Goal Marathon: Columbus, Sub 2:19
Next Key race: Louisville Half, 4/28
Mon: 5.9 miles (6:56); 7.2 miles (7:06)
Tue: 7.3 miles with goal session of 8x1/4 mile on a greenway at sub 65 with 90s jog rest. I accidentally packed two pairs of "right" shoes, but luckily my work shoes are Nike Free Runs, so those weren't too bad. I ended up averaging 65.08 and only managed six before dying completely. A little frustrated that my speed is so poor, when it used to be my bread and butter; 6.8 miles very easy
Wed: 4.6 miles (6:37); 9.6 miles (7:18)
Thu: 2 miles easy, 8 miles at 5:54 pace; 5.2 miles with 4.2 miles running a fast 45s stride every half mile
Fri: 5 miles (6:41); 9 miles (7:27)
Sat: 4.4 miles (7:44); 5.6 miles (7:23)
Sun: 15.5 miles with Knoxville Half Marathon in 67:21 to finish in 3rd place. The clock said 67:02 when I crossed but official times were 19s faster than what people ran. I'm not listed in the results for some reason and they've already given out the awards, so hopefully it gets straightened out and I at least get my prize money. The course was really hilly and I would have been really happy with anything sub 68, since I ran 68:34 on a dead flat course three weeks ago. I ran in a pack for the first few miles and after 5 miles, it was just me and two other guys. The pace felt good but after two killer hills back-to-back, I suddenly was 10s back. I rallied back a little bit over the next two miles and narrowed the gap to about 5s but with a couple of miles to go, the guys took off and I wasn't able to go. Effort wise, this felt much easier than two weeks ago, I just wasn't able to find that extra gear that would let me dig deep. It felt like I could have run that pace for several more miles, I just wasn't able to run any faster. It was frustrating because they had a 5k as well and I had to zig-zag around walkers for the last 1/4 mile, which cost some time. Splits were: 5:19, 10:05, 5:01, 5:20, 5:04, 5:03, 5:28 (got dropped), 4:56, 5:01, 5:20, 5:24, 5:32 (1.1 miles); 3 miles (7:41)
Week Total=99.1 miles. I feel I'm ready to start some faster stuff, so hopefully I'll become more efficient at faster paces. One crappy workout, but a good race made up for it.
brumrunner: Nice week and London is getting close. I like how you're still doing strength/endurance stuff, which I feel is key when you're close to the race. You seem ready to go!
VF Runner: I know what you mean about the hills and wind. I've also found out that when I start with the difficult stuff early on, I get warmed up really well and by the time that stuff is over, I have a hard time slowing down.
Stormin: Sorry about the unfortunate race. You're fit enough and have enough miles in the bank where a crappy week or two won't have much effect and may result in you charging up your batteries.
Drey: I've figured out who you are! Hope you're enjoying life in the motherland. You've had some solid training lately and I know you wanted to run faster but you have plenty of solid races left in you.
samblackbones: Congrats on the PR! Running a 5k pr in bad conditions, while doing marathon training is impressive stuff.