It's all relative

AM: Did a long run with Anthony and we stayed local for once. We did a progressive from 7:30 pace down to 7:10 at the midpoint down to 6:35 or so. This wasn't really a workout, I just personally just wanted a quality long run in the MP+1 range.

On a sadder note, it was wicked humid and mid 70s despite starting at 4:45am... Summer in Florida has come early...

AM: 4 miles then to the gym- arms and back, then a bunch of dynamic exercises.

PM: 6 miles solo.

AM: Track in SH, 9 miles total. Did 2x2miles at 15k pace with 4 minutes recovery. Felt great. PM: Modified workout with Anthony and Chand in East Lake. We did about 9 miles but only about 1.5 miles of speed. Workout was: 4x200, 4x400, 4x200. 

No running.  This was unplanned, but life happens.  

Race Prep- So it looks like I'll have a good shot at the top 10 this weekend at Gasparilla which is cool.  Really, any modest effort will make me happy, as my race recap from last year was as follows: 

"Gasparilla 15k Race Report:  Ran a 54:37, 19th overall.  I'm not impressed with myself or my effort.  I need to work harder.  This felt like the toughest race I've ever done.  I've really blown it this season."

That being said, I will tentatively make a reach goal of 49:55, a 5:21/mile pace.  I'm really unsure how to run this race with my current fitness.  The calculators are suggesting a 50:25 effort, or about a 5:25/mile pace.  I suppose I could also just race and not worry about my pacing, similar to how I started the last half marathon I ran.  If anyone has any input when looking at my recent mileage and efforts, I'd appreciate the input- positive or negative.

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AM: 6 miles on the treadmill with striders.

PM: 5 miles easy in East Lake, solo.

AM: A couple of easy miles then some plyometrics.

Gasparilla 15k Race Report

Final time: 50:07         "A" Goal time: sub 50, "B" Goal time: PR- sub 50:44

Weather/course: 70s, high dew point, humid, cloudy, breezy... Florida.  The course was a flat out and back with 1 little bridge.  

The Race: Interesting start.  I was in about 12th at the first mile marker.  Then, without even increasing the pace at all, the runners in front of me just kept falling off.  By the beginning of mile 4, I was handily into 3rd place-  1st and 2nd were long gone by that point.  Anthony was the only one really hanging (as he should be) around.  He was about 3-6 seconds behind me all the way until about mile 7.  I suppose that's the interesting thing about Gasparilla- everyone starts off super fast for really no reason at all.  I guess there is a reason- there was $5,000 in prize money split amongst the top 5 finishers being awarded, so maybe that's it.

The race was pretty lonely from mile 4 onward- just me and a beautiful vista of Tampa Bay.  Going solo made it difficult to pace and push myself.  It also didn't help that the mile markers were not even close to correctly placed, so my splits below are taken from the timing mats.  I was, fortunately, able to check myself correctly on the last mile, which I was happy came in at 5:18.

Results: 1st- 47:27,   2nd- 48:21,    Me- 50:07,  4th (Anthony)- 50:44,   5th- 51:17,    6th- 51:36

Splits: 1st half 25:11 (5:24 pace),  2nd half- 24:56 (5:21 pace).  Totals- 5:22.5 pace, ~16:42 average 5k pace.

Takeaways: I probably should have gone a little faster in the first half.  A negative split of 15 seconds and the decent final mile suggests I had more in me.  I'm still happy with the PR although, and it just means that there's room for improvement.