Pool Running is Fun

AM: 2.5 WU 8x800m 2.5 CD  (2:33, 2:27, 2:28, 2:27, 2:26, 2:24, 2:21, 2:22)

very humid this morning. The soaked, dripping shorts after the third rep kind of day. It will be in the 90s for the next 5 days. The calendar says September but it's more like July. Great workout given the conditions but I was tired going in and I'm certainly tired afterwards.

PM: 4.5 recovery + standard core routine, foam rolling, stretch trainer

very hot this evening.

AM: 9 miles slow/recovery + foam rolling, stretch trainer

PM: 5 easy

very tired this morning. Between Sunday and yesterday my legs have had enough. This is also due to the increased work stress, the fact that my allergies are going apeshit, and the high humidity that's been in the area lately. I ran very slow. Hopefully that helps tomorrow.

AM: 9 easy + standard core routine, stretch trainer, foam rolling

PM: 5 easy

felt much better this morning after sleeping 9 hours. I was able to sleep in because I have my late day at work and had an extra hour this morning. 

AM: 2.5 WU 6.4K tempo 2 CD    (1600m splits: 5:33, 5:18, 5:14, 5:15)

very humid this morning. Still ran well. I have the marathoner tiredness about me. This tells me my body is busy adapting. However, training is a slippery slope. You do as much as you can without breaking down and you have to be experienced and disciplined enough to know when to back off. Go a little too far and you get sick or injured. 

PM: 5.5 easy + alternate core routine, stretch machine, foam rolling

AM: 11 miles easy

PM: 4 easy with 1.5 of that being barefoot + 4x10m barefoot stides and drills.

Still humid but overcast this morning. apparently tomorrow will be better,

AM: 21 mile marathon pace progression + foam rolling

8:17, 7:36, 7:40, 7:39, 7:31, 7:20, 7:20

6:37, 6:46, 6:32, 6:38, 6:23, 6:19, 6:29

5:48, 5:44, 5:29, 5:35, 5:46, 5:31, 5:35

It was cool but humid and we did not have on course support for water which left me a little parched at the end. I still managed to average 5:38 pace for the last 7 at marathon pace. Hopefully by the end of the cycle I'll be able to average 5:35 for the marathon. I think that's a good goal.

PM: 50 min. pool run

AM: 10 miles easy

PM: off

I went to the Nationals game today and there was no shade, no breeze, and it was blazing hot. Sweat dripping everywhere, I soaked my shirt through and I began to feel like shit despite drinking a lot of fluid. I left at the 6th inning and came home. I'm still pretty beat from that so I didn't run again. Me and the heat do not get along. Why is it in the 90s anyway? I thought September was the fall.

AM: 9 easy + standard core routine, foam rolling, stretch trainer

PM: 5 easy + 6x100m barefoot strides and drills

humid again, looking forward to the end of the week when temps should drop significantly

AM: 2.25 WU 25x400m with 100m jogs in between reps. 1 CD

terribly humid this morning. at 6 am it was 74 with 73 dew point. drank a lot of nuun water which came in handy--never was thirsty during the workout at all. George gave us water bottles every 5 reps which helped. Started at 82 and hung out in the high 70s until the end when I was below 75 for the last five. Felt very strong-getting into shape. shoes were soaked with sweat by rep 15. It's disgusting when your shoes are soaked and squish when it's not raining out.

PM: 5 easy + alternate core routine, stretch trainer, foam rolling

AM: 9 easy + standard core routine, stretch trainer, foam rolling

PM: 5 easy

this morning a cyclist came up while I was running and mentioned he knew who I was from reading the RunWashington articles about me. He was amazed I was running so much without getting hurt and wished me luck with a fist bump. I already have a fan base!

AM: 9 easy

PM: 5 easy + 6x10sec hill sprints

didn't get my core and prehab routine in this morning since I was running behind. My Saucony Ride 7s are toast. I didn't get a lot of miles out of them but I've pummeled them with several hard and long runs and that really wears them out quickly. 

AM: 11 easy

PM: 4 easy + 4x100m strides

raining a bit. 104 for the week. Pretty damn decent 4 weeks of training under my belt. Down week next week before the race.

AM: 4321 workout on the towpath. This workout felt amazing. I was rested afterWednesday's big track session and it was very cool weather--62 degrees with low humidity and a breeze. Running felt effortless and despite keeping my effort at marathon pace, I was able to drop 5:20s with no trouble. It's crazy how well I respond when the heat is finally gone. Check out these splits yo:

8:33, 7:59, 7:44, (5:43, 5:28, 5:28, 5:25), 

7:41, (5:24, 5:24, 5:20), 7:25

(5:21, 5:22), 7:46

(5:07), 7:56

That's averaging 5:24. crazy huh? I barely felt that tired. Perhaps I've adapted well to the mileage. It would be insane to think I could average 5:24 for a marathon but my body worked with me this morning. An amazing run. I'm hoping I have that ease of run feeling next week at the race.

PM: 1 hr. pool run

AM: 9 easy + standard core routine, foam rolling

PM: 5 easy

freaking amazing weather. It's like running through paradise. 54 degrees this morning, low humidity.

AM: 2.5 WU 8x800m 2.3 CD

(2:37, 2:30, 2:28, 2:24, 2:26, 2:26, 2:24, 2:22)

decent workout. Legs are tired but that is normal. In a few days I'll do a major cut down so that I am fresh and ready to race Sunday. Looks like there will be a couple of fast guys to race with so it should be a good one. I just neet to stay relaxed and in the moment and the time/place will workout on its own.

the third article in the RunWashington series: http://www.runwashington.com/2015/09/14/7598/

PM: 4 easy + alternate core routine, stretch, foam rolling

AM: 9 easy + standard core routine, foam rolling, stretching

PM: 5 easy 

AM: 9 easy + standard core routine, stretch, foam rolling

PM: 5 miles with mile 4 in 5:40 for a little hilly pick-up

Normal mileage today. Going with the "falling off the cliff" mini-taper for Sunday. It seems to have worked very well for me last spring. Basically I run normal mileage but the two days before the race I cut it down drastically so my body can recover. I feel this works much better for me physically and mentally than a gradual draw down for a tune-up race in marathon training. I'll probably run 5 or 4 tomorrow with strides, 4 or 3 with strides Saturday.

AM: 5 easy + full drill set and 6x100m fast strides

PM: rest

some fast strides to get that muscle tension "pop" in my legs for Sunday. Time to rest

AM: 3 easy + a couple of easy strides and drills.

humid this morning. I hope it goes away before tomorrow morning. It's always a gamble racing in September around here. It could be beautiful or brutal. Bring on October. Going to have to get up at 4:30 am. Pretty early.

It was a humid, windy and rough one out there. at 4:00 am it was 71 degrees and humid. A Cold front began coming through which caused the wind to kick up. I went into the race feeling fine but it soon became apparent that it was going to be a hard day.

I went out with the pack in 5:40--really slow stuff and then started getting to work. However, the mile markers were way off. after 3 miles I let the pack go since we were running straight into the wind and slightly uphill. I was afraid that if I went with the pack I would ot have enough left. That was a mistake because I proceded to run the entire rest of the race completely alone in the wind, and my nemesis the humidity. On top of that I had too many shot Bloks and my stomach was rebelling and I had to pee. 

Unlike the beautiful and cool workout last week which truly showed my current fitness, I feel this race was a sad reflection of where I am at which is mentally draining. The most solid training in my life the past four weeks and I'm off my PR by two+ minutes. It's frustrating. I wasn't the only one. The winning time was two minutes slower than last year, my buddy Greg also ran two minutes slower than last year. It seems the only people who had great times on my team were those whose marathon training is basically over since they are racing Chicago.

I also feel my mental state has a large affect on my ability to believe in myself and thus results in shitty performances. I should have stayed with the pack. They weren't even running that fast but I was afraid and backed off early. I should have just hung on.

I know I'm doing everything correctly but yet another disappointing race performance is enough to really piss you off. I also need new flats. Rome wasn't built in a day and once the weather cooperates and I have a few more monster long runs in me, I'll have my day*. You better believe it.

*That still doesn't mean I'm not kind of ticked at my race today

PM: 1 hr. pool run. I haven't given up yet.

AM: 9 easy + standard core routine, stretch, foam rolling

cooler this morning (of course). Not even that sore/tired which tells me I could have run harder. Spent the run thinking about how I could have run better yesterday and the futility of the sport without insane amounts of genetic talent that 99% of us don't have.

PM: 5 easy in the rain. Actually a little chilly. the leaves are beginning to die

AM: 10 easy + alternate core routine, stretch, foam rolling.

PM: 5 easy

vey nice running weather this morning. My calf muscles are sore from the race. I really dug into them with the foam roller. 

AM: 2 WU 8x2min with 1 min off then about 4 easy

PM: 5.5 easy + alternate core routine, stretch, foam rolling

a light fartlek to stretch the legs this morning. Nothing too intense, didn't go any faster than marathon pace, just enough to get the remaining sluggishness out of my legs. Great weather. You can smell running in the air. check out this cool video: https://www.facebook.com/tracksmithrunning/videos/311088185681858/ 

AM: 9 easy + standard core routine, stretch, foam rolling.

PM: 5 easy + drills and strides

tired and hungry this morning. Although that's pretty much the state I'm in 70-80 percent of the time which is typical of higher mileage.

AM: 3 WU 5K tempo 2.5 CD  (5:26, 5:10, 5:06, 36 = 16:18)

a decent tempo but short due to the half marathon recovery protocol. I pushed the pace on the second mile and cruised in without going too far over tempo threshold before stopping.

PM: 5.5 recovery + standard core routine, stretch, foam rolling

AM: 10 easy

PM: 5 easy

Lovely fall day. A Lot of fast times at a local race in Clarendon. I would have loved to run it but being in a marathon cycle you've got to keep your eye on the real prize on November 22 in Philadelphia. 

AM: Marathon pace progression run. ran an average of 5:30 for the last seven and it didn't feel too difficult. My percieved effort was right at marathon pace. It is a net downhill at the end so some of the splits are a little faster than actual marathon pace would be on a level ground. Still, I think I will be able to handle 5:30-5:35 by the time Philly rolls around.  Note: it's a stark contrast to how hard it felt in that half marathon last week but if I can keep running in the 5:20s for my marathon pace during workouts and feel just fine, I'm going to do it.

8:53, 7:41, 8:00, 7:38, 7:35, 7:21, 7:31, 

6:52, 6:40, 6:36, 6:46, 6:16, 6:18, 6:31,

5:44, 5:42, 5:26, 5:24, 5:34, 5:22, 5:24

PM: 45 min pool run

AM: 7 recovery pace + standard core routine, stretch, foam rolling

PM: 5 easy

pretty damn tired this morning. Only managed about 8:30 pace since my legs didn't feel like going any faster than that which is fine because of the quality long run I got in yesterday. felt a lot more recovered in the evening.

AM: 9 easy + alternate core routine, stretch, foam rolling

PM: 5 easy in the pouring rain

really frickin humid this morning. 70 degrees with a 70 dew point. It's supposed to really cool off though

AM: 2.5 WU 25x400m at 10K pace with 100m jogs 1 CD

PM: 4 recocery + standard core routine, stretch, foam rolling

extremely humid this morning, as bad as any summer morning. it was 74 degrees with a 73 dewpoint. The water was just hanging in the air. Started fast at 78 then went all the way down to 69-70 for the last one. just buckets of sweat but George handed us our water bottles several times and thus I was never super dehydrated. Pretty dang tired though it was a tough workout and my shoes were squishing with each step at the end. I also woke up at 4 am with a raging hunger and downed a bowl of golden grahams. I'm in the thick of it now, always hungry, tired, and am looking lean. much better weather in the evening