How Much Discomfort Can I Tolerate?!

Weather - 83 degrees, sunny, humid.

Longest run of the year. Drove to Lake Mingo with Melinda for a 3 loop slog on the single track forest trails. We started at 7:00am, and I finished 3 hours and 24 minutes later.

Each loop is 7.3 miles in length, with lots of small hills and bridge crossings to navigate. Overall pace was 9:18 per mile. Loop 1 pace was 10:00, Loop 2 pace 8:37, loop 3 pace 9:27.  

We took the first loop conservatively, coming in at 1:13. Second loop we split up and I hit 1:03. Third loop I slowed down to avoid hitting the wall, and finished in 1:09, although I bonked in the final mile.

Other than the final mile I ran comfortably within myself. My previous long run was 2:30, so 3:24 is a large increase in time spent on my feet.

I feel pretty good right now, I hope to have only minor stiffness for a day or two.

I will plan on running easy on Monday and Tuesday, and then a track session on Wednesday.

I am planning to run the Fisher 5k this Saturday. Since there will be no taper I will most likely not have as good a race as on the 4th.

#233

z.m. = #146

Weather - 78 degrees, cloudy, humid.

Ran 7.5 miles today, probably 2.5 miles too many, but I felt good, so decided to push.

My legs felt surprisingly good today, not sore, and filled with energy. That is crazy, considering I ran 21 miles yesterday.

When I finished the run I did some stretching and strength exercises. My legs were starting to tighten up a bit, which is why I think I ran too far today.

Tomorrow I will plan to run only 3-4 easy miles, so that my legs can recover for the Wednesday track session.

#234

z.m. - #147

Weather - 83 degrees, sunny, very humid.

Standing around outdoors caused me to sweat, and when I started running I was drenched. Cooled down 3 times at the fountain in the park - it reminded me of when I lived in Chicago, running along the lake front and jumping in the lake after a tough run, that is such an awesome sensation!

Legs felt slightly sore in the quads, but otherwise I felt good. The short mileage today will hopefully allow me to run a hard track session tomorrow. If I am still feeling sore I can always cut the workout short.

Afterward 5 sets of strength exercises and stretching, and 35 minute walk home.

#235

#148

Weather - 82 degrees, sunny, humid.

Had a fun track session today, lots of people showed up (10-12). The clipboard called for 5 x 1000m with 7 minutes between starts, which means about a 3 1/2 minute float. With the long rest I was able to give an honest effort for each interval. Times were 3:34, 3:35, 3:42, 3:46, 3:42. The 4th interval was run too slow, but I made a nice comeback on the 5th.

Overall a good workout. Considering my 22 mile run 3 days ago, my legs responded well, and my energy felt about 80%. I did not give an all out effort on the intervals, just trying to hit 5k pace. The first 2 intervals equated to a 5:45 pace, and the 3rd and 5th was 5:57 pace.

If I can continue to build my endurance, maybe next year I can run a 5k averaging below 6:00 pace. I guess I have a new goal.

Fisher 5k in 3 days, so Thursday and Friday is easy easy.

#236

z.m. - 149

Weather - 86 degrees, sunny, humid.

Ran to the arboretum and then ran 1.5 miles barefoot in the grass. Legs slightly fatigued, but my energy level was high. I felt like doing a 10 miler, but knew that would be foolish.

Afterward 4 sets of strength exercises and stretching, and 15 minute walk home.

#237

z.m. - #150

Weather - 88 degrees, sunny, humid.

A good day for heat training, ran 4.5 easy miles around the park and Busey Woods.

My form is slowly evolving, it seems once the body builds enough strength it jumps to a more efficient style.

Tomorrow the Fisher 5k. Not expecting much from this race because of the 2 hard workouts I did this week, but if my energy level is high I should still be able to put in a good effort.

#238

z.m. - #151

Weather - 72 degrees, cloudy, rain.

Fun race today, rode to Fisher with Yong and Ben, when we arrived at the race site a nasty storm was blowing through - lightning, high winds, heavy rain.  I warmed up on the town streets, hoping the lightning would pass quickly. The race was delayed 30 minutes, and by the time we were off the line the sun was out.

Yong and I planned to do the same strategy as last week, so he followed me the first 1200m, then started to increase his pace. I hit the first mile in 6:22, which was a few seconds slower than I wanted (last week I hit the first mile in 6:10). Yong was moving pretty good, and Ben was about 20m ahead of Yong. During mile 2 I trailed Yong by about 30m, and Yong followed Ben by about the same distance. At mile 3 Ben picked up the pace and Yong and I tried to cover it. I was feeling pretty good, legs were slightly fatigued from the hard training sessions this past week, but my energy was good enough to let me make a move. I passed 3 or 4 runners trying to get to Yong. With 800m to go we were moving close to 6:00 pace and trying to go faster. I was in control and the final 400m I was able to have a nice sprint, coming into the chute in 19:19. Yong closed in 19:14, and Ben in 19:00.

Considering I did not taper for this race, I feel my time and effort was appropriate.

Next week is the Mattoon 10k. I am looking forward to it because it will be my first 10k in racing shape. I am hoping to run it in 41:xx.

#239

z.m. - #152