Every Run is a Great Run!

Had a hard time today deciding whether I should do the planned harder workout today like I usually do or start doing them on Tuesday now that my Saturday long runs are getting near the 20 mile+ range. Decided to go ahead and try it since the legs were feeling good and I slept really good last night.

May have made the wrong choice as I struggled to hold pace and ultimately cut the last interval short. Legs felt good but couldn't quite get my brain and legs to coordinate very well. I think combination of lingering fatigue from Saturday long run and warm conditions (around 60 degrees) did me in. Not used to those kind of temps just yet.

Plan was for 3 x 15 min progression intervals w/ 1 minute rest. First one should be MP (7:05-7:25), 2nd MP-HMP (6:45-7:00), last one HMP-10KP (6:25-6:45).

Did 10 min XT warmup (E/S).

Felt good on the 1st interval, 7:08 pace, 2.11 miles. AveHR 170. This is about right although HR should probably be a little under 170. Rest 1 min 9:30 pace jog.

2nd interval felt good for 1st half, but then something doesn't feel right. HR already creeping into the high 180's and feels too hard. 6:54 pace, 2.17 miles, AHR 183 (too high!, should be under 180). Thinking of bagging #3 but decide to walk for most of the 1min rest and see what happens.

3rd interval feels ok for about 1 minute then too hard. Can't hold sub-6:45 pace just try to hang on to sub-7. HR creeps near 190 after 5 minutes and I decide to only do half the time (7 1/2 minutes vs. 15).  6:56 pace, 1.09 miles, AHR 186.

Overall: 7:43/168 - HR much to high, should only be around 160 for this pace.

Oh well, just one of those days. I think I just need to run toward slow end of pace range when it's warmer like this. Need to get used to running in warmer as mostly like the marathon will get pretty warm toward the end.

The good news is my calf is nearly healed up, probably 90% at this point. No pain but I can still feel tightness when stretching and still a slight feeling of weakness. I'll  hold off on uphill running for a few more days.

Also happy that all the hill training seems to have me in good shape for downhill running. Wasn't sore in the shins/quads at all after the downhill canyon long run. Yahoo! Looking forward to 3 or 4 more runs dowm the UVM course before the race. Anybody want to join me?

"Time will turn us into statues...eventually". I was considering this song lyric today as I ran on my cement-ish legs and lamenting how I don't seem to recover from hard runs as quickly as I used to. The other thing I was thinking about was a facebook friend who commented yesterday that "Some call the wind Miriah. I call it annoying!!!". Amen to that.

Ran just over 4 miles with Kim early this morning. Then 7 more just before lunch at work.  On the way back to work the wind really kicked up (headwind of course rather than tailwind) and I slowed to a crawl. I was way glad I got the 4 in with Kim mostly without wind so I only had to do the 7 alone with the hairy winds.

8:45/143

The weather wasn't so inviting this morning. Called Kim under the pretense of giving her some motivation to get out the door when in reality I think I was looking for some motivation myself.  It was snowing lightly when I got to the gym. Had a 10-mile easy run planned but decided to substitute 20-min of XT and run 8. Plus the XT gave me a moment to warm up and also remind me how boring the gym is and how much better running outside is, even in poor weather.

Actually the weather wasn't so bad. Light snow that dropped off after a while but NO WIND, which is always a joyful thing. Decided to really put the calf to the test and did some steep hill sprints. 10 x 10s. No calf pain whatsover and surprisingly the hill sprints felt the best they ever have. Nice to have my hill legs and happy calves! However I ran the sprints hard enough I was pooped the rest of the run and I notice my HR shot up even with my speed moving downward.

8:45/145

So much for March going out like a lamb. Lots of crazy weather today on the run. I had lots of wind, some calm, snow, including a 1-min blizzard, and even 5 minutes of sunshine. Gotta love springtime in the rockies!

Weird thing was just before finishing up I saw Sasha driving some red sports car! He stopped and talked to me for a bit. I was surprised he was eating what looked to be an In-N-Out double cheeseburger with a Red Bull to wash it down. He was like "Dude! why you running out here in this bad weather, you should have taken the day off!. Don't you know you should only run when it's convenient? You really should take more days off!". I told him I'd consider his advice. Then he gave me a "Peace - OUT" and was on his way. Kinda strange.

Did the same hill repeat workout (5 x 3 min @ 5K-effort/MP-pace) that I did a week ago last Monday when I tweaked my calf. So thankful the calf is healed and I had no problems with it today. What I did have problems with was GI distress during the last 3 repeats. That lovely feeling that tells you you may need to find a bathroom REALLY SOON! I have learned from past experience that if I slow down a little the feeling usually subsides, and thankfully that was the case today, although the slower pace of the last 2 repeats was the compromise.

Splits: (AvePace/Distance/AveHR): 1) 7:19/.41/172 (3:39 jog back-down rest, 8:14 pace), 2) 7:16/.42/177 (3:42/8:20), 3) 7:20/.41/179 (3:37/8:26), 4) 7:32/.40/179 (3:33/8:33), 5) 7:30/.40/180.

I can't really compare this to last weeks workout since I was running a different hill with wind in my face.

Overall: 8:13/155

Nice & easy & enjoyable don't-care-about-pace 4 mile run with Kimi. A bit nicer day than the last couple days but still a bit nippy when the sun went behind the clouds. Hope the weather isn't too nasty tomorrow for the 20-miler.

Also did 45-min various crosstraining at the gym.

My first 20-miler of the year is in the books! Yahoo!

Wasn't very excited about the morning running prospects during the night as I laid in bed and listened to the hurricane-like sounding winds outside. But by the time Kim and I got up at 5:30 the winds seemed to have calmed down a bit. So we got ready and headed over to the stake center to meet up with the SF running group.

It was great to see our long-lost good running buddy who now lives in SoCal, Mr. Mark Shelley. Had a pretty good size group today despite the weather. We lucked out for the most part, the winds mostly behaved and besides a few episodes of snow pellets in the eyes the weather wasn't too bad. Ran with a variety of folks for the first 8 miles, then caught up Dave and Allison running up Harry's and stayed with them for a while, then last 5 miles solo.

I was pleased with how I felt today,  I think I'm starting to get my marathon legs back. This week's 20-miler and last week's 19.5 miler felt better than most the 15-18 milers earlier in the year. Hopefully I kept the pace and effort at just the right level for positive training and no injuries. Looking forward to General Conference in just a bit!

8:36/157