sub-3 or blow-up trying

Ran the Litchfield Road Race in our town.  Well over 1500 runners with several elites.  Very humid, yet the sun was covered and it ended up being quite "comfortable" in the high 60's/low 70's temperature wise.  My only goal was to beat last years time and I was able to do it by almost 90 seconds.  The splits will look ridiculously crazy, but much has to do with a huge hill (Gallows/9% grade) at the beginning and end of the race.  There is also a middle section that diverts into the woods with a not so steep, yet steady incline that can take a little out of you as well. 

Mile 1:  5:38 (Going with the adrenaline + downhill...way too fast, yet avoided getting trapped on the first neighborhood street)

Mile 2:  6:30 (Very flat, for most of the mile + a short, steep incline at the end- felt good)

Mile 3:  6:40 (Mostly flat w/barely an incline leading up)

Mile 4:  7:04 (Entering White's Woods- satisfied with this mile, yet not thrilled...ideally could have run 6:50ish with a 6:30 effort)

Mile 5:  7:01 (Felt fine, but completely lost focus...I was just keeping pace with those around me...should have been able to keep 6:45- they were trails, yet mostly flat with even a slight down section)

Mile 6:  6:46 (OK- I still had 6:30 in me, yet was trying to conserve for Gallow's Hill...in hindsite should have just given the 6:30 effort- the hill is slow no matter what)

Last section:  Did not do well on the hill- this was the only section in which people passed me (maybe 2-3 runners- looked like teenagers)- got to the top of the hill and then was able to keep a 6:30 pace until the finish- Final time was 48:06.  With smarter racing may have been able to shave 10-15 seconds, yet am satisfied with the result.

Also, got in a few warm-up miles. 

Did a .25 warm-up and then broke into a 3-mile tempo (6:53, 6:54, 7:04)- had to work really hard for it since it was entirely uphill (very gradual).  Jogged 2 miles and then did a 2-mile tempo back (6:46, 6:43)- didn't have to work as hard since it gradually sloped downward.  finished with 1.1 mile "cooldown" for 8.35 miles total. 

5 miles on TM @ 9min pace.

Ran 9.5 miles through the hills, 7.5 of them at 7:33 pace before hitting a trail and then jogging slowly up Gallows Lane. 

Headed down to West Hartford to run a 5k.  I've done it 2x and it's a very challenging course.  Ran a 7 mile race Sunday + hard workout on Monday, so second guessed trying to give an all-out effort today.  Decided to go for it and be my speedwork for this week...

Got to the race site an hour early, so got in 6 miles of "warm-up", including the race course.  There were about 100 runners today and we got started right at 6:30pm- temp was high 60's w/a pleasant breeze.

Mile 1:  6:17 (Mostly uphill, yet able to keep a steady pace...felt strong)

Mile 2:  6:45 (Much steeper section that flattened out about 2/3 way through mile 2...killer, especially on my right achilles...one 40-year-old passed me who ended up taking 1st in age group by 12 seconds)

Mile 3:  6:13 (I was a little dissappointed with this mile...mostly flat and downhill and took me too long to really kick things in...began feeling strong again about 2/3 way through this mile)

Last .10:  Garmin had me at a 5:25 pace...wish I'd kicked it in a little sooner.

Ended up satisfied with my time, 19:48, which was a 25 second pr for me on this particular course.  The trends are looking good thus far for me this summer, so my biggest goal is being consistent and staying injury free. 

Did a little bit of a "cooldown" to round out my mileage at 10miles for the day.

2 sets on the TM:  4 miles right before dinner and 6 miles after- 9:30 pace. Also, did 20-min leg work. 

Did a loop towards Morris, first 7 on the road...started downhill @ 9min pace for 2 miles, uphill @ 8min pace for 3 miles and then held the 8min pace flat for another 2 before veering into the woods.  Kept trail running real slow and finished up on Gallows for 12miles total. 

Did 20-min weights and then ran almost a 10-mile loop towards Morris and back, including 7 miles at 7:26 pace through a descent set of hills.  My weight was the lowest it's ever been- part of it was having completed this run on a hot day, yet I've never weighed less even following a 20-miler.