M35, 6'2, 174 lbs
"The scenery doesn't change much if you're not the lead dog."
Mon - 7.0 mi EZ @ 8:05/mi
Tues - 2 mi WU, 7.37 mi @ 5:38/mi, 2 mi CD
Wed - 7.3 mi EZ @ 8:03/mi
Thurs - 13 mi @ 6:50/mi (Bridge Loop)
Fri - 10 mi @ 6:14/mi
Sat - 7.1 mi @ 7:56/mi
Sun - 18.5 mi @ 6:08/mi, 2 mi CD
I knew I wanted to do a fartlek of sorts on Tuesday and after searching through the archives here and online, I found the Savage Fartlek. It goes from 7 minutes down to 1 minute with your recovery being half of what you ran and the pace drops accordingly. I started out at 5:20/mi for the 7 minute segment and cut down five seconds each ensuing interval before closing out in the 4:50/mi range.
Friday was a bit rough with a sustained 15 mph wind and gusts up to 30 mph, but I was able to find a little bit of relief. It was a 10 mile aerobic run and after the first few miles I felt like I would have to treat it like a progression, but soon enough I hit where I wanted with my effort and cruised from there. My last seven miles came in at 6:07, 6:01, 6:02, 6:07, 6:05, 5:59, 5:55.
Then on Sunday I made the journey up to that Little Slice of Heaven about 1 hour away. You know, the undulating country road that rarely offers more than 400m of flat ground. Strava said I got in 783 feet of elevation, if that's to be believed.
I did 5 x 2 mi @ MP with 1/2 mile of active recovery after 6 conversational miles. Once again, I focused on effort and not time. Here are the splits - 5:49, 5:41 | 5:44, 5:41 | 5:47, 5:46 (Worst hills they got) | 5:42, 5:41 | 5:43, 5:37. I'm pleased with the consistency and once I did get to the rare flat during a 2 mile rep, my pace dropped to 5:35/mi, which is right where I want to be all things equal.
I accidentally did Sunday's workout without water. It wasn't planned that way, but I felt pretty good minus a slight side stitch that I had to fight through in the last 2 miles. When I go back in a few weeks, I need to either carry water with me or drop a bottle around an area that I make a few passes by, because I hardly go back around to my car until the end.
I don't plan on doing any MP work on flat ground until I use a half marathon as a training run during a 15 @ MP workout. This leads to an interesting question: Do I add on during the middle of the run (It will probably be an out-and-back at some point, so I would go out 1 mile and turn around) OR Do I plow through the finish and keep going? Chances are I could win this thing.