Buttsweat Towel© season has begun

AM:  78F, 63%.  Super dry air!  9 mi total.  I went to the track for a CV workout today: 8 x 800, 200 active recovery.  Didn't have any expectations for pace, just tried to feel it out since conditions were weird for me (warm, a little breezy, and my sweat actually cooled me off for once).  I averaged 3:01.6 (3:03, 3:02, 3:04, 3:03, 3:03, 3:02, 3:01, 2:55).  Very solid pacing throughout.  Recoveries are supposed to only be 60 sec, though toward the end they were closer to 70.  I'll give myself a pass on that one though.  Definitely a workout success today.

PM:  30 min easy on the TM.

69F, 78%.  7:19 AP.  Approaching record lows in San Antonio - this is awesome!  Don't want to jinx us, but I gotta say it seems like it's been a pretty mild summer overall.  I kept a good aerobic effort and ran the last 6 progressively, ending up with a couple miles around MP.

AM:  75F, 68%.  7.3 @ 8:34 AP.  Felt really nice out again.  I went to the non-competitive side of the greenway again and discovered some more nice back trails.  I'm really enjoying them for these recovery runs.  I got lost a couple times, but one wrong turn fortuitously took me to a trailhead I hadn't seen before, and it had a portopotty.  So I ducked in, grabbed a handful of TP and headed back out.  We trail runners don't poop in a box.

AM2:  4.7 on the TM, 7 x 1-min strides, mostly @ 5k.  I have an actual 5k this weekend.  I wasn't paying attention and figured it was a Saturday morning race when I signed up, but it's actually Friday evening.  Heat index is forecasted to be 96 for the 7pm start.  My race selection lately has been pretty stupid.

74F, 78%.  13 @ 7:09 AP.  Another dry/mild morning helped me out today - 5 w/up, then right into 8 mi aerobic tempo.  I averaged 6:39 for the 8 miles (6:54, 6:41, 6:39, 6:39, 6:29, 6:41, 6:39, 6:28).  After a cruddy-feeling warmup, I was surprised the legs were nice and springy when the tempo started.  After the first 4, I threw in a half mile @ LT, which took the spring right back out of my step...never felt like I cleared out the lactic acid and it made the rest of the run tough, but it was probably good for me.  Felt really good about this one.

AM:  75F, 78%.  5.2 @ 8:49 AP.  More trails, but I hit some tougher ones today.  Turned around once I couldn't really run upright (ducking limbs and whatnot) and got whipped enough by branches and thorns.  Win some, lose some...

AM2:  4 on the TM, + more 5k pickups.

AM:  78F, 82%.  6 @ 8:11 AP.  Easy until tomorrow evening's race, not that rested legs will help when it's a hundred degrees.  Here's my prediction for splits:  5:50, 6:10, 8:30*

*includes 1 minute of crying in the bushes.

PM: 30 min on the TM w/ 5k strides

AM:  77F, 82%.  5 @ 8:11 AP.  Looks like a heat index of 102 @ 7pm, should be a fun race.

PM:  100F, 5.5 mi total.  5k race.  I'm an idiot.  I signed up for this race thinking it was Saturday morning....that was mistake #1.  With the late knowledge that it was Friday evening, @ 100 degrees, I figured ok, let's make this a tactical race and try to place well.  I did that beautifully until mistake #2...

The race started and I worked my way up to 5th place by mile 1, a 6:04.  I got really hot after a quarter mile, sooner than I thought...  Slowly through mile 2, I worked my way past a couple dudes and caught up to the 2nd place guy.  I sat behind this guy for awhile, trying to get a sense of what he had left.  Mile 2 was a 6:23, we were all getting crushed by ridiculous temperatures, obviously.  I felt like I had a little in the tank as I sat behind the 2nd place guy, biding my time for an attack.  He slowed a little going up a hill with a half mile to go and I made my move, shooting past.  I kept the gas pedal down even though my legs felt done after a few seconds of surging.  It worked though, I had the guy beat; he didn't even try to come with me.  Mile 3 was a 6:11, thanks to my surge.  Then I made mistake #2 and missed the turnoff from the main trail.  It was a really stupid mistake as the race was pretty much over; the turn was around 3 miles into the race and you'd have to be an idiot to miss it.  I ran for awhile and the realization hit me like a ton of bricks.  I looked at my watch and it already said 3.1, but it was like a ghost town, no one was around.  Wow.  Turned around and had no legs left.  I saw who I believe was the 4th place guy coming the opposite direction.  He saw me coming from the wrong direction and put on a nice surge to stay ahead.

So I think I was 5th, but I was too pissed at myself to stay around for the awards because I'm a sore loser.  In the end I ran 3.31 miles, an extra 0.2.  It's not like there was a lot on the line, so whatever.  Good heat training though!

76F, 87%.  7:28 AP.  Standard Sunday run, with a progression to MP effort at the very end.  In a couple weeks I'll start my HM block of training - a few extra miles/week, longer "long runs" and a slightly different mix of workouts.

AM:  78F, 82%.  6 @ 8:46 AP.  Followed up the feel-good Sunday run with the standard feel-bad Monday run.

PM:  4 on the TM with several strides @ 3k pace.  I had to do my recoveries faster than usual bc the guy next to me was going 8:00 pace.

I must say, the last few days have really showed what a competitive jerk I can be....huh.

AM: 76F, 77%.  7 mi total.  Track day - 5 x 800 @ 3k pace, 2 min rest.  Not so good today, but I stuck with it.  Average rep was 2:47.7, a bit slower than usual.  Splits were all over the place too - 2:47.9, 2:48.6, 2:45.5, 2:50.3, 2:46.1.  I almost quit in each of the last 3 reps...on my good days the track feels like a springboard; today it felt like quicksand.  Combination of the legs feeling cruddy and lack of focus/effort, but went through the motions anyway, and it still turned out ok.

PM - somehow made it happen today...4 more

AM:  72F, 82%.  6 @ 8:17 AP.  Finally got some rain yesterday, and it cooled everything off.  Felt very good outside and I think tomorrow will be the same, so my Friday treadmill workout just turned into a Thursday track workout.

PM - did my minimum - 30 min plod on the TM.  Hoping the legs will be ready for another workout tomorrow with only 1 easy day between this time.  Weather looks too good not to try.

AM:  70F, 65%.  11 mi total.  Basically fall weather, so unusual and awesome.  So I pushed up LT day to today, and did my old favorite, 4 x 2400m, w/400m active recoveries.  Today was a good one, averaged 9:11/rep (~6:09/mile).  I hit the lap button at the 1600m point during each rep; splits were:

9:21 (6:14, 3:07)

9:16 (6:10, 3:06)

9:12 (6:08, 3:04)

8:55 (5:57, 2:58)

Recovery laps were all in the 2:10-2:15 range.

Here's my workout history on this one:

Good, solid improvement, though today was probably the superior weather day of the 3, thanks to a sub-60 dewpoint.  I'd LIKE to think I could go maybe 5 sec/mile faster with cold temps -- that would indicate I'm really threatening a sub-1:20 half, with just a little more work still yet to do.  Not sure though; didn't feel slowed down at all by weather today.  Either way, I'm in a really good spot, considering I haven't started my HM block of training yet.

PM:  4 mi shakeout on the mill.

AM:  74F, 81%.  6 @ 8:38 AP.

PM:  4 on the TM.  Legs were still pooped from yesterday so I made them do some pretty vicious TM strides.

79F, 78%.  7:53 AP.  Usually run 12, but there was a big hill @ 5.5 miles that I wasn't in the mood for.

AM:  80F, 74%.  7 @ 8:18 AP.  

PM:  4 more w/strides (TM).

AM:  76F, 75%.  7 mi total.  Track day - the high school teams are starting their practices.  The football team and the runners were out there, though only a few kids were using the track and we stayed clear of each other pretty easily.  The others were using some other field, thankfully.

Today I ended up doing 7 x 400 @ 1-mile pace, 90 sec rest.  It was supposed to be 8, but I was pooped after 6.  I averaged 75.4 (75.4, 76.9, 72.7, 73.5, 74.9, 74,7, 79.4).  Interesting that the first one was right on pace and then I proceeded to have all kinds of weird repeats after that.  I think #3 and #4 killed the rest of the set for me.  My legs were useless gummy worms for #7 so I stopped.  Here's my history for this one this summer:

I think at this point I'm starting to get diminishing returns from the faster speedwork, which is ok; the timing is good because next week I start my HM block.  I'll be doing the 3k and 1-mile paced stuff half as often, and HMP/LT stuff twice as often.  Mission accomplished on the 5k/10k block, I think.  Still looking for a couple short races to run, but I can tell this block has been effective.

PM:  5, count 'em, 5 on the TM.  Had a little extra time so I threw in a fast mile after my usual 4, with the middle 1/2 mile @ 10 mph.

AM:  79F, 82%.  6 @ 8:44 AP.  Somewhere around halfway, I got a weird urge to curl up in the grass along the path and go to sleep.  Fought it off.

PM:  oh yeah, I did 3 TM miles, but I'm not sure why - the large quantity of Tex-Mex in my gut was begging me not to jostle it around, my legs are kinda tired and I didn't really have time (had to hop off a mile early).  But my spreadsheet said I was supposed to do an easy double, so...

AM:  80F, 76%.  9 @ 8:06 AP.  Supposed to do a workout tomorrow but it's too hot to try it outside.  Not gonna feel like doing it on the TM either, so might finish this cycle with a longer heat slog out on the trail, with the excuse that it'll help me get ready and be rested for my HM cycle.  But I also don't want to wake up too early or get to work too late.  Solve for x.

PM:  4 TM miles with some 5k strides.

79F, 79%.  8:09 AP.  Decided on the 90-minute slog instead of a workout.  It was probably the right call - took me until mile 8 before I logged my first sub-8 mile.  Day off tomorrow.  Pretty junky week, but the mileage will be decent with a 12'er on Sunday.

Just been noticing my shoe mileages; it's been a long time since I've bought any shoes.  None this year, actually.  Probably time to start hunting around for deals, although they all seem in pretty good shape for now.

79F, 79%.  7:44 AP.  Felt ok, given the warmth this morning and the 4 IPAs last night.  Hung out with the 8-minute guy for awhile, then dropped him... punk.

Next Sunday....13 miles!  Really going out on a limb with my training.

AM:  79F, 79%.  6 @ 8:28 AP.  

PM:  4 on the TM, with some pitiful 1 min on/offs @ HMP.  Due for a workout, but have been running kinda cruddy the last week to 10 days.  Will probably do something conservative, bide my time until cooler weather and keep the mileage up.

AM1:  78F, 68%.  10 mi total.  A tad warm, but DP was very reasonable, about 67.  I knew I wouldn't be setting any world records today though; just haven't been feeling it lately.  However, it was time for a workout, so I went to the track for a 5 x 1600, 1 lap active rec.  No expectations of pace, just get in the effort.  I averaged 6:16 (6:16, 6:16, 6:13, 6:22 whoops, 6:14).  Recovery laps were a bit quicker than usual, around 2:00 avg.  Physiologically, it did the trick, got the lactic acid bubbling.  Normally I'd consider a cutback week after a bunch of dumpy-feeling runs, but this little skid has coincided with a heat wave so I'm not completely sure it's my fault.  In fact let's blame it on the heat for now.  Yes, everything is just fine.

AM2:  back at it, 4 hrs later.  4 on the mill with strides.

AM:  76F, 78%.  6 @ 8:38 AP.  Almost couldn't pass two elderly ladies power walking up a hill.

PM:  4 TM miles.

AM:  76F, 69%.  8 @ 7:45 AP.  Happiness is a clean, fresh buttsweat towel waiting for you in your car when you get done running.

PM:  4 TM miles with 5 or 6 x 1-minute efforts @ 5k pace.

AM:  went with the TM for this workout.  4 x (4 x 90s on / 60s off).  On's were 10.2/10.4/10.6/10.8 mph for the 4 sets (last individual rep @ 11.0) and off's were @ 6.7.  So kinda like 16 x 400 @ 5k pace, but I took 2 minutes easy between each set of 4.  Worked out to about 4.2 miles of "on's" at a 5:42 avg.  Not that hard, but gave the legs some good turnover.  All in all, 8.3 miles in 58:xx min.  Hopefully I don't have too many more TM workouts to suffer through.  In the forecast, I see some lows of 74 in about a week which would be nice.

PM:  TM warrior today....4 more.

78F, 87%.  8:05 AP.  Drove into Houston yesterday, so this was from my parent's house, around the bayou trail and a loop of Memorial park.  They've done a lot of good work on the Bayou trail though the underpasses still reek of urine.

Anyway, a hot, sticky run - almost felt like I bonked at the end.  I was hoping it would rain, and then it did...about 5 minutes before I got home.  Houston...a pee-soaked sauna.