Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

55F, 8:07 AP.  Great running weather the rest of the week, too.  And then that's probably it until late October.  Gotta savor it!

56F, 7:19 AP.  Good cruising pace, then 6 x 1-minute strides on the way back.  Paces were a little faster than Wednesday - the last two were probably 1-mile pace.

Took the kids out to the trail where I run in the mornings.  They biked while we ran (total of 3 miles, but walked some).

My oldest had to do a presentation a few weeks ago about 4 different kinds of animals that live in the area, so she thought it was cool to see them.  We spotted plenty of white-tailed deer and a cottontail rabbit, but no armadillos or skunks today.  2 out of 4 ain't bad though!

60F, 7:03 AP.  I wanted to pick up the pace a little at the end, but this was probably a bit much for 2 weeks post-marathon.  I could feel the deep fatigue (what I like to call marathon stink) in the last couple miles.  I averaged 6:44 for the 7 miles on the way back (7:00, 6:53, 6:46, 6:27, 6:45, 6:39, 6:39).  The 6:27 kicked up a little lactic acid so I dialed it back realizing I wasn't quite recovered from Boston, despite how good it felt up until that point.  Even so, this is probably the fastest I've bounced back from a full marathon.  Not sure the reason; I underperformed the race, but not by too much.

Next week is a transition week.  Probably a light CV workout on Tuesday, some strides, and a progressive run somewhere in there.  Then it's time to kick in the 5k-10k program.  I know that's what I said last summer, but, like, for real this time.

61F, 8:35 AP.

66F, 89%.  Hit the track today for the first time in quite awhile.  This is my transition week, so I wanted a light workout just to get moving a little.  I did 5 x 800, 200m active recoveries.  Normally I do 7 or 8 of them at 10k pace, but I cut out a couple reps and slowed the pace a few seconds - 3:04, 3:03, 3:02, 2:59, 3:02.  Followed it up with 5 x 100 on the straightaways, jogging the curves in lane 8.  Good start.  I was able to finish the 800s just as the legs were starting to get that fatigued feeling from marathon remnants.  Will probably take it pretty easy the rest of the week, maybe a little progressive run somewhere, then hopefully I'll be ready for real workouts next week.

72F, 78%.  6 @ 8:20 AP.  Lots of people on the trail today.  I don't see a soul when it's 45 degrees, but flocks of people once summer starts?

AM2 - 4 on the TM before lunch at work.  Slow.

74F, 85%.  7:59 AP.  Struggled in the sticky weather, but gotta acclimate sometime.  The next few days should help with that, then it looks like we'll get one last short stint of cool mornings next week.  Definitely planning to pack a couple workouts in there.

AM:  75F, 90%.  Forgot my watch, but basically a repeat of yesterday's 9-mile slog.

PM:  Friday afternoons are usually slow, so I was able to get in 4 more on the TM at work, including a mile worth of strides at various inclines.  Having those treadmills downstairs is really going to help me maintain the 60 mpw goal this summer.

71F, 88%.  7:30 AP.  Picked it up a little on the way back, without cracking into the 6's.  It's looking like Wednesday and Friday for my two workouts next week -- both mornings in the 50s!  Probably the last time until mid-October that we'll see temps that low, so gotta take advantage.

AM:  74F, 92%.  6 @ 8:48 AP.  Gonna try and hit the TMs at work later, if I can.

PM:  4.1 on the TM, included several strides at 5k pace to prep the legs for Wednesday's 5k workout.

57F, N 14 mph.  7:50 AP.  Some heavy thunderstorms came in last night and cooled everything off nicely.  The trail was kind of a muddy mess - I had a pretty sweet slide through the mud while it was still dark; somehow managed to stay on my feet.  On the way back it was lighter outside and I saw my skid mark - I'd say almost 3 feet long.  Would have been hilarious to see on instant replay.

AM:  51F, N 13 mph.  9.1 @ 7:05 AP.  Taking full advantage of the unseasonable cold snap, today was 12 x 0.25 mi @ 5k pace, 60 sec active recoveries.  I wanted to do it at the track, for accuracy and consistency, but I knew lane 1 would be full of puddles and I could minimize the wind on the trail, so I just set garmin to quarter-miles and did this on the usual route.

It went well, given it was my first interval work in awhile.  I only wanted to average 86, but ended up averaging 83.7 (5:35 pace).  Slowest was 85.6, fastest was 81.4.

Pretty easy - quarters at 5k pace isn't supposed to be hard, but I'll be increasing the duration of the reps as I go.  Sub-18 this year...I'm like totally serious this time.  No fake.

PM:  4 more on the TM in the afternoon at work.  I threw in 3 x .25 on/off @ MP.  If I don't have some strides or something to look forward to, I find it very hard to stay on the ENTIRE 4 miles.

AM:  48F (really).  6 @ 8:08 AP.  I wish my legs could handle back to back workouts, because it was awesome out there this morning.  Tomorrow should be ok though - long tempo...

57F, 6:54 AP.  Still great running weather for mid-May.  Yesterday broke the record low for San Antonio by 5 degrees so I guess it would be a little greedy of me to expect that too often.

Today was an 8 mile aerobic tempo.  I wanted to run it around MP, but I was feeling good and there really wasn't any reason to hold back with my next workout 4 days away.  So I did 5 easy followed by 8 @ 6:30 AP:  (6:45, 6:38, 6:36, 6:35, 6:32, 6:27, 6:21, 6:09).  Perfect progressive effort.  Not just aerobic by the end anymore, the last mile I was pretty close to max effort.  But I know I won't be able to throw down these paces this summer so took advantage while I still could.

There's probably no question now that I'm fully recovered from Boston.  Again, probably the easiest, fastest recovery I've had from a full marathon.  2 really good workouts this week - I'm hoping I can stay on a roll as it heats up...

67F, 85%.  7:12 AP.  Kinda quick on the way back.  I'm too lazy to look but I think I logged a few MP miles toward the end.  Let's call it 3...

AM:  66F, 84%.  7 @ 8:05 AP.  Another good thing about getting some daylight for my morning runs is that I can run in the grass and dirt alongside the paved trail without worrying (as much) about tripping.  Finished with a couple strides...3k pace tomorrow at the track!

PM:  Yesss - 4 more on the TM, with some extended strides @ 3k pace.  I didn't think this one would happen but the workshop I was in was wrapping up about an hour early -- the exact amount of time I needed.  Then people kept talking, putting in their two cents here and there.  I was trying to will them to be quiet so I could leave, and eventually they stopped and the meeting broke.  I'm glad they couldn't see my thought bubbles: "Shut up!  Keep your opinions to yourself, I gotta go!"

AM:  67F, 84%, SSW 12 mph.  Today was 5 x 800 @ 3k pace, 2 min rest.  It's always a question mark for me when deciding how fast to start out.  Here's what I considered:

2:43 - McMillan 3k pace (based on HM time).  No way I'm there.

2:46 - the fastest I've ever done this workout - it was cooler, less windy, and I was in peak shape.  Nah.

2:52 - 5k pace - this would be too slow; 5k is a different workout.

I decided to aim between the last two and it was the correct target for today.  I averaged 2:48.6:  (2:48.4, 2:48.2, 2:48.1, 2:49.0, 2:49.5).  So maybe after 4+ years, I'm finally starting to understand all the considerations that go into a properly paced interval workout.  That will be the key this summer.  Normally I have a really high percentage of Workout Fails the hotter it gets.  Today was relatively cool, so in future workouts I just gotta remember to add it all up like I did today and it should come out right.

PM: 4 on the TM, included 6 x 45s hill sprints (4-5% @ 10 mph).  About 3/4 mile in total.

AM:  71F, 78%.  6 @ 8:29 AP.  Legs wanted to go slower today.

PM:  4 ez on the TM, but sprinkled in 4 x 0.25 on/off @ HMP.  Like I said, gotta have something to keep me interested on that thing.  Who knows, maybe I get some tiny benefits from keeping the legs moving a little on these PM runs.

72F, 84%.  7:43 AP.  Kept it easy today and pushed my HMP workout to Saturday.  We'll be in Longview for my niece's HS graduation, and the temp and DP are both about 5 degrees lower there.  So, yeah, rescheduled everything for the sake of 5 degrees.  That's how I roll.

72F, 91%.  8:14 AP.  A little rain, felt good.

69F, 92%.  A little steamier than predicted, but I drove up to the track in Longview for 4 x 2400m @ HMP, 400m active recoveries.  Same field they had the HS graduation on last night, and for repeats 1 and 4 there was a tractor and trailer (cleanup crew) covering the first 4 lanes so I got a little bonus mileage on those, running wide on one of the straightaways.  Average repeat was 9:27 (about 6:20 pace, which is very close to HMP).  Individual reps were 9:29, 9:34, 9:29, 9:17.

Pretty good given the humidity, and direct sun for a lot of it. This is probably the first workout I'll be moving to the treadmill when it gets hotter.  Legs just lose all their oomph...

67F, 98%.  No watch...definitely slow.

We timed our trip well.  On the way back to SA, we get a text from my sister-in-law who lives in Austin, that she's going into labor.  Austin happens to be on the way home.  So me and the kids are in the waiting room now.  Good way to break up the trip - drive a little, pit stop for a childbirth, drive the rest of the way.

66F, 95%.  7:51 AP.  Raining, felt nice and cool.  If only it could rain every morning this summer - I'd be evah so happy.

PM - 4 in the neighborhood, right after a big dinner.  I could feel my gut swinging back and forth.  8:13 pace.

AM:  68F, 100%, fog/light rain.  7 miles total.  Headed down to the track to splash around at 1-mile pace today.  8 x 400 @ 1-mile, 90 sec rest.  The rain had me feeling good again and I averaged 75.8, which is about a half-second faster than I've ever done this workout.  Individual reps were 77.8, 75.4, 78.0, 76.8, 76.6, 76.3, 75.0, 70.3.  I may have even (unintentionally) sandbagged a little as it was pretty easy to drop the pace at the end.  For me, the key with this workout is getting your legs used to a very unfamiliar pace by running a little harder than you think you should.

About 2 weeks out now from my first-ever track race - the 1600!

PM:  4 on the TM, including 7 x 45s hill sprints, ranging from 4 - 5.5%, and 10-11 mph.

AM:  70F, 92%.  8:36 AP.  Rickety old legs for this one.  Need to bounce back for some 10k stuff, preferably tomorrow.

PM:  4 on the TM, with 6 x 1 min @ 10k.  Trying to get the legs primed for a tough one tomorrow.  No workout fail, no workout fail, no workout fail...

In other running news, I signed up for the Houston full.  It's nestled nicely, 6 weeks after the San Antonio full, and 6 weeks before the Cowtown ultra.  What could go wrong?

66F, 86%.  Last workout of the 3-week minicycle was 10k pace.  For my 10k workouts, I'm using a McMillan progression until I can do a 3 x 2-mile.  This workout was the first step, a 6 x 1600m, 600 active recovery.  Usually when I do a 6 x 1, it's at LT with 400m recovery; McMillan says to take 3-4 minutes recovery so I chose 600m which ended up being just over 3 minutes.  Even with that much recovery, which seems like a lot (don't recall ever taking this much), I knew my predicted 10k pace (5:58) would be a little too much to ask so I thought I'd start around 15k and work my way down to a 10k rep.  Amazingly it went exactly as I planned...scary.

Avg rep was 6:02.8.  Splits were 6:05.8, 6:04.6, 6:03.9, 6:02.8, 6:01.3, 5:58.5.

The last 2 were tough.  On the last one I was right at 3:00 at the 800, and already really hurting.  But I pushed up the effort.  The taller weeds in the football field turned into giant caterpillars that started singing White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane.  Is that "deep threshold," Jason?  Maybe I get it now.  Anyway, made it under 6.

Very successful 3 weeks - I went 6 for 6 on my workouts (almost unheard of, for me).  I'll take several easy days now and start over again next week.

AM:  68F, 86%.  6 @ 8:44 AP.

PM:  4.5 on the TM in 35 min.  More strides than usual, didn't want to stop this time.

No run today - with a 12-miler tomorrow, I'll still hit 66 this week, which is enough.  Instead, enjoy this graph: