It's all relative

PM: 11.1 miles, felt easy.

PM: 10 miles.  Felt easy.

PM: 10.1 miles

AM: Ran 4 miles and then paced a 5k in East Lake. I ran with the new guy Jacob, who is 14 and was shooting for a 16:40. I tried to talk him and his mother out of that pace, but they were adamant his workouts indicated that kind of speed, so I just caved. We paced through one mile in 5:28, and he was already cooked by the 0.75 mark to be honest. Finished in 18:24, and he was seriously mad at himself. I tried what I could to fix his attitude, but I don’t think there was anything I could say. Finished with a couple more miles.

Race Report!

PM: 8th annual Cinco de Mile, beer 1 mile race!

Course: this was a much different event then most beer miles. You start at the main bar in Plant City, begin the race by drinking a beer, then travel a quarter mile north to the next bar, go inside and drink your second beer, then reverse and head back to the main bar to drink your third beer, then head south a quarter mile to another bar to drink your fourth beer, and then back to the main bar to drink an unprecedented FIFTH beer. Absolute nightmare amount of beer for a non-drinker like me.

Conditions: super hot and humid, but for only a mile race it really doesn’t affect much.

Competition: about 25 competitors strong and then some walkers who were just doing it for fun. To be honest, the crowd was bigger than the number of competitors. There were three 2-time champions in the field as well.

The prize: the coveted Green Jacket, to be yours for the year and to have your name stitched in it forever of course!

The race: I started off behind about 12 guys and a girl after finishing my first drink. Everyone was required to drink the beers inside the bar, so there was a bottleneck for the slower drinkers. I left the bar in about eighth place. I caught up to fourth as we entered the second bar, and my only real advantage (being a runner) was immediately evident. Although I was third/fourth (tied) exiting the bar, the guys in front of me were struggle-busing ahead of me already, so I jetted to the front and got to the third stop in the lead, downed my drink the fastest and was out the door before the fourth guy even entered, and the other two guys were still waiting to take their first chug. Now firmly in first place, this next leg I was flying! I got to the southern bar which (thankfully) had a setup OUTSIDE the bar, took a deep breath, held my breath, and took 3 large swigs to take it down.

I was absolutely bloated at this point. I had no idea how I was going to finish the next one- the nightmare beer. I began my run and didn’t catch my first competitor for about 15 seconds, but there were four guys neck and neck, my friend Elia being one of them.  I cruised on this one, knowing what was in store for me. I arrived to 15 people outside the bar cheering, opened the door to the entire bar watching and cheering, and was handed a 16-ounce LEVIATHAN of a beer. I immediately took a swig and barely got two ounces down. I repeated this brutal method for 5-6 seconds, before holding my breath and going for broke. I finished the beer and dropped the cup in the trash for good measure before second place even entered the building!

Second, third, and fourth blew open the door in that moment, Elia bringing up the rear. Elia then proceeded to absolutely crush his drink in mere seconds to over-take them and finish in second overall! The winner from last year finished fourth, but the third place guy let some of his come back up, so he was disqualified. We then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out with everybody. Too fun!

What I learned? Five beers is a whole different world than a 4-beer beer mile. I still remember looking at the fifth one and thinking, “you’ve got to be kidding me.”  It was all worth it for the coveted green jacket!

Final time, 6:31, final distance 1.02, but that counts gps inaccuracy entering the bars.

AM: 13 miles

PM: 6.2 miles

AM: 10.1 miles

PM: 6.5 miles

AM: 10 miles, workout- 3x1600 w/ 400 recoveries, 20 second recovery, 1x200.  Splits- nothing special, just tried keeping everyone together.  5:30 for each mile.

PM: 6.5 miles, 8x800 with 400  recoveries- but called it quits right after starting the 5th one.  My legs felt like cement and multiple parts of my leg were bothering me.

Need a break- I ran a quarter mile, and then threw in the towel.  I need to recover from my marathon, and I will have to take a big "L" this week.

No running.

No running.

No running.

Grading myself for week 0:

Mileage (D-): Starting a bit low, but I needed to recover a little bit.

Speed (D-): I have run more honest intervals and done 4 mile sessions twice, which I am happy about.  I would like to nail a speed workout tomorrow, so that's a goal on the agenda.  I am a little peturbed about missing speedwork on Sunday, but with the mileage increase it is a good thing- I will just plan some good stuff next week.

Nutrition (D+): Really need to focus on this aspect.  I am seeing some adverse effects to my choices, and I need to get it in control.  Water, electrolytes, and vegetables are going to be the primary focus, as will be protein right after runs/working out.   

Racing weight (F): Weight: 156.  Seriously, getting older is just challenging.  I'm so much more sedentary outside of lifting/running, and the metabolism shows it.  I also need to keep my snacking down or only to low-calorie vegetables.

No running.  

No running.

AM: Decided to give running a shot- 6.25 miles. Felt... bad.

PM: Decided to run again- 6 miles.  It felt... hard, hot, and  I felt  out of shape.

PM: 6.25 miles.  I felt out of shape, but no cement feeling.  Right leg is still bothering me, but not in the same area.

PM: 10.15 miles.  My heart rate is still elevated, still feeling it in my right knee, but no "pain."

AM: 7 miles.

PM: 7.15 miles.

My heart rate is still elevated, still feeling it in my right knee, but no "pain."

AM: 9 miles.  Finally felt a little better today, but running with Elia, Alan, and Anthony helped a lot.

PM: 5.1 miles.  Felt better.  However, I am still feeling it in my right knee, but no "pain."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Grading myself for week 1:

Mileage (D): I didn't feel like cement in my legs which is a nice change this week, I still feel "something" in the knee, but I am going to give it a go on the easy mileage.

Speed (F): No speed so far.  Smart decision, but it's still sucks.

Nutrition (A-): Killed it nutritionally this week.  Missed some protein opportunities, but that's okay.

Racing weight (D): Weight: 152.  Four pounds was expected with my calorie counting.  It gets much tougher here on out.

AM: 15.2 miles.  My first long run in a while down in St. Pete. 7:44/average.  This is the first time I've run this "fast" in weeks.

PM: 6 miles.

AM:  10 miles.

PM: 6 miles.

AM: 8.25 miles

PM: Track and 11+ miles total.  I was feeling much better today.  I am still feeling it in my right knee, but no "pain."  Ran 8x800 with 400 recoveries, but started VERY conservative.  I just wanted to get through it with no pain.  So far, so good...  

Splits- 2:56, 2:54, 2:48, 2:48, 2:40, 2:40, 2:36, 2:37

AM: 10 miles

PM: 6.6 miles

AM: 12.3 miles, 5 fast with timed intervals- 2:00 on, 1:00 off at effort.

PM: 6.5 miles.

AM: 10.1 miles.

PM: 6.5 miles.

AM: 10 miles

PM: 4 miles

Grading myself for week 2:

Mileage (C): I still feel "something" in the knee, but no pain. The easy mileage this past week went incredibly well. Running doubles every day worried me at the beginning of the week, but overall I feel WAY better than any other time I’ve been to 100mpw or more, which was a welcome surprise. Grade remains low until I prove my consistency.

Speed (D-): I know it’s smart not to have really pushed it this past week, but I can’t help but grade myself lowly here, The miles won’t mean anything until I start to get uncomfortable. The only positive this week was I dipped below 6:00/mile pace on two days and there was no pains.

Nutrition (A): Killed it nutritionally this week. I am very proud of myself and my focus on balancing the needs of my body along with my running goals (let alone while dealing with work!).

Racing weight (C): Weight: 148.  Four more pounds this week, but again that was expected with my calorie counting. Looking still a bit jiggly, but that’s fueling me a bit mentally.

AM: 18 miles, 7 bridge repeats and 3 hills.

PM: 6 miles

AM: 13.1 miles, 6 of them fast with intervals- 3:00 on, 1:00 recovery.

PM: 5 miles easy.

AM: 11.1 miles

PM: 6 miles

AM: 10.1 miles

PM: 7 miles, 2 of them fast- 16x200 with 30 second recoveries.

AM: 10.1 miles

PM: 7.25 miles  

AM: 10.1 miles with striders at the end.

PM: 6 miles.