Winning Back What I Lost

Late evening recovery run:  Ran about 3.5M real slow w/ my son and then 3+ faster miles alone @ avg pace of 8:10 pace.  Established PR for monthly mileage!  Didn't feel so hot when I got home.  I think I'm coming down w/ something.  Hopefully, its just a 24 hr bug. 

Evening steady state/speedwork run:   I had planned on doing some speed work this evening but a combo of strong winds and an upset stomach forced me to abandon that idea after three .5M pickups of 7-7:15 per mi pace.  Overall pace = 8:00 per mi.

Evening TM run due to the rain; I haven't run inside in a few weeks and I had forgotten just how warm that place gets.  I was sweating like Arlen Specter at a Club for Growth meeting.  Did 1 hour @ goal marathon pace (8:15 per mi) and 1.5M easy cooldown.  Still have some stomach issues and the heat/stale air of the IAC didn't help.  One more long run this week and then I'll start tapering for Ogden which is 2 weeks from Saturday.  Yikes!

Lunchtime tempo run on the GB:  A little breezy today but otherwise a pretty nice day for a run w/ sunny skies and temp in the mid 50's.  Warmup up mile @ 8:22 then 5 mi @ avg 7:46 pace and .5M cooldown @ 8:23.  My right knee barked a little today but otherwise I felt real strong.  Avg HR was 162 bpm (87% MHR of 185 bpm) which seems kinda high to me b/c I didn't really feel all that winded.  But then again my HR measurements have always been on the high side.  Even the slowest of my runs I'm at least @ 152-155 bpm which is 80+ percent of my MHR.  I'd almost have to walk my long, slow runs just to stay within the recommended 70% MHR level (129.5 bpm). 

Out and back evening long run from Municipal Park to where the green belt ends past Glenwood Bridge.  This was my second 20 miler along w/ Robie in the last 12 days!  My legs began to acknowledge that fact, especially after mile 15.  Ran the first 17 w/ an avg 8:30 pace and pretty much just held on after that w/ an avg 9:30 pace.  I haven't had a rest day in about 2 weeks either.  The good news is that I had no stomach problems for the second long run in a row.  Unlike last Saturday, I ran on any empty stomach w/ no gels or sport beans and no water except for a fountain @ miles 2, 14 and 16.  Hopefully, my body learned some lessons today.  Bring on the taper!

Afternoon slow recovery jog on the GB; This is the effect that the fastrunningblog has had on me.  I really wanted to take a much needed day off but that nagging topic on the discussion board about the physiological benefits of NOT taking the day after a long run off nagged at me in the back of my mind.  Ran at just under 9 min pace the whole way.  Usually, I tend to run faster than I should on a recovery day but today my hand was forced as I doubt that I could have mustered a charge even if I wanted to.  The absolute greatest news is that I'm injury free [knock on wood] going into the taper.  I'm taking tomorrow off- my wife will be gone all day and night anyway- and possibly the entire weekend.