Denouement

Easy run around Cedar Hills.  Felt tired and out of energy.  Probably from yesterday's afternoon run.

Core workout 

Met EmilyB for a tempo interval track workout.  The plan was 2 x 2 miles at 6:00 pace, and 3 minutes rest.  We met at the BYU track.  I only got 3k of warm up.  A short warm up for me.  Emily thought I was trying for 5:50, so she kept ahead.  First mile of the first one was 5:57, then came in 12:59.  It felt way too hard, should have felt a bit more like a tempo.  I needed to go to the bathroom, so the rest was actually 3:35  I told Emily that I didn't think I could do another 12:00, so we decided to try for 91 seconds.  The first lap was 91, then 90, 90, 90, then got slower for laps 5-7.  In lap 8 I did 83, so got 12:02.  Not the best way to get a 12:02, but I'll take it. 5.37k cool down. 

Core workout in the pm 

Easy 8.36k run including 6 strides

I was going to do the free SLC race but was afraid I wouldn't have competition, and I heard it would not be timed, so I started to consider doing the Wasatch Wellness 5k, which was in provo and I thought Melody was racing it.  I waffled, even in the morning, but decided to go to Provo, and try to hang onto Melody.  Plus my youngest was getting baptized today, so I needed to get back as soon as possible.  

I did a longer warm up, 4.1 miles, I ran the course and it seemed a bit short.  The race is a slight downhill in the first half, and then a slight uphill on the way back.  The 10k was starting 10 minutes before the 5k, and it looked like Melody was at the line about 5 minutes before the start.  I go up to her and it was her, and she is running the 10k!  Dang it, I look around for the race director, and I see him doing last minute race prep, and I wonder if I can handle the mental transition from 5k to 10k.  I decide to stick with the 5k rather than try to switch last minute.  Melody tells me I can pace her in on the 10k once I finish the 5k. It looked like less than 100 people, which surprised me.  There were actually 66 finishers in the 10k.  I was hoping for more people in the 5k.

At the 5k start, the female contingency looks sparse. There were 203 5k finishers, so better but still sparse.  I switched my watch to take 1k splits since there weren't mile markers.  I am hoping to go out at 3:40.  At the 1k mark I am in about 6th place (including men, no females). 3:47, At about 1.3k we cross state street toward the Provo Cemetary ,and the lead group of men were stopped before the police cleared the road for them to cross, so I am able to catch up.  I stick with them, then pull a surge, and am in 2nd place by the 2k mark, 3:53 (I might have been slowed as well by the crossing)  this k too si slightly downhill.  3:50 for the 3rd k.  I am reeling in the #1 guy but we start to head uphill. 4th k is 3:52, so didn't slow down.  The last k was short, .7k at 3:39 pace, gradual uphill.   I didn't catch the boy (17 years old), he finished 7 seconds ahead. So the overall pace is disappointing, but I did run consistently so that's something.   

I jogged back on the 10k course, where I saw the race director, and informed him of the short course, then saw Melody, who was leading the race outright.  I ran downhill with her, but let her go when she turned the corner and did the last 200m uphill.  Cool down was about 2.5 miles. 

Ran with Josse and Rebecca for an hour, then another 30 min with Josse.  Woke up early to be able to run with them in Provo but it is so worth it.  I can run alone at my convenience back in HK :D ave pace 4:56.  

Spent the day at Marion's house.  So fun!  Missed the "wherewolfs" game.  And Marion. 

Met Josse, Melody and EmilyB.  My workout was 20 x 2 min on/ 1 min off.  Goal was 3:45/k pace (6:00 pace).  I knew that having strong ladies with me would be key to me even getting close to finishing this workout.  They didn't want to do 20, but neither did I so I don't blame them.  We warmed up 4k toward the mouth of the canyon.  There was a strong headwind as we approached the canyon so we decided to not go up and down the canyon on the fartlek. Good call.  Here were the paces for the first 12: 3:42, 3:44, 3:39, 3:43, 3:46, 3:40, 3:45, 3:43, 3:48, 3:43, 3:44, 3:44.  Then Melody and Emily peeled off.  I wasn't sure midway through #13 if I would be doing many more.  Then I remembered I had a gu in my shorts.  So between 13 and 14 I took a gu.  Here were my splits going solo 3:42, 3:40, 3:46, 3:44, 3:38, 3:39, 3:41, 3:42.  

This is the first workout that I did where I felt adjusted to the altitude.  I am so happy to have finished the workout, and am grateful to the ladies for getting me far enough in the workout so I could see the end.  

PM: 7k run in the heat.  Marion biked next to me.  4:43/k pace.  Ran in her daughters size 9 shoes and I felt like a water bug. 

Ran 10.2k including 6 strides, 4:56 ave pace

Core workout 

I ran about 12 miles, up and down Payson Canyon with Mack, Tyler, and Darren.  I felt really winded.  Either I am not adjusted to the altitude, or the smoke from Pinyon fire was affecting my lungs.  We ran up about 5.5 miles, then got water, and I took a gu.  The top mile is the steepest, so we took the first mile easy down, then we picked it up.  My goal was to be between 3:45-3:55 pace (coach gave me 4:00/k pace for the 30 min tempo, but he didn't bargain for downhill).  My overall pace for the tempo was 3:52/k so I was happy with that.  It actually ended up being just over 29 minutes of tempo.

Woke up early and did a short slow run from my mom's house before the long drive to CA.

Ran with Britta and two of her friends in Corona.  It was a great, thoughtful course from Corona to Anaheim along the Santa Ana trail.  There was alot of shadiness.  Had an easy warm up then went ahead on my own, then did the last 3k easy.  Ave pace 4:42 ave pace.

Flew Sunday into Monday back to HK, back to the apartment just before midnight.

I ran the Ma On Shan side watchless.  

Ran 17.05k, at 4:31/k ave pace.  Felt good.

Core workout in the evening.

AM: ran 40 minutes

PM:  Met Alison, warmed up 5.15k, then 6 x 1k, with 400m rest between.  Goal was 87s/lap and perhaps a bit faster, that would be 3:37.  Splits were 3:36 (2:28), 3:34 (2:41), 3:36 (2:47), 3:35 (3:00), 3:34 (3:00), 3:32

Easy run around Kowloon Tong, 5:06/k ave pace.

Met Ali and Roberto.  Roberto was doing his own workout and Ali and I were going to do 55 - 60 min tempo at 4 - 4:15 ave pace.  I ended up doing 56:25 of tempo, 13.31k at 4:10 ave pace.  I did have three short breaks for a drink and one time also hit the toilet.

Easy run 4:48/k ave pace

Core workout in the PM 

AM: 8.08k at 4:56 ave pace

Got a massage from Anthony.  Last thursday my left hip was tight before the track workout, then my left foot hurt during the middle (from the arch up on the inside), then on Fri/Sat my left calf ached.  I got a foot massage from chinese ladies on Friday and Saturday, and it felt much better on Sunday.  Still had Anthony work that whole area over.  He said my ITB was very tight.

PM:  5.12k warm up, stretching, Coach Paul is back from the Olympics with a nasty workout, 6-8x 1600m on the 8 min, 5:50 goal (so 2:10 rest).  28.5C and 80% humidity.  There was also 15km/hr wind.  So our splits were supposed to be 87.5 per lap.  When I did hit 87 laps it was typically with a 42 on one side and a 45 on the other.  My times were 5:50, 5:48, 5:59  By the third one the lack of rest was really getting to me.  You would think humidity wouldn't affect your breathing but it did for me. I felt so demoralized from #3 I took one off, ate a gu, then jumped back in.  Coach was monitoring the workout and told me he wanted me to lead #4 from start to finish and I did 5:49 (Ali was by then in the mid 5:50's because she did not take a break and was thus getting progressively fatigued, while I was fresh off a long break), 5:47, then on #3 again I was tired from lack of rest and was 4:32 at three laps but then did an 82 for a 5:54.  So I did 6, Ali did 7. 4.77k cool down.

So this wasn't the best workout, but the weather was gross, and this is a hard workout for these conditions.  I felt proud of myself by the end despite skipping the middle one.  Ali is training for the half marathon championships in Bulgaria, while I am just training so I don't get out of shape, so my motivation is a bit wavery.  In fact, most of the time when I get on the track I am wondering why I am still doing this, why am I not at home with my family.  I am hoping to training myself into fully caring.  I look forward to the cooler weather and my marathon training cycle.  

11.2k @ 4:41ish pace, then 8 x 100m strides, with 100m walking rest, then jog a bit more.

Started sprinkling right after I stopped :( 

Met Roberto and Ali at 5:45am, and did 20 min warm up, then 16 x 2 min on/ 1 min off.  It felt hard from the get go, perhaps due to only getting 6 hours of sleep.  I just held onto Ali and dogged the 1 min rests.  3:41 ave pace for the fast parts.  Roberto said it was cooler this morning.  As I went to the MTR I thought I might have felt a nip in the air, but I thought I was imagining things by the time we were running.  He was right: it was 24C with 95% humidity starting the run.  

PM: core workout.  Went well.  I was going to do a run with the kiddies but they bailed. 

Ran to Kowloon Tsai park and did 6 strides.  Some people at the track were cheering me on, and seemed concerned when I would stop after 100m, one lady chatted with me in broken English and asked if I was ok, then she asked if it was my first time to this park (it is probably my 20th time).  It was fun to get some kindly interaction with some HKers.

7.15k easy.  

Also sea kayaking.  I was in a double with JJ which meant that I mostly had dead weight.  Then we went to lunch, and then went to Stanley Beach.  Ben and I swam out to the rafts which were further out than some beaches, probably 150m out.  Not ideal to be out in the sun the day before a race, but the sun is not so strong here and there were some clouds. 

This the race that I first ran in HK.  I was in good shape a year ago but still coping with the change of training in the HK weather.  So this year my plan was basic, beat my time from last year and break 39:00 (last year did 39:04.  

Roberto gave me a ride. We had about 2k of walking, to registration, then to the course, then just 3k warm up.  I stretched and had lots of potty time.  I was concerned about my stomach because I had a royal stomach ache Friday afternoon/evening, that was mostly gone Saturday, but running hard can make latent problems roar.

At the start there was an elite section, and a wall of runners behind that section.  I had a bottle of cold water and Ali and I poured it down our backs to cool off. 29C, 65-70% humidity. Some light winds, but it is an out and back course.  They let the walls behind us close in with 5 minutes to go, and I thought there were some high school girls usurping some space in front of Alison Chow and I (she is the top marathoner in HK, did 2:48 twice last year, and we train together).  We were about four people back, so we swung around the edge and got a better position.  It turns out those two girls were Taiwanese who had travelled for this race, and they took off fast!  My goal was 3:55 pace going out, then a bit faster coming back.  I had negative splitted this course by 18 seconds a couple of months back.  Ali and I stuck together, and we were behind the two Taiwanese ladies.  

1k - 3:49, the taiwanese ladies were about 10 seconds ahead!, with the lead pack of guys

2k 3:51, I am running with Ali, trying to run smart, figuring if those ladies are that fast then I can't keep up anyway, and if they made a mistake they will come back to us.

3k - 3:55, I am not feeling that great, but plugging along, Frankie (one of Ali's pacing friends) kind of hanging onto Ali, so in 4th place, in the third K we see coach Paul who cheers us on. Water stop in this k, drank some and the rest down my back.

4k -  3:50, we catch one of the Taiwanese girls at the end of the 4th k or in the 5th k

5-6k 7:49, I forget to get the 5k mark because it is a 180 turn around and I guess that is just not an obvious enough place to hit a lap split.  Lame.  But if I say the 5th k was 3:55, then my first 5k would be 19:22 (adding two seconds for truncated splits).  I can start to see the #1 girl ahead, she is probably 25-30 seconds ahead at the turn around, perhaps 25 seconds at 6k. 

7k -3:55, I know I need to move to catch this #1 girl and that this k is the place to do it, but obviously my split is not exactly eye of the tiger, she is about 20-25 sec ahead with 3k to go

8k - 3:52, I am making up a little ground

9k - 3:51, at this point I know I won't catch her, but don't want to get passed and want to break 39 minutes

10k - 3:43, I start this k fast, kicking but at 500m I am a bit demoralized and tired, so I think I checked out from 500m to 300m, then picked it up again.  

Total time (official) 38:39.  The course record was 38:23, and the Taiwanese girl came in 19 sec ahead of me at 28:20, so she got $4000hkd bonus and more prize money (obviously) than me.

I had a chat with coach afterward and he made me promise to go with anyone who I race with, even Paula Radcliffe should she decide to run the AVOHK 5k series :D  I should have stayed closer in touch, but with the heat I didn't want to blow up.  So I met my time goal, but failed to race this race in the smartest way.  Some lessons we get to relearn over and over.  I am happy, though to be 25 sec better in this race than last year.  I hope I can keep it up.

After a short break, Ali (who came in third 50 sec behind me) and I did another 2k tempo, 4:02 ave pace, then 5k easy, then I ran to get my bag.  So almost 21k today. 

4:52/k pace, core workout

8.1k in the AM, 4 something pace, started slow and sped up as usual

PM: stomach upset in the afternoon like last friday, so I took some gas reducer and some natural laxatives!  Nice pre workout cocktail but I was cramping and I just wanted to make the workout happen.  I felt fine for the workout other than having the toots and needing to go potty every break.

There was a monster workout in the plan, and I knew that there was no way I could do the whole thing.  Plan was 4 x 2 miles at 12 min, on the 15 min, then 4 x 1 mile at 5:50 pace.  So 12 miles hard.   Ha!  Usually in this weather I do about 3-4 miles hard. And the forecast for today was a high of 34C--very hot.  It did peak at 34 earlier in the day, but it was 30C for the workout, 80-85% humidity.  And the air was unclear--a bad air quality day.  So I talked to coach when I got to the track.  We planned that I would do the first 2 mile, then the middle mile of the next two mile, then the next 2 mile, then the middle mile of the next two mile, then we'll see.  Ali and I traded off laps for the first 2 mile set and came in 11:58, perfect.  Then I rested longer than her while she started her second 2 mile set (my rest was 6:02 , .87k jog plus potty). Coach told me she was fading and to not stay with her for my mile, so I did a 5:51 (she was doing 92 sec splits).  Then I rested 7:06 and then did a 2 mile set.  I faded in this one, felt like I had little in the tank.  My first mile was 6:02, then I did several 92's but then did a fast last lap and finished in 12:00.  I negotiated that I would only do one more mile then finish my workout.  After  8:03 rest (coach was giving Ali more rest and she was suffering in her workout for sure), I did a 5:56 mile, then coach gave Ali a break and only made her do 2 x 1 mile so I did those with her even though he cut me the slack that I didn't have to.  I did a 5:51 (4:51 rest), then 5:53. So 8 miles hard.  It was a tough workout for sure.  Glad to have it over. 

Easy run, 5:08 pace overall.  The first k was fast so I could catch up to JJ and give him a form to turn in for school.  After that I ran to Kowloon Tsai park and felt like death in k's 2-3, just no energy after Tuesday night's workout.  After a generous water stop I felt better and picked it up to sub 5:00 pace.

PM: 30 min elliptical.  First time in the gym since back to HK.   

Progressive run for 78 minutes.  Splits were a bit chaotic, just reflecting when I wanted to lap so I could see where my current pace is (a 5k lap is a bit long for a progression run).  Did 3.12 in 5:00 pace, then 4.2 in 4:27 (gradually getting faster), then 5k in 4:15, then a funky 1.33k that includes transitioning to the track in 4:28 pace.  Then we were on the track for the last 17 minutes.  I calculated I would need roughly 10 laps and they should be around 96 sec to make 4:00 pace.  I decided to take it 800m at a time.  Did 3:24 (slow!), 3:22, 3:18, 3:13, 3:02, then had 14 sec left that I continued fast.  So a truly progressive finish for my progressive run.  Ali did great when I was suffering (the 2k before we went to the track) but she fell apart on the track. 17.89k in 1:18:01 for the progressive run, then ended up with 1.07k of a cool down, a few minutes on the track then ran back to the MTR.  

PM: 5.06 miles on the TM 

13.7k in 4:44 ave with Roberto, including 8 x 30 sec strides.  Got horrible sleep last night!  Will nap for sure.