It's all relative

PM: Workout in East Lake.  3x1600 with half time recoveries (2:30).  I was pretty strict with myself, since that usually yields the best results.  I figured I would be a bit too tired to handle mile repeats, but I felt fine after the first 400, so I just kept chugging.  I didn't reach deep into the tank on this workout, but had I tried four intervals, I would have had to.

Splits- 4:57, 4:59, 4:58, 0:29 (200m finish sprint after a 20 second walking break)

AM: 10 miles solo

PM: 4+ miles evening it out.

AM: marathon-ish workout. Elia joined me on the slow stuff, but was solo for the other 11 miles. Started the workout at mile six. 3x3mile at sub 17:59 goal pace.

Splits- 17:54, 17:28, 17:57

I suspect the gps was a bit funky for the last one, since it was a bit curvy, so it was likely a bit faster than that.

PM: 10 miles solo

AM: 11.25 miles 3 fast with 12x400 intervals at HM effort or faster.

PM: 10 miles and 15 hill repeats.

PM: 11 miles solo, 1 mile of striders

AM: 4 miles solo.

PM: 6 miles with Elia.

St Pete Grand Prix 5k

Goal time (aided): 15:00

Final time (aided): 14:58

Course: The course itself is awesome! However, the course is notorious for being short.  Tons of twists and turns (it is a race car track set up in St Pete) all fenced in with barriers, road blocks, and the course starts and finishes on the beautiful waterfront of St Pete.  I have spoken to the race director a couple of times who assured me it was 5k, but she is definitely not correct.  I'd give it a max of 3.07, but more likely 3.04-3.05.  It is frustrating when race directors aren't even close to accurate- 100-110 meters makes a big difference in a race only 5k long.  It is even more frustrating when they call it a "5k".  I guess "4.9k" doesn't have the same ring to it.

Race- I went out on fire with nothing to lose- short course, C race, no tapering, knowing I wanted every mile under 5 minutes.  After about 10 seconds, a twenty-year-old ran out ahead of me- now, we're in business.  He had runner shorts, a tank top, head band- he had the look!  He ran the first quarter in 1:10, and the second quarter in 1:12.  Wow, 2:22 for the first 800!  I couldn't help it, I fell right into the speed trap about two steps behind him, but knew I had more.  I was confident that this gentleman was in for rude awakening based on his breathing pattern, but who knows, I've been wrong before!  We rolled through mile 1 in 4:49 and he was about 1-2 seconds ahead- way too fast, but, whatever, I was enjoying the challenge.  

Mile 2- I passed him right about here.  Oh man was trying to hang on, but I kept it fast.  I rolled through the next half mile in 2:25 and entered the first 180 degree U-turn in pit row.  He was definitely faltering here- about 15 seconds back- so I tried to relax a little, moving through mile two in 4:54.  I knew I was about to pay the price, but forget it, it was worth it... at the time.

Mile 3- This mile was cool, although I was feeling the fitness falter, especially running solo again.  The pit crews, family, car riders, etc. were all watching/drinking/talking trash while outside the fences, so that was motivating.  The frequent turns were a pain- I can't even imagine having to do that in a machine capable of such high speeds.  5:01 overall for this mile.  

The finish: I glided through with 14:58 on the clock and still had energy left, which is always a cool feeling in a 5k- I'm usually beat.  I finished with a 4:55 per mile average overall, and a 4:49-4:50/mile average is needed to break 15:00, so again- bogus course.  The guy who had been running with me finished in 15:57 or so.

Final thoughts: I had 3.06 for the distance on my watch, but I didn't care- I knew the type of race I was getting into, so I wasn't angry.  It was worth it to see "14:xx" on the clock down the last straight.  The weather turns pretty poor from here on out in Florida, but I may take another stab at a couple of races before Boston, however my main focus will be the marathon, so it will just be a no tapering scenario for them.  

I think on this day (had the course been long enough) it would have been interesting to see what I would have done if the course was certified.  Alas, it was not, so all I've got is a fun story that I hopefully won't embellish with time!  

AM: 12.75 miles

AM: 20 miles, 4+ fast with bridge repeats.  Ran with Elia

PM: 4 miles

AM: 10 miles, solo.

PM: gym and then the treadmill with some hills- 5.5 miles

AM: 11.5 miles, 2 fast

PM: 8.5 miles, 3 fast.  Workoutes was 6x800, 1x200 with half time recoveries, full time recovery after the third one, then back to half time recoveries.

Splits- 2:24, 2:24, 2:28, 2:24, 2:26, 2:28, 0:33

AM: 10.5 miles solo

PM: 6.1 miles with Elia and Alan

AM: 6.2 miles solo

PM: 5.55 miles solo

No running- was kayaking all day and have some serious callouses and raw skin to prove it!

So I had a couple of extra bucks returned to me for a groupon deal that didn't pan out, so I used it on a local certified 5k.  I did not taper obviously, and kayaking didn't help, but I figured might as well use the speed while I've got it!

~The race~

I did at first shoot for a sub 15:15, but after mile 1 that was not in the cards as I was already tiring, no one was near me, and lapping the walkers is alway a nightmare when trying to go fast.  I shut it down and put myself on auto-pilot the rest of the way.  Contradictingly, I am excited to feel "disappointed" with a 5k in the 15's... I never thought I'd be at this level.  

The good news?  For placing first, I received $50 to a local running store, a free year at the local gym good for any of the locations, and a beautiful stained glass piece of art.  For less than $10, I made out like a bandit!

Splits- 4:52, 5:05, 5:19, 0:28

AM: 20.2 miles.  I paced Elia and Brian in their half marathon PR attempts.  Brian got it, but Elia was not quite there.  I ran with music, which was a nice touch.  I wouldn't say any of it was truly "fast", but I did give effort.

PM: 10+ miles solo

AM: 10.25 miles, 3 fast

PM: 11.3 miles with Jeremy, Brian, Steve, John, and Wilcox, 4.5 of them fast as a hills workout.  We used the up and the down for the workout.  I progressively got faster, and although did not feel recovered at all from the last week, I found it relatively easy overall.  Paces were marathon pace increasing all the way down to 10k pace with regular pace running as "recoveries."  Happy we chose to do hills- I always neglect them since they are impossible to find in Florida.

PM: 8 miles, brutally slow.

PM: 5.35 miles slow.

No running

AM: Paced a marathon with Rona.  Very cool memory I will always have!

AM: 11.3 miles solo

PM: 5.8 miles and the gym.

PM: 13 miles.  Went up to Brooker Creek, but the back trails are still flooded out.  Oh well- was something different.

AM: Track in SH, 10 total miles, ~2 of them fast pacing a couple of people.

PM: 11.2 miles at track in East Lake with Steve, Nick, John, Jeremy, and Brian.  Jeremy, John, and Nick are actually doing what they're supposed to be doing and practiced for Boston with some Yassos- I still decided I am in a fast mindset, so I did 12x400s, 1x200. 

It was tough this afternoon having run so many miles the last couple days.  My legs felt trashed both before the workout and in between each 400.  I was fine while floating along during each interval although- I don't know how.  I did 5 miles of warmup before the workout as well waiting for everyone, which doesn't help either.

Splits- 1:13, 1:14, 1:14, 1:14, 1:12, 1:12, 1:14, 1:10, 1:04, 1:10, 1:10, 1:09, (~20 second rest) 0:32

All good except for the 1:04.  I was pacing off the slower runners who were going a bit faster than they had said they would.

PM: 13.15 miles solo

Random toughts- yesterday has me a bit worried for Boston.  In the end my mindset seems to always be "just sub 3 and you're good."  I seem to make this mistake whenever I have a marathon lined up- I never actually train specifically for them (with speed in mind anyway), or with a plan.  I really just walk out this door and wing it the majority of the time. My mileage is always decent, my speed is often okay, but I never give tempos or marathon race-pace much of a thought during the build up.  I'm a bit too close now (18 days) to really add anything worthwhile, but maybe writing this will hold my future self a bit more accountable if things go awry on Boston race day.

PM: 11+ miles, 4.4 as a continuous workout at marathon pace with striders/surges mixed in to work on bringing my heart rate down, and then the gym to work the chest, tris, and abs a bit.

PM: 5 miles

Noon: Competition/kind-of-a-workout: Ran as part of a relay team at a dri-tri competition at OTF- the running portion. 

I warmed up with 10 hard striders in the parking lot after a 5 mile run to tired myself out.  And then got in the gym and got ready.  The goal was to max out the treadmill for the duration of the 5k when my turn came, unless I had a lead.

The competition is a 2000m row, 300 repetitions in the gym of 6 varying exercises, and then a 5k treadmill run with a 2 incline.  I was part of a 3-person relay.  I was excited!

They got to me with a couple of seconds lead on the second place team, so I jammed my fingers into the buttons and set the treadmill up in incline and to the max it could go (12mph) and the second place guy got on about 10 seconds after me and did the same.  Fortunately, I was able to hold it the entire 5k and we were able to roll into first place!  It was motivating having someone else fast next to me, but my mind kept playing games on me with, "what if he gets ahead of me?"  I knew the treadmill only went to 12mph so it literally wasn't possible, but I kept running through scenarios in my head.  That was an odd experience.

I felt fine and wasn't breathing very hard.  The treadmill is markedly easy, especially with people running hard next to you.

Treadmill splits: 5:00, 5:00, 5:00, 0:31

The competition: What a cool idea!  Fun, easy, competitive, loud music, people yelling, cheering you on- I really dug it.

Noon: Went out late today.  I wanted to do a workout of 7x200, 3x5k with 3:00 jog recoveries in 17:50 per 5k, but I just didn't have it and bailed before the final two 5ks.

Splits 0:40, 0:38, 0:36, 0:32, 0:32, 0:32, 0:29; 17:55, ----, ----

It was definitely 90% mental and 10% physical although I tried to convince myself otherwise.  It's amazing to me- one day you can run a 5k and have it feel easy and like you're floating, and then the next day feel awful.  How I was able to run the 15k and follow it up the next day with a 1:13 half marathon in February, yet today I can't even muster a 17:50 5k a day after breezing through a short 5k is just so odd.