It's all relative

PM: 13.1 miles, most on the treadmill doing some incline.  7:30/mile pace.

AM: 9 miles, 6 "fast" but only about 1.5 actually relatively quick running with Brian and Tommy.  They did a fun alternating workout I think I'm going to steal- 8:00, 7:00, 6:00 and then ride it like a wave up and down again alternating every 0.75 miles.  Definitely made it go by quicker.

PM: Tempo workout with Darek and John similar to this morning- just hotter and faster.  5 miles continuous alternating paces up and down a ladder getting only as low as about 5:25/mile pace.  So it would be 6:55/mile for 1/2 mile, then 6:25/mile for a half mile, then 5:55/mile for a half mile, then 5:25/mile for a half mile, and then head back up the ladder getting slower and finish back down the ladder getting faster.  The workout felt quite easy.  I started losing touch with Darek and John on the 'ladder up' portion, so I paused on a downhill on the slowest interval so we could all team up again.  I hope it helped everyone push.

AM: 3.2 miles.

PM: 10.1 miles

AM: 18 miles, bridges

AM: 21 miles

AM: 11 miles

PM: 7 miles

AM: 10.5 miles, 4 fast doing timed intervals.  6:00/5/4/3/2/1 with half time recoveries.  Hilariously, my fastest interval (other than the 1:00 interval) was the first one at 5:15/mile pace. This is definitely a low point- I sucked today. 

PM: 6.6 miles

AM: 4 miles

PM: 13.2 miles on the treadmill doing inclines.  7:30/mi pace.  Sometimes I enjoy the treadmill, while sometimes I feel like it's leading me to lose my mind.  This was a former situation.

AM: 6 miles

PM: 10.3 miles, 7.5 of them fast with Darek and John doing a modified (harder) version of "The Michigan."  We chose to do it on the trails because of the random inclines and declines would add some spice.  Workout was- 1 mile tempo (MT), 1 mile hard/fast interval, 1 mile tempo, 0.75 mile faster interval, 1 mile tempo, 0.5 even faster interval, 1 mile tempo, 0.25 full effort, and finish with a ... you guessed it- 1 mile tempo.  sixty-seconds of recovery between each effort for the duration of the workout.

Splits- MT (5:49), mile fast (5:25), MT(5:45), 3/4 mile (3:58, 5:18/mi pace), MT (5:40), 1/2 mile (2:37, 5:14/mi pace), MT (5:42), 1/4 mile (1:10, 4:40/mi pace), MT (5:32).

Overall, super pumped about this workout.  What a roller coaster compared to how I felt Tuesday.  I'm proud of myself for running this well in this weather.  It was only around 87-88 degrees along with the normal humidity, so we got a slight reprieve thankfully.  Now I just need to think up a marathon predictor workout.  I wouldn't consider myself adept at marathon running, so it'll unfortunately be a research nightmare, unless anyone from the blog is willing to let me know of a good predictor workout (if it exists)?  

AM: 6.1 miles in the rain

PM: 10 miles

AM: 20+ miles, with 5 at MP effort with John, Jeff, Jeremy, and Darek.  Splits were somewhere around 6:05, 6:00, 5:55, 5:43, 5:53, although I didn't really pay attention during the first three miles and was just enjoying the sound of the footfalls and the sun rising over Tampa bay. 

Efforts felt easy- I felt strong.  I ran the last 4mi. of the run by myself- figured I'd rather get my 20-miler out of the way when I'm feeling good, than suffer through it tomorrow.  Shocked, really, that it felt so good after Thursday and just the general high mileage.  I'm sure waking up tomorrow will remind me to not get too cocky.

PM: 4 miles.  130.

AM: 18 miles, with fast finish with 3 at MP.

PM: 6.2 miles

AM: 8 miles

PM: 11 miles

AM: 10 miles, 3 kind of fast miles, that will certainly tire the legs out for this afternoon's (hopefully) workout.  I suppose I could have done it this morning, but have you ever just not wanted to do it?  Today was that day.  I watched two of the guys get a lead on me in the first interval and just mailed the rest of it.  They even beat me on the sprint work at the end.  I used to be such a fast sprinter- getting old really sucks.  In my mind I'm zooming- in reality, I'm getting zoomed by.  I suppose that's okay.  I'm just happy to be out there and still going.  I even reminded myself today that six months ago I was in my third straight month of no running. 

PM: 2 mile warmup with half a mile of striders, then a workout:  two sets of 5x800 with 90 second recoveries and 3 minutes in between sets. Recoveries ended up being between 90 seconds to two minutes.

Splits- 2:30, 2:28, 2:28, 2:27, 2:26, 2:26, 2:26, 2:26, 2:27, 2:25

Finally decided to run a workout-workout.  Definitely a confidence builder.  A 5-mile workout is serious business.  I almost broke at the sixth interval and convinced myself to switch to 400s instead to finish up, but I'm really proud of myself for not- they just aren't the same, they're just to easy to 'cheat' on and use the wrong reserves.  The last interval was awesome.  About halfway through I knew I had the workout in the bag, and I couldn't wipe the smile from my face.  I turned it on with about 200m to go and cruised in for my fastest interval.

AM: 4 mile recovery run.

PM: 13.1 miles.

AM: 3.1 miles

PM: 10.2 miles with ten of the Clearwater bridges at HM effort with Darek and John. Was definitely tough.

AM: 6.2 miles PM: 10.1 miles

AM: 21 miles, 5 fast at MP effort.  Would do 3 miles cruising then go into 1 mile at MP effort.  Felt easy.  I got faster each mile.  The last one felt the easiest and it was at mile 19.5 to mile 20.5, although I did have a gel within a mile right before that.  I think I'm going to forego the PM run.

131 miles!    :D  

AM: 17.2 miles on the Clearwater bridges, finishing with four extra bridge up-and-over repeats with Darek, Jeff, and Brian.

AM: 8.5 miles

PM: 8.2 miles.  Slogfest.

AM: 10 miles, 4 fast.  Descending intervals- 8:00, 6:00, 4:00, 2:00, striders.  Paces started at 5:15/mile and then got faster each interval.  Form was good, did not break at all, I should have started at 5:00/mile, but I suppose for marathon training it isn't super important.  My legs were garbage.  The last 2:00 interval and striders were much more chill than normal.  I am feeling discomfort in my hip.  Doesn't seem like anything to worry about, but I'd rather be safe.

PM: 6.3 miles with 1/2 mile hard helping Jeff for a segment.

I did not run today.  I just... did not want to.  Ate pizza and beer instead.  No regerts.

PM: 13 miles, 6 fast doing a progressive tempo with John and Darek.  The workout started at 6:55/mile then descending approximately 15 seconds per mile each mile.  Not an ideal workout in the Florida sun, but it is what it is.  I was banking on doing 7 miles, but I was pretty wiped after the sixth mile, so I packed it in.  Darek and John had stuck with me pretty much throughout.  The last mile was the only spot where I lost contact.  John looked very strong today.

I sincerely regret missing yesterday and this morning- my legs were tight, particularly my patellar tendon and I was acutely aware that I should have done all three runs I missed leading up to this workout.  Not an injury, fortunately.

Splits- 6:48, 6:38, 6:12, 6:05, 5:52, 5:34

AM: 4.1 miles

PM: 10 miles

Noon: 10.1 miles, 5 fast on the treadmill.  2.5 mile warmup, 6x200, 1x5k, 5x90 seconds, cooldown.

Splits- 6xstrider effort, 5k in 15:30 @5:00/mile pace, quarter miles all in 90 seconds (really 1:15ish) @ 4:57/mi, 4:55/mi, 4:52/mi, 4:50/mi, 4:48/mile pace. 

For each interval, I let the treadmill get to speed for 15 seconds to keep it honest, so they were intended to be 1:15-1:20 of timed effort at those quarter-mile paces.  The 5k was a cinch- I was fine until I realized I had cracked the 12-minute mark and then I kept clock-watching and lost my flow.  One of my headphones died as well at about that time, so instead of "beats by dre," I suppose I had "beat by dre."  Happy with the effort, and more improtantly, I can't wait to turn my focus back to 5k/10k.  Makes me feel like Ricky Bobby...

PM: 4 miles

AM: 16.1 miles with John and Darek.  2k off 1k on for the duration of the run for a total of 7 efforts.  Tired from the start.  No nutrition.  Capped the run at two hours and packed it in.

Split paces for each 1k effort- 5:52/mi, 5:40/mi, 5:30/mi, 5:36/mi, 5:16/mi, 5:24/mi, 5:31/mi.

AM: 4 miles.  Felt very easy.

PM: 7.6 miles.  Felt... not easy.  0.5 miles hard trying to win back a segment- I tied it.  That was disappointing.  

AM: 10 miles total with a 5+ mile tempo at 15k/HM effort using the hill in Philippe.  The pace was sad- real sad, but I definitely gave the right effort.  Did not reach too deep, but I can definitely feel my legs are still a bit destroyed from Saturday.  That being said, Sunday was no help either.

I will try to run 5+ tonight, and then average 11 miles per day the rest of the week to get 85.  

PM: 5.7 miles with Jeff and Darek.  0.3 miles trying for another segment- and got second lol.  I ran it incorrectly, so I'm using that as my excuse today.  Running out of excuses for missing these segments.  I guess I can expect a lot of that now that I'm getting older.  

PM: 10 miles on the treadmill with inclines, decent pace.

AM: 3.1 miles

PM: 9 miles, 4.1 fast.  Three sets of 1x400, 1x800, 1x1000 with 90 second recoveries outside in the lovely heat and humidity.  Wasn't all that bad, surprisingly.  Ran with John and Darek (and Jeff for a minute).  Also, ran a segment for the first half mile interval.  I was first, but it registered me as second to John... continuing my streak of second place finishes on Strava.  I just re-joined, and it's already making me hate strava.  Not excited.

Splits (paces)- 1:18 (5:12/mi), 2:25 (4:51/mi), 3:18 (5:19/mi), 1:07 (4:30/mi), 2:36 (5:12/mi), 3:25 (5:27/mi), 1:14 (4:56/mi), 2:36 (5:12/mi), 3:16 (5:16/mi)