Getting back to Boston

As hard a non-interval training run as I've done in a while. Pushed the last 2.22 to MP and beyond, a bit. Still feel weak and exhausted, probably emotionally more than physically, but HTFU and pushed it anyway. Ran 10 in less than 1:25, which ain't bad for old and exhausted. Winding down toward Toad Suck (and the second half of the 12-day workweek).

Amazing what a good night's sleep can do -- and how long I've been operating without proper rest. Got, I think, about 8.5, maybe more, and had plenty of energy for a long day at work and then a 6 miler tonight. Even taking it slow, wound up averaging 9:10 per mile -- just about Daniels E pace. Which is encouraging with my last race of the spring coming up.

Tomorrow, intervals, probably at FHS, although I won't run the intervals the rest of the FF crew runs. I'll do 2 mile warmup, one mile at 7:00 pace, 4 minutes jog, then 8X400 at about 6:40 pace with one-min recoveries, then warm down for 2 miles. That will make a good final speedwork before Toad Suck.

Interesting. Tonight was interval night at Harmon Playfield. Although the Fleet Feet group was gonna be there at 6, I went there straight from work and started at 5:30 because I figured my workout would take a lot longer than theirs (which it did). Warmed up with eight laps, then a mile at 10K pace, then a four-minute (1.5 lap) jog, then 8 X 400 at 3K pace with a minute-ish (200m) recovery, more or less, in between, all followed by two miles of cooldown. That adds up to 33 laps of a 400-meter track. Since 400 meters is like .246 miles, that should have been 8.20 miles. But the Garmin says 8.02, and to get even that I had to run most of it in lanes 2 and 3. Is that track short, or is my Garmin 5% off (or at least 5% off today)? Dunno. But 33 laps is 33 laps, and that's what I ran on a certified track, so I'm gonna go with the track, not the Garmin. Might have even run more than that due to going on the outer lanes.

Anyway, the pace it gave me for that first mile (or 0.97 anyway) was 7:14, but I ran the four laps in sub-7:00 total, which is about what I wanted. Then the 400s were 1:32, 1:38, 1:38, 1:36, 1:36, 1:37, 1:37 and 1:35. Darn near perfect, since my goal was to run them at about 6:40 mile pace.

Take it easy for the rest of the week, then open up a huge can of PR Saturday morning in Conway. That's the plan. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of last year's toad-strangling thunderstorm (pun intended), although a 40% chance of rain is in the forecast.

Tonight reminds me why recovery runs are a good idea as opposed to resting. The legs were incredibly stiff when I started; felt like I was running in molasses. Took at least 3 miles to loosen up a little. Then by the time I finished they were loose enough to run decent hill sprints.

Plan to do 4 tomorrow unless I wind up mowing -- which is quite possible. Leave early Friday afternoon so that I get to Conway after 4 so I can pick up my packet and not have to drive up early on Saturday. But to do that, I have to mow Thursday night. And to do that, i have to pick up the mower before 5 Thursday. Would also like to have dinner with Pam Thursday, but that's gonna depend on when the paycheck arrives and how long the mowing takes.

Very easy run at JBH. Off to Bryant tomorrow and hopefully a big 10K in Conway Saturday.

No run tonight. Got to Bryant at 5, went to dinner with Mumb and Pupe and Scott and Tammy and Shannon. By the time we got back from that, the foul weather was rolling in, and boy, was it foul. Tornado sirens all over the place. Not running in that, no sir. Maybe the extra rest will help at Conway.

Bleah. Just couldn't get it done at Toad Suck. Managed to run the 5th mile at a decent pace (7:07), but not any of the others, with the possible exception of the first. Missed PR by 31 seconds officially, 26 seconds on the Garmin. Missed goal by about two minutes. It wasn't last year's downpour, but it was 100% humidity; I was glad when it did start raining because it gave some relief. I wouldn't say I ran badly. I just didn't have any energy, with the exception of that fifth mile, only a small part of which was downhill. But I finished higher in the overall standings than I did last year with a faster time in a thunderstorm (????)

I haven't been sleeping well. My mental outlook really stinks right now, which is probably partially because of the sleep deprivation and partially the CAUSE of the sleep deprivation. That didn't help my performance today, then last night there were about seven tornado sirens in Bryant which kept me up much of the night. And I'm already sleep deprived as it is...

Let's face it, I am not handling solo life very well. Coming home to an empty house every night rips my heart out. Then tonight I saw Pam for the first time since she left, and it was agonizingly awkward, at least for me. Hoping that I'll get some more time with T once his finals end Thursday; that will help the empty house syndrome, maybe.