Sean's Running Blog

Back in Seattle. Easy run this morning. Nice to be back.

Speed workout today at the Redmond High School track. I was supposed to do it at the UW Indoor track last night but had other commitments. So I had to brave the workout alone yet again. Last winter I was able to do almost every weekday workout with a group of guys which really helped. This year so far I've only been able to run with the other guys once.

I beat the rain today but didn't beat the wind. The track is on a ridge and fairly exposed to the wind. So it was breezy and even gusty at moments but I battled through.

The workout was 8x1000m @3:00 with 2:00 rest between each. Results:

#1 – 3:02

#2 – 3:01

#3 – 3:01

#4 – 3:03

#5 – 3:04

#6 – 3:03

#7 – 3:03

#8 – 3:02

Considering the conditions and that I still haven't kicked my cold, I was very happy with the workout. By rep four I was ready to quit. My bowels continue to give me troubles during the faster workouts. After laps four, five and six I spent my two minutes rest in the porto potty. The good news is that I came out each time telling myself that I had one more in me. By the time I finished rep seven I figured I might as well finish the workout. So I was really happy that I stuck it out and finished strong.

Cool but gorgeous morning. Four straight days of sunshine and mid-50s slated for Seattle.

8 more miles in the evening

Woke up at 3:30 and couldn't sleep. So I bolted out the door at about 4am for a chilly 12-mile run. The temp was 26 which meant putting on my running pants. It took me a few miles to get warmed up but it was a very dark and enjoyable run.

Easy run in the cold and clear skies of a gorgeous February morning. Sunny all weekend which makes for a nice 22-miler tomorrow.

24 miles marked my longest training run ever. I threw in a weird 13-mile tempo run in the middle. Did six warmup miles followed by 9 miles at 6:00 pace. I can't remember ever doing a 6:00 mile intentionally. It was just fast enough that I had to pay attention but slow enough that it felt pretty easy still. Then the next three miles were at 5:20 pace. I added an extra mile for good measure so i had four at true marathon pace. The last four were definitely harder. I've always found it difficult to start "slow" and then pick up the pace deep into a run. It's nice to know I could roll out of bed just about any day and throw down a sub-2:40 marathon.

Averaged 6:11 for the 24 miles. I'm tired but felt good during the run. the weather was perfect. Mostly cloudy and low 40s.

Here's my route: http://www.toporoute.com/cgi-bin/getSavedRoute.cgi?routeKey=FAIYMVMNLEIWPUC

Mile	Split
1	6:27
2	6:20
3	6:42
4	6:28
5	6:44
6	6:43
7	6:00
8	5:58
9	5:57
10	5:56
11	5:59
12	5:53
13	5:52
14	5:58
15	5:57
16	5:19
17	5:18
18	5:20
19	5:25
20	6:53
21	6:40
22	6:54
23	6:48
24	6:56