Sunday: 18.4k easy with a 5k tempo thrown into the middle – 17:57. This run presaged the weather we’d get all week: rain, wind, and thunder.
Monday: 14.5k easy (am), 18.5k easy (pm).
Tuesday: 16x400m on the trail with 400m recovery between reps, broken up into three sets with longer rests in-between because of irregularities in the trail. Aimed to do all reps in under 75 seconds. Came in at 72, 74, 72, 75, 74, 74, 75, 75, 75, 78, 76, 75, 75, 73, 75, 72. Less consistency than I’d like.
Ran into an old running advisor of mine for the last three reps – he was just cruising back home from his office, which made him a perfect pacing slingshot.
With warmup and cooldown, 18.5k
Wednesday: 14.5k easy (am), 18.5k easy (pm). There was a terrific thunderstorm in the middle of the afternoon. Last half of second run felt like a real grind.
Thursday: 5x1 mile repeats with 800m recovery jog between reps. Goal was exactly 5:13 for each rep. Went 5:12, 5:07, 5:15, 5:13, 5:13. More variation than I’d like, but I’m continuing to develop a feel for what 3:15 min/km feels like, which is goal race pace. Just like last week, this was still a tough workout, but it felt less difficult than previous – I remember distinctly the way my legs felt on the last 400 of my last rep two weeks ago, and I was suffering less this week. So either I’m making progress or I’m just getting used to feeling miserable.
With warmup and cooldown, 18.5k.
Friday: 25.7k easy. Had to do my long run after work because I was at a conference on Saturday. Went pretty well. Really enjoyed listening to the audiobook of “Bonfire of the Vanities” while running – Tom Wolfe can be very funny and evocative. Also ate large quantities of fish tacos and homemade ice cream sandwiches after.
Saturday: 17.6k easy. Did this one in my fivefingers – been feeling a bit of numbness under ball of right foot lately on longer runs and workouts. Running in the fivefingers, on grass where available, made my joints happy. I think I need to hit a pool sometime in the next few weeks for a recovery swim.
Total: 164.7km. Not thrilled with how this week’s workouts went, but not too disheartened either. I’m hoping my body gets used to these 100-mile weeks soon. Looking at my logs, I jumped 20km+ from two weeks ago to last week, which was probably ill-advised. I’ve got two more weeks to really get acclimated before I start key race prep workouts and greater doses of speed generally.
Next race is a 5k next Saturday. Under perfect conditions I’d like to do something below 16:30, but given that there’s fairly good odds at least half of the race will be on a gradual hill and the weather might be terrible, I’m just hoping for anything under 17 minutes.
pablo: Good luck next week! Your long run is a good tell, and it's nice to hear that you're coming out of your sickness.
numbers: Another solid race effort. I really admire your ability to hold back in a race – I often struggle not to try and chase down people ahead of me on recovery runs, never mind in a race.
Rushed: Dem repeats! Good luck in that 5k – I'm interested to see how it goes, since you seem around my speed, but your 5k goal is way more ambitious than mine.
RunRun123: Congrats on the win! Always nice to cross the line first.
dcrunner0910: Eeech, bummer about the migraines. Good to hear you're back in the saddle, and that you've got a while before your goal race. Your plan for boosting mileage intrigues me, as I usually try to follow the 10 per cent a week rule.
brumrunner: Solid times at that meet, and good luck next week! Do you have a goal time for this one?
Happy Father's Day, everybody. I'm off for beers and Star Trek watching with my dad, who really got me into running.