Winning Back What I Lost

615AM: Easy + speed (6 x 100m strides). Felt really good this morning after taking Sunday off. Need to get back to running, at least a little bit, every day. I think the short easy run on Sundays really supports the fitness benefits derived from the Saturday long run.  I'd rank it a close second to the mid-week long runs in importance for marathon training.

Noon: Easy progression run on the GB from Muni Park.  Concentrated on a couple of form improvements that I've been trying to introduce- slight lean forward, better toe off, knee lift and backleg extension. I've always been troubled by the race pics that I see because in nearly every one of them I have both feet on the ground simultaneously, suggesting that my running form is more of a shuffle. 

6AM: Easy run. Gradually stretching out the midweek runs.  Very cool temps this morning after a dry cold front pushed through last night w/ high winds. Supposed to warm up quickly on the backside w/ temps near 100 by Thursday or Friday. Summer in the high SW Idaho desert has begun.

Audiobook of the Month: Running with the Kenyans by Adharanand Finn.  A story about a late thirty something Brit who uproots his family to go live and run with elite Kenyan runners for 6 months.

NYT article on endurance athlete Jure Robic.  Very informative article about a Slovenian utltra-bicyclist who literally goes mad during races and, more generally, how the brain acts as a central governor to limit athletic performance.  

620AM: Speed day! Warm; 3 x 1600m (6:31; 6:33;6:32) w/ 400m jogs; cool. This was harder than I thought it would be and more difficult than the last time I did mile repeats, approx. 3 wks ago. That's not a good indicator for how I'll run in my 10k this Saturday. I was planning on going out at 6:30/mi pace and trying to hang on from there. Considering how difficult this workout was that might be ill advised.  

615AM: Easy Run. Had to make a mad dash into Jack in the Box for a pit stop. This may be the first time anyone has ever had an explosive bowel movement at one of their restaurants who didn't actually eat their food.

1230PM: Easy 30 mins on the GB. Very warm today but a nice breeze made it tolerable. Saw perhaps a dozen people rollerblading.  Apparently, that's still a thing. 

630AM: Short, easy run. Just one run today. This is how I taper for a local 10k.  

Very flat and fast course that I ran my previous PR on last year. Later start so it was already above 70 when we started at 9am. I thought I was capable of running a little faster but I just couldn't get any power out of my legs. Never felt like I was maxed out cardiovascularly. I tried to surge numerous times in the last couple miles but it was not happening. I went out at 6:30 for the first mile and gradually drifted towards the 7:00 pace in each successive mile. Felt like I had more power at the end of my half Mara in May than I had at the end today. Did a 3m easy warmup early this morning, mostly to get the GI system moving, so that may have sapped the legs a bit before the race started. I don't usually do any warmup. Not elated but somewhat pleased with the 25 sec PR.