Training log - Week ending 7/29/12

This week was 51 miles of “real running” and 13 “miles” pool running, plus 2500 yards of swimming breathing drills -- training log is here.

Big cut back this week, as I raced a mile on Wednesday night (so rested up before).    The mile was simultaneously a) not my best performance time wise, but b) a confidence boost.  I went out hard, and ultimately crashed, but in the process learned that I could run pretty damn fast.  So, I’ll run another, armed with this new info, and increased confidence.

After the mile, a lot of people developed some weird allergic reaction – got sore throats, congestion, and sneezing.  In my case, it ended up evolving into some sort of sinus infection that bugged me for a few days (not totally unsurprising – my new asthma meds predispose me to that sort of thing, unfortunately).   Running didn’t seem to set me back, so I kept running and doing my workouts, but just kept the workouts on the slower side.  I focused on effort (as I always try to do), and didn’t let the fact that I was slower than my norm phase me.

We return to track workouts next week – I’m pretty psyched.  Hopefully this bug will be completely kicked by then.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, some light weights work plus 2000 yards of swimming breathing drills.  6.5 easy miles (8:09 pace) at night, followed by foam rolling.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 4 miles easy (untimed) plus a full set of drills and strides. Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes of easy pool-running.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 500 yards of easy swimming drills.  In the evening, 2.5 mile warm-up, drills+strides, and then a mile race in 5:39.

Thursday:   In the morning, upper body strengthwork followed by 60 minutes of easy poolrunning for “6 miles.”   4 miles easy (8:12 pace) plus foam rolling and stretching at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 8 miles, including a tempo workout of 20:12 for 5000m (average pace of 6:31, split as 6:36, 6:29, 6:23, 0:44).  Followed with injury prevention work and 30 minutes of shakeout pool-running.  Pilates and foam rolling in the afternoon.

Saturday:   In the morning, 10 miles easy (8:14 pace).  Upper body strengthwork plus stretching and foam rolling in the afternoon.

Sunday:   In the morning, 14.5 mile progression run – averaged 7:33 pace, split as first 5 at 8:14, next 4 at 7:23, final 5.5 at ~7:00.  Followed with injury prevention work and then 20 minutes shakeout pool-running.    Yoga and foamrolling in the afternoon.

Race report: DC Road Runners Track Championships mile, July 25, 2012

I ran the mile at the DC Road Runners "Track Championships" last night (despite the name, this was an all-comers meet), finishing in a time of 5:39 by my watch - I don't show on the results, but there's an unidentified woman at 5:40, so perhaps that was me.

I was excited to do this race for a few reasons.  One, I've historically not been a night runner, so it gave me a chance to rehearse eating and resting for an evening race (which I've had trouble with in the past).  Second of all, after setting a PR of 5:31 for the mile in early May, I've been consistently running 5:39-5:40 on the track - something I attributed to always being by myself on track races (too slow for the fast heat, too fast for the slow heat).  This race would feature a lot of women faster than myself, which would hopefully drag me to better times.

So showed up, warmed up, and ran.  And my splits were 1:19 for the first 409 meters, 2:41 for 809, 4:02 for 1209 meters, and then 5:39-5:40 (1:37-1:38 for the last lap, after three laps at about 1:20 each).  That pretty much tells the story.

Rather than start out a bit under the pace and continuously build, I started out hard, trying to keep a few of my faster teammates in striking distance.  This pulled me to a super fast first lap (good) but by the end of that lap everything was starting to burn.  Not how I like to race.  But, maybe this was how you ran a PR mile.  Only one way to find out.   So I kept on.

By 800m I could NOT comprehend another two laps.  But that was what I had in front of me.  So I continued, focusing on trying to keep my form as good and relaxed as possible.  Don't think about how far you have yet to go, just think about form - stay relaxed, good posture, quick turnover.  And it worked for a bit.  I came around for the last lap, still holding a good pace, and then my quads locked up and I dragged myself home shuffling with a combination of willpower and arm strength.  Which is not the optimal way to race.

Oh well.  While I'm disappointed at how the race turned out, I also can't regret giving it a shot.  And that's exactly what these races are for - trying out different things while also learning how to run at speed.  And the fact that I held 5:20 pace for 1200m tells me that I have a much faster mile in me than what I'm currently running, something that my coach emphasized to me afterwards (and I agree with him).

So, I just need to give it another shot, with the intent of running similarly, but with a slightly slower start and a stronger finish (which go together).

Other notes:

• I believe I got my eating down well for this -- light but normal breakfast and lunch, and then a "second breakfast" about 3 hours before race time.  Worked well - I was energized but no stomach issues.
• There was some major allergens in the air at the track -- everyone ended up with sore throat, runny nose, and sneezing.  Weird.
• New asthma drugs continue to work awesome.  Though I was breathing very hard at the end, it was in no way the struggle that my breathing has been previously.  Yay

Training log - Week ending 7/22/12

This week was 75 miles of “real running” and 11 “miles” pool running, plus 1500 yards of swimming breathing drills -- training log is here. 

My mileage total is deceptively high this week.  I usually do a long run on Sunday and then pool-run on Monday, but last week I stayed in the pool on Sunday to protect a bad blister, and then did an easy 7 on Monday, which added 7 miles to my normal weekly total.  Overall workload was about the same.

Lil blue asthma bong thingee

Pretty good week, save for Tuesday’s run.  To be super careful (my calf had been tight on Sunday), I skipped my team’s Tuesday morning hill workout, opting instead for a run around Hains Point with a few segments at half-marathon/marathon pace.  Hah.  Ended up being a horrible struggle.  Mainly because I forgot to prime my new asthma inhaler before using it, meaning that I attempted to run in very high humidity without any drugs.  Bad idea.  Shut it down, jogged home.

Used my inhaler correctly on Friday and Sunday, and things went better, despite the sticky weather.  Humidity will never be my friend, but now I feel like I’m affected a lot less.  I LURVE my little blue asthma bong thingee.

Next week will be a cutback, since I'm racing a track mile on Wednesday night.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 7 easy miles (7:52 pace), and then some weights work and injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 11 miles, including 2 segments of 2 miles each at marathon pace (6:58 for first, 7:00 for the second).  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes of easy pool-running.  Floor barre and foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 12 miles very easy (8:08 pace) and then a yoga class.  Later, did another 5 miles easy (7:46 pace).  Sports massage plus a bit of foam rolling and stretching at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, upper body strengthwork and injury prevention exercises, followed by 35 minutes of easy poolrunning for “3.5 miles” and 1500 yards swimming breathing drills   Foam rolling and stretching at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 13 miles, including a sleep-deprived/sleepwalking tempo workout of 26:08 for 6400m (average pace of 6:35, split as 6:44, 6:34, 6:32, 6:18).   Followed with injury prevention work and 25 minutes of shakeout pool-running.  Pilates and foam rolling in the afternoon.

(The sleep deprivation was because we had bad storms on Thursday night, and I ended up staying up to successfully battle a sewer back-up.)   

 

Saturday:   In the morning, 11 miles easy (8:00 pace).  Upper body strengthwork plus stretching and foam rolling in the afternoon.

Sunday:   In the morning, 16 miles as a progressive long run – averaged 7:35 pace, split as first 5 at 8:26, next 7 at 7:26, final 4 at 6:47.  Followed with injury prevention work and then 30 minutes shakeout pool-running.    Restorative yoga and foamrolling in the afternoon.

Training log - Week ending 7/14/12

This week was 58 miles of “real running” and 17 “miles” pool running, plus 3000 yards of swimming breathing drills -- training log is here.  

Ups and downs this week.  I’ve suspected that my asthma wasn’t under control and was still limiting me, so went to a new pulmonologist (one who works with athletes, and so doesn’t ignore anyone who is capable of running 2 miles in a row).  Checked me out, and swapped my meds.  Before I was on Singulair plus an albuterol rescue inhaler.  Now I’m on a drug called Dulera, which only needs one puff and lasts for 12 hours, meaning that I don’t have to worry about timing my puffs right before a workout/race.  

So, tried it out with some trepidation on Friday for our tempo workout, and WOW.  Made a huge difference.     Like ridiculous.  Like I had to keep putting the brakes on as I kept accidentally dropping the pace too much.

[and yes, before you get any ideas, Dulera IS allowed under USATF/WADA doping regs.  I checked….]  

Of course, Friday could have just been a very good day, especially since the humidity wasn't too bad, and humidity is a real trigger for me.  So I was excited to try the Dulera again on Sunday’s long run (because there are some side effects, we’re limiting my use of it to workout days and races, sticking with my old inhaler for the other days).  And then I developed a bad blister on my right foot during Saturday’s easy run.    

It was a hard decision, but I ended up skipping Sunday’s long run in favor of the pool.  This decision brought to you by my bad memories of last year’s blister issue (which resulted in losing about 2 weeks of training, due to a bad reaction to antibiotics), combined with some stiffness and bad muscle knots in my left calf that indicated that the blister was altering my gait.    I REALLY hated to skip, as the long run is my favorite workout of the week and I was really excited to see how it went with the new asthma drugs.    Plus I’m 8 weeks out from my goal half-marathon, meaning that it’s time to start doing some long runs.  But…better one run too few than one run too many. 

So, did a pool-running long run instead, with some sections at “marathon pace” effort.  Apparently my “marathon effort” in the pool looks suspiciously like drowning, resulting in some disruption of my workout by well-meaning lifeguards.  *sigh*.  No one ever thinks I’m drowning on land.

As of this morning (Monday) everything feels good (including the calf), so I’m patting myself on the back for my restraint.   Hopefully I won’t pull a muscle doing so.

Dailies

Monday:   In the morning, 45 minutes of easy pool-running for 4.5 miles, plus 1000 yards of swimming breathing drills, and then some very light weights work.  Did a 3 mile shakeout at night (8:19 pace) plus foam rolling.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 14 miles including a workout of 8 hill repeats – nonstop circuit of up a hill for about 2 minutes, a 90 second easy jog, a stride, and then some more easy jogging to the bottom (whole circuit takes ~5 minutes).     Followed with injury prevention work and 25 minutes of easy pool-running.  Floor barre and foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 11.5 miles very easy (8:11 pace) and then a yoga class.  Later, did another 4.5 miles easy (7:47 pace).  Foam rolling and stretching at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, upper body strengthwork and injury prevention exercises, followed by 50 minutes of easy poolrunning for “5 miles” and 600 yards swimming breathing drills   Foam rolling and stretching at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 13 miles, including a tempo workout of 2x2 miles plus a bonus mile, with 800m jogging recovery (plus water break).  Splits were 12:37 (6:29/6:08), 12:26 (6:18/6:08) and then 5:58.  Foam-rolling in the afternoon.

Saturday:   In the morning, 11 miles easy (8:02 pace).  Upper body strengthwork plus stretching and foam rolling in the afternoon.

Sunday:   In the morning, a pool-running “long run” of 1:40, going for the equivalent of 4 miles, 3 miles, 2 miles, 1 mile at marathon pace, split by “1 mile” recoveries.  Right leg cramped up on the 2 mile rep, so I skipped the last “mile” so as not to injure myself in the pool.  Followed with 1400m of swimming breathing drills.    Hot yoga and foamrolling in the afternoon.

Tyler Clary, Michael Phelps, and us

One sports story du jour is swimmer Tyler Clary's "calling out" of Michael Phelps, as detailed here.  According to Clary,

I work my (butt) off all the time. That’s not to say that everybody else doesn’t. But the fact that I know I work harder than he does makes me appreciate every little goal and every little gain that I make.

The subtext is that Clary seems to believe that he deserves success more than Phelps, and that he wil ultimately triumph over Phelps because he outworks Phelps.

Some characterize Clary as "whining."  But that's not the first thing that strikes me here.  Rather it's that Clary seems to be making the same mistake that so many of us do, both in running and in our careers.  The certainty that outworking all others is the surest way to success.

But it's not.  And the reason why is NOT as simple as talent.

You see a similar situation in the workforce.  Imagine the person who is always first to the office, last to leave, and always available.  Their diligence makes them valuable.  But that's rarely the person that rises to the very top.  The person that grinds day after day often without breaks or time for outside interests doesn't produce the best quality work.  And at the end of the day, it's the quality of one's work that matters, not just the quantity. 

[heck, even in the law firm environment, where billable hours are king, racking up a ton of hours is necessary for continued employment, but no guarantee of partnership.  And my observation has been that those who make partner are generally high billers, but almost never the highest biller.]

Similarly, in running, the goal is not to train as much as possible, but to train as best as possible.  Per Joe Rubio, "train optimally, race maximally."  Sure, the person who does intervals-to-the-point-of-puking 7 days a week is outworking the person who does 2 workouts, 4 easy runs, and a recovery day each week.  By a lot.  But wanna guess who races better, given equivalent ability? 

Likewise for the runner who does every workout as an all-out effort, or strives for "PR-ing" workouts, versus the runner who focuses on hitting the optimal effort. As an aside, "PR-ing" a workout has always seemed like the silliest thing to me.  The purpose of a workout is not to work your hardest, but to work at the level that will give you the best training result -- thus a "workout PR" is nonsensical.  Plus, if you're PR-ing your workouts, and not MASSIVELY PR-ing your races, you're doing something very wrong.

My sense is that Clary gets this concept, or at least his coaches do.  Clary's actually working optimally (which is still very hard), and is criticizing Phelps for falling below that level.  But I wonder how many other athletes are out there, continually frustrated because they know that they're outworking their competition, and attributing their failure to dominate on race day to "lack of talent."

Training log - Week ending 7/08/2012

This week was 50 miles of “real running” and 14 “miles” pool running, plus 2500 yards of swimming breathing drills -- training log is here.

Weird week.  In bullet points:

• Two races
• Jury duty
• Massive unprecedented heat wave
• Broken AC in house
• Broken AC in car
• Confounding sewer pipe underneath my building (experts disagree on whether there is a problem, with the worst case scenario being the complete gutting of my basement condo so the pipe can be excavated and replaced).

All of which combined to a chaotic schedule.   And no workouts.  No hills (since I was racing), no tempo (since I was racing), no long run (because it was ridiculously hot and humid ) and missing nearly all my pilates/yoga classes (racing+jury duty).

So yeah, a weird week.  But the racing went well.  Wednesday’s 5K was a big confidence boost – I ended up running 5 seconds off of my PR on a hilly course in hot weather.  I’m one of those runners that reacts to 35-40 degrees like it’s rocket fuel.  So to hit 19:20 on a hilly course in July makes me think that sub-19:00 (possibly by a lot) is in reach come late fall/winter, when the conditions are solidly in my favor.  Of course, my marathon will get in the way of a late fall 5K, but there’s always December and January.

Did another track mile this weekend, in 5:39.  So essentially the same time I ran 2 weeks ago, and still way slower than I can run these things.  But though I wasn’t crazy about the time, I was happy about how I ran the race – relaxed and focused, with a strong last lap.  I think I just need to get in a faster race in order to run faster.  When I ran my PR, I was basically dragged the entire way by a group of fast women, while the two track races have both had me leading for the last 600-800m.  There’s a few more track races this summer – I’ll get there.

I'm not crazy about my current lack of long runs, but it really wasn't practical to do one this week, given the weather.  14 was fine, but any longer would have risked digging me into a hole -- not a good idea.  I do have a half-marathon coming up in 8 weeks that I'd like to run very well at, but 8 weeks is still plenty of time to train up for that distance, since I'm in pretty good basic shape.

Dailies

Monday:   5.5 miles easy (7:49) plus drills and strides, and some light injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 1000 yards of swimming breathing drills plus injury prevention work.  Foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 11 miles including a 5K race in 19:20, followed by 30 minutes recovery pool-running.  Foam rolling and stretching at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, 11 miles very easy (8:04 pace), followed by 10 minutes of easy poolrunning for “1 miles.”   Foam rolling and stretching at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 1500 yards of swimming breathing drills, followed by 20 minutes easy pool-running for “2 miles” and then some injury prevention work.  Foam-rolling in the afternoon.

Saturday:   In the morning, 8 miles, including a track mile in 5:39, followed by 50 minutes recovery pool-running (too long, but conversation was good, and cold water felt awesome).  Upper body strengthwork plus stretching and foam rolling in the afternoon.

Sunday:   14 miles aerobic progression (7:54, split as 8:41 for first 4 miles, next 5.5 at 7:48, last 4.5 at 7:21), followed by injury prevention work and 30 minutes of recovery pool-running.    Yoga and foamrolling in the afternoon.

Race report: PVTC Track Mile, July 7, 2012

I ran a track mile today at the PVTC Track meet, finishing in 5:39.  So, exactly 1 second faster than I ran this race 2 weeks ago, and still a bit off of my PR. 

But I'm fine with it.  I ran a good race (and actually won my heat, which always feels nice).  And one of my biggest objectives for this race was to practice staying relaxed and fluid but powerful all the way to the finish, just like Matt Centrowitz.  And I did that.  Heck, I even did it for 2 minutes longer than Centrowitz does it.  So there.

Warmed up with 2.5 miles easy jog, plus some drills and strides, and a hard 300m.   The race was split into two heats, with 5:20 being the cut-off, and so I opted for the slower heat.

As these races always do, everyone started out at a sprint.  I settled into the middle of the pack, and then pulled to the front as people began to run out of gas.  I ran in lockstep with my teammate Tim for the first 600m or so before I started to pull ahead.  Unlike last week, there were still a few kids ahead of me, so I was able to hone in on them as focal points.  But by the last 600m or so, I was alone again, and soloed the rest of the race.


As I noted, my big goal for this race was just make sure I ran strong and relaxed,  but powerful, all the way.  This is exactly what US superstars like Morgan Uceny, Bernard Lagat, and Matt Centrowitz seem to do, and they're good models to emulate.  In contrast, when I try to run too fast, I seem to tense up and work against myself, with the result being that I actually slow down.  I didn't do that here, but instead stayed fluid all the way to the finish, and so I'm happy.

That being said, I still don't seem to be able to find that extra fast gear for the last lap.  I felt like I could have backed off of the pace just slightly and run another lap, but I couldn't get my legs to move any faster.  I tried to push off more powerfully with each step while keeping the same rhythm, and that added a bit of pace, but wasn't a true kick.

It's not that I'm not willing and even eager to dig deeper.  I just don't know how to do it without tensing up and working against myself.  In short, I don't know how to sprint.  Which makes sense, since I'm not a sprinter.  So, that's maybe something to play with in future races.  Just playing with different stuff, like pumping my arms more, etc, in the last 200m to see if that works.  I'm also thinking that, if my coach approves, I'll hop into the faster heat next time, and just see if that makes a difference in my time.

In any event, the main point of doing these races is to get experience with running substantially faster than my normal race pace, and also to practice racing strategies.  And I'm definitely accomplishing both of those.  And since I'm a long distance runner, the fact that I felt like I couldn't pick it up, but could have run longer at a slightly slower pace, ain't a bad thing. 


Other notes:

• Used a puff of the inhaler about 45 minutes before, and another about 20 minutes before
• It's funny how I'm much happier with this race than I was with the one two weeks ago, even though the time was essentially the same.  Probably both because I won my heat and because I ran a very good 5K earlier this week, so a slow mile doesn't rock my confidence. 
• Temp of 89 and DP of 76 for the race.  But (again) nice thing about races that last less than 6 minutes is that heat and humidity are not factors.
• As I wrote above, it'll be interesting to see if seeding myself in the faster heat makes a difference in my time next time. I may actually also do a mid-week evening track meet in about 2 weeks - that meet looks like it will have a lot of people running about 5:30-ish.  Maybe that will make the difference.
• Really debated hopping into either the 800m or the 400m race (slowest 400m sprinter was 1:27, so at least I wouldn't have been last).  But, I'm planning on meeting my team for a long run tomorrow, and so I didn't need to be out in the sun and heat any more today (this will apparently be the hottest day in DC EVER).  Maybe another time.

Race report: Firecracker 5K, July 4, 2012

I ran the Reston Firecracker 5K this morning, finishing in a time of 19:20 by my watch (19:22 gun – I started back in the pack).  This was good enough for 11^th overall female and 2^nd in my age group in a very competitive field (5^th and 7^th went to pro runners Samia Akbar and Nikeya Green, to give some context).

This race was pretty much a last minute decision for me.  I had planned (and registered for) an “age handicapped” 4 mile race to be held on the C&O towpath.  It sounded like a lot of fun (especially since I’d get a big head start over the guys) and an easy PR (my 4 mile PR is 4 years old, and is at a slower pace than my half-marathon PR pace…).

But then bad storms hit DC last weekend, strewing tree branches all over.  As of last night, many streets were still blocked by trees.  And if streets were blocked, it was likely that the towpath hadn’t been cleared.  And then it also rained last night, meaning a muddy towpath.  The 4 miler was sounding like a lot less fun, and accompanied by a risk that I’d show to learn that the race was off altogether.  So, I reluctantly changed plans to a 5K that a lot of my teammates were running.

And that was how I ended up in Reston for the “Firecracker 5K” this morning.  Registered, did my warm-up, said hi to teammates and friends (the race ended up with a HUGE turnout, chock full of fast people). 

 As part of my warm-up, I jogged a section of the course with my teammates, noting the hills, including the long uphill drive to the finish.   I thought longingly of the FLAT 4 miler I had been planning on.  But that was irrelevant now.  I was here with the hills.  And I’d deal.

[I’ll also do an additional whine – again, I HATE 5Ks.  They hurt MORE than mile races, and for longer.  They also hurt more than longer races.  That was another reason the 4 miler was so appealing – slightly less painful.  But, the 5Ks are good for me.  So I’ll suck it up.]

***

The start area was completely packed when I joined, so I couldn’t get up as close to the front as I would like.  Not a big issue, as I like to go out slow (and I also didn’t realize that they were doing age group awards by gun time).  The corral was packed with kids and other runners who looked a bit unsure of what they were doing, but I thought I’d just start cautiously and let the mess sort itself out.

And then they started us, and it WAS a mess.  Elbows everywhere in the stampede, with high school kids weaving back and forth.  A large guy fell down right in front of me, and I almost tripped and fell down as well.  I dodged, and then sprinted as best I could to get myself out of the worst of the mess.  As soon as I was clear, I settled my pace, and tried to shake out the bit of oxygen debt I had given myself.  

About then, my teammate Tim caught up to me, and we ran together for a bit.  It was comforting to have someone near me that I knew was NOT going to suddenly lurch into me.  Soon after, my other teammates Greg and Nora caught up to us, and we were a pack working the up and downhills in a rhythm.

After a minute or two, I started to feel my breathing tighten, and so I backed off slightly to reestablish, letting Greg and Nora pull ahead a bit.  From then on, I just focused on staying relaxed.  My breathing was a bit of a struggle and even painful, but I resolutely concentrated on what I could control, instead of how far I had yet to go.

And that was pretty much the rest of the race.  I don’t pay attention to splits during a race, but just hit my lap at each mile marker to have the splits for later.  The first mile marker seemed to take forever, which worried me.  Between that, the discomfort in my lungs, and the fact that my teammates had gone ahead of me, I could have easily gone down a negative mental trail, decided I was having a bad race, and started pushing like crazy.

Nope.  Stopped that train.  Just relaxed, focused on the moment, and tried to breath as deep as I could.  

The final half mile of the race was a long steady climb.  Not horrible, but draining.  And then we hit the final straightaway towards the finish line.  And once again I tried to focus on cruising rather than straining, and staying patient.  Instead of staring at the finish and driving towards it, I focused resolutely on the pavement about 10 meters ahead of me, and just chilled.  Whatever.  Finish line would still be there whenever I got there.

Um yeah – these photos indicate what I look like
when I’m “chilling” on my way to the finish. 
Apparently I have some more work to do here….
Thanks to dash for the photos.

I resisted glancing at the clock until right before the finish, and noted it just crossing over to 19:20.  Neat!  I had honestly thought that 19:30 for me on this course in summer conditions would be a great result.  So coming within 5 seconds of my PR was a real thrill.   Especially since it was not a very comfortable race for me breathing wise.  

So, I’m pretty happy with this one.  And feeling REALLY good for what this race means for my fitness.  I’m unquestionably a cold weather runner, and summer heat and humidity are a real struggle for me.  Summer conditions essentially place a dropcloth over my fitness, making where I truly stand a mystery.  Races like this are a hint that I’ll see great things come fall.   If nothing else, I think this race indicates that I’ve made a big improvement in my fitness from even this spring, when I set my 10 mile and half-marathon PRs.  I’m REALLY psyched for the fall.

Splits were:

First “Mile” – 6:59 (mile was long – 1.13 according to Garmin)

Second “Mile” – 5:32 (mile was short - .94 according to Garmin)

Third mile plus last bit – 6:49 (for 1.14 according to Garmin)

So, hard to know exactly what my splits were.  And no, I don’t think the course was long – I just think the Garmin was off.  Assuming that the course was accurate, and that the 2nd mile marker was right, then I split 12:31 for the first 2 miles (6:16 pace) and 6:49 for the final 1.11 (6:08 pace).  I’ll take that.  I think if I hadn't sprinted that bit at the very beginning and just been able to build steadily the entire way, I might have run slightly better.  But this was not a badly paced race at all.

Other notes:

• Used inhaler twice 20 minutes before. 
•  Dowsed myself with water right before race, and dumped a cup of water over my head at the halfway point.  Made a difference.
•  Left home at 6:10, which got me there with just enough time to register, chill, and then warm-up.
• Just did a bit over 2 miles as a warm-up.  Normally I do 3, but it was warm enough that I didn’t need that much.
• I do think that the race organizers took liberties in describing this course as "relatively flat and fast."  It did end up a fast race.  But I think that was due to the fact that so many fast people showed up, pulling each other to better times.  The course itself had some challenges.
• Having now run all three of the local 5K 4th of July races, I can say that I think this one and the "Autism Speaks" in Potomac are probably equally difficult courses, while the "Let Freedom Run" 5K is harder.  [this is mental note to myself for next year].

Training log - Week ending 7/01/12

This week was 70 miles of “real running” and 10 “miles” pool running, plus 2000 yards of swimming breathing drills -- training log is here.  

Was off at the beginning of the week – I thought at first I was sick, but I’m now thinking it might have been an allergic reaction to something.    Hard to tell.  Good news is that it passed pretty quickly - I was still a bit off on Tuesday and Wednesday, but felt good again by Friday.

Bigger news of the week was the weather.  We're dealing with high temps and humidity (DP of 70 is starting to feel normal).  I'm actually *really* happy with how I'm running in the conditions -- generally I'm someone who suffers a LOT in these conditions, especially breathing-wise.  The fact that I'm running the way I'm running currently makes me hopeful that I'll have a major breakthrough this fall.  

We also had massive storms hit the DC area on Friday night – essentially we got hit by a “land hurricane” with almost no warning.  Knocked a TON of trees down, meaning that my weekend runs involved lots of climbing over fallen trees and debris.  Really good for hip strength/flexibility development.

I’m racing on Wednesday, so I backed off on stuff over the weekend (always  a bit difficult to figure out how to structure a week when the race isn’t on Saturday or Sunday).  I’m also racing again on Saturday (mile) so this will be a two race week.

Dailies

Monday:   Felt sick in the morning, with aches, headache, scratchy throat, and elevated HR (also slept 8.5 hours, which NEVER happens).  So, took it off and also called in sick to work, after trying to focus but being unable to.  Napped and chugged zinc/fluids for most of the day, and felt better by mid-afternoon, so went for a quick jog to see how running felt.  Shakeout felt really good (2.5 miles in 7:48 pace with very easy effort), so apparently I wasn’t that sick after all.  Also did some foam rolling and stretching in the evening.

Tuesday:  In the morning, 13.5 miles including a workout of 7 hill repeats – nonstop circuit of up a hill for about 2 minutes, a 90 second easy jog, a stride, and then some more easy jogging to the bottom (whole circuit takes ~5 minutes).     Followed with injury prevention work and 15 minutes of easy pool-running.  Floor barre and foam rolling at night.

Wednesday:   In the morning, 12 miles easy (8:08 pace) and then a yoga class.  Later, did another 4 miles easy (7:48 pace).  Foam rolling and stretching at night.

Thursday:   In the morning, strength training and injury prevention exercises, followed by 600 yards of swimming and 45 minutes of easy poolrunning for “4.5 miles.”   Foam rolling and stretching at night.

Friday:  In the morning, 13.5 miles including a tempo workout of 4800m, then full recovery (~8 minutes) followed by 1600m.  Splits were 4800m in 19:22 (6:30 pace, 6:44, 6:27, 6:11 - coach told us to start very slow for first 6 laps, and then open up) and then 6:05 for the 1600m.  Followed with injury prevention work and 20 minutes of easy pool running.  Foam-rolling and pilates in the afternoon.

Saturday:   In the morning, 10.5 miles very easy (8:20), plus drills both planned and impromptu (did some drills before the run, but also had to climb over a lot of trees during the run).  Upper body strengthwork plus stretching and foam rolling in the afternoon.

Sunday:   14 miles aerobic (7:54), plus more tree climbing, followed by 1400 yards of swimming and 20 minutes of recovery pool-running (skipped heavy injury prevention work since I’m racing on Weds).    Yoga and foamrolling in the afternoon.