Winning Back What I Lost

130PM: Marathon Pace Run- 1M warm; 14M @ 7:28/mi avg pace; cool. This qualifies as a BFD! Been looking forward to this test run for a couple of weeks. Nice to know that I was able to complete this workout w/o redlining. I think my average HR was around 155, although it started to drift into the low 160's toward the end. This is encouraging because I often race at near 170 bpm. That sounds high but its fairly common for me. Ran an out and back on the Boise River Greenbelt. High water has flooded sections of the GB, especially in the tunnels. Knew this would be a challenge when I had to run through ankle deep water less than a mile in. All told, I had 4 "creek crossings" on the way out and 4 on the way back. This kept my feet nice and wet the entire run. Thought it would be a problem but the Balega socks I purchased really helped. Definitely one of the better running specific purchases I've made in quite a while. Highly recommend. Finally, I saw a hawk swoop down and grab a snake out of the grass near Ann Morrisson Park which was totally awesome!

615AM: Easy recovery run. My left piriformis muscle was extremely tight so I couldn't push off.  I'll monitor it and try some rehab and strengthening. Feel good otherwise. Very cool this morning. Temps are supposed to warm up this week but it felt like late fall this morning. 

530AM: Easy Medium Long Run.  Still a little sore from Sunday's workout but better. Picked up some healing rub called Blue Emu Oil w/ Glucosamine.  Seems to be really effective. Pain in my heel is gone and the piriformis pain is noticeably better after just one application. Even if its a placebo, I'll take it. 

615AM: Easy 6M to/from the gym + weight training (3 x single leg press & single leg lift). 

Noon: Beautiful day, temp in low 70s w/ light breeze. Jogged over to Fort Boise trails for some hill sprints. 10 x 15 sec hill sprints. This on the heels of this morning's weight session might leave my legs trashed for a couple of days.

615AM: Very windy outside so I headed to the gym for some easy TM running. Mixed in 7 x 100m strides. 

Headed to my oldest son's track meet tonight. He qualified for districts in the 400m. He's not expecting to move on to state.  He's only a sophmore, so the experience of running against good competition will hopefully push him to a big PR. 

615AM: Very cool this morning, mid 30's. Easy progression run, starting at slower than LR pace and finishing at current MP. 

My son ran the 400M at districts last night. He didn't run as well as he would like, much slower than he did last week, due to some windy conditions and a nagging hamstring issue. Still, he's only a sophmore and the experience will only serve him well when he returns next year.

1230PM: Last 20 miler of this cycle I think. Running a half next Saturday and don't want to run a 20 miler too close to my goal marathon 4 weeks from today. Weather was nice and sunny. Got a little warm, low to mid 70s. Ran a pretty even pace of goal MP + 60 secs/mi. Highest mileage week of my running career because I pushed last weeks long run to Sunday of this week due to time conflicts. Now it's off to get some late Mothers Day gifts with the kids.