3 down (ran back w/ my Dad).

Merry Christmas!!!

PM - 5 miles. Treadmill.

I have a couple mechanical issues that aren't a big deal in shorter races, but they manifest themselves over 26.2 and make me a little less efficient. I'm resolving to try and fix some of the wasted motion in my upper body, and now that I have contacts, I can actually see well enough to get some real-time feedback while on the treadmill. So, tonight I basically just stared at myself in the mirror for a half hour and tried to keep my head/shoulders from moving. I don't think I'll get this smooth, but if I spend a little time working on balance, coordination, and functional strength, I can make some very subtle changes (that really add up) by next spring/summer. Quick plug for Jay Dicharry's book Anatomy for Runners which we've found to be a great resource.

So there ya go... morning off, 5 mile treadmill run, and I think form / balance are important. This entry counts as a Valentine's Day present, Andrea.

AM - 6 miles.

PM - 6 miles.

PM - 15 miles. AT Reps: 4 x 2 miles (0.35 mi) in 10:36, 10:36, 10:32, 10:32. Tempo loop. 3 up, 3 down.

For reasons unknown, I started an (unecessary?) condo cleaning project this morning, and didn't get out to run until almost 2pm. And now I have to finish what I started! 

Pretty good efforts for the week. Sort of going through the motions and definitely didn't push anything, but that's the point right now. Just laying some foundation before starting the "real" workouts in another week or two.