Run #2: "2 a Day Wednesday"

The only "good" about this run was that I got to run with Preston, Jane's son. Sweet boy!

The "9 min" group went over to Bent Creek. I think this was my 3^rd or 4^th run over there. They ran it a little differently this week due to Amy K putting out fluids. I think one more run over there should get me somewhat familiar with it. I think we should add it to the Saturday morning route this week, which is only 12 miles. With the temp in the 90s this weekend & a chance of rain all three days, including Labor Day, I'm glad my long run is only 12!

Yesterday felt like the warmest afternoon of the entire summer to me, plus I think the 18 miler & speed work on Monday finally caught up to me. 5.25 miles at a 9:19 pace…it would have been faster had I run the regular route. The Bent Creek route includes two stops to cross Nolensville Rd & a water stop...and as you know I don't stop my garmin... 

Today, I'm heading straight to the gym to spin my legs out on the elliptical & bike for a little while. Then I'm doing the strengthening exercises for my left IT Band & glutes. So far so good…neither have given me fits lately at all. I'm also going to make myself get through at least half of the "Yoga for Runners" dvd when I get home & I'll finish the rest on Friday along with ab ripper.

We don't have yoga on Sunday so I may end up doing this dvd again or P90X Stretch on Sunday to get ready for the Franklin Classic 10k. I hear the route changed so of course, we'll go drive it. LOL!

I can't wait. I'm itching to "race".

10 X 800s boom!

Jo Ann, Pam, Tandy, Russ, & I got over to the Ravenwood track about 6:10pm & got down to business.

I really think the first 800 that I do is always a "warm up" & I'm ok with that. The first one is always one of the slowest. I would make myself hold back on the first loop around the track & then I would start slowly reeling them in as we headed around the end of the track on the 2nd loop. My goal was to stay well under 3:55 but not burn my legs out by the 6^th or 7^th 800. I felt great the entire time. I'm really proud of the 3:26 I did on the 10^th 800 because I still felt like I could do another one. Speed work is essentially over for me during this training cycle. I think the rest of the crew may be coming back for two more weeks of it after the Franklin Classic on Labor Day. I'm going to focus more on longer tempo runs. I will really miss my Monday night speed work buddies!

1.06 mi warm up-10:34

10 X 800s (with 60 to 90 seconds rest in between each one)

3:52, 3:36, 3:41, 3:43, 3:42, 3:40, 3:43, 3:35, 3:51, 3:26

1.06 mi cool down-10:07

The 800s above average out to be about a 3:44. If you believe in & trust the "Yasso 800s" prediction, I should be able to run a marathon around a 3:44-ish. I will believe it when I do it. Ha! Honestly, I have to believe that all these consecutive weeks that I've done these 800s on very tired legs will help me on Nov 2^nd.   This may be the missing piece to this puzzle of missing a sub 3:55 by a few minutes. I have to delay the stress on my legs & the stress on my tummy. I'm still working on eating things that don't upset my tummy. The 2^nd long run in the heat with the dates seems to prove that I should stick with them. The key is to get plenty of rest the two nights before these long runs so that my body isn't missing the caffeine jolt it was getting from the gus. So, that's still an ongoing experiment at this time.

Today I'm going to spin my legs out on a bike at the gym for a little while before I join the Wild Wings group run. I'm only running around 3 very slow miles today as recovery. I'm still undecided as to how hard & long I want to run tomorrow. I'm thinking a progression run in the morning & a tempo in the afternoon….maybe 10 for the day…. I can't believe that I'm almost 2 months away from my 13^th marathon.

Decision made: 18 hilly, hot miles....

We met up with our usual friends at 5am & circled back at 5:30am for more friends.  I had taken two sportslegs tabs, ate my usual oatmeal, banana, honey stinger gel, & coffee all before leaving the house.  I drank as much as I could but probably should've drank more.  I ate 9 dates & took in a gel that came in my stridebox that had coconut water in it.  It went down fast since it was watery.  I took that in when we finished up the 6-7 mile hilly loop. 
We did roughly 3-3.5 by 5:30am then hit the 6-7 mile hilly loop that involves Sunset Middle, a neighborhood, & lots of hills, then we were back at Mama's Java refilling bottles, etc...  We then took off for about 2+ flat miles, including the Industrial park, the ball park, Nolensville Elementary, then I decided to take the "Wednesday night 5+ mile hilly loop" to finish the run off or rather "finish me off".  LOL!  I'm trying hard to add hills at the end of most of my "long" runs simply because the Monumental course does have a few small rollers the back half as I've stated before on here.  This was tough simply because it felt really warm by the time we ran that last hour.  Keep in mind it was 70 degrees when we started at 5am.  At mile 10 when I was feeling awesome, I made the decision to go on with the 18 miles.  I knew deep down it was the right thing to do this weekend since we have the Franklin Classic 10k on Labor Day & I want a shorter "long" run two days before.  Doing a 20 miler two days before that 10k sucked last year & I was determined not to do that again. 

18 miles - 2:51:26 - 9:32 pace
Way slower than my winter 18 miler but that's what summer long runs are...slower!  I have to say I am A OK with the pace, though.  The later warmer miles on tired legs on massive hills were tough.  I was having to play mental games with myself on them since the heat was getting to me.  Many thanks to Jo Ann who ran the entire time with me.  The woman needs to push "play" on her first marathon for sure.

1- 9:12
2- 9:16
3- 8:54
4- 10:15 (putting my fuel belt on & getting the 5:30am crowd)
5- 9:19
6- 9:02 (starting the hills on the loop)
7- 9:03
8- 9:19
9- 9:18
10- 9:09
11- 10:57 (back at the car for refueling)
12- 9:26
13- 9:27 (start hitting the hills again)
14- 9:58 (ugh....Ballenger....& more hills)
15- 9:38
16- 9:43
17- 9:53 (The former "C25ker's" nicknamed this course "hell on hills" for a reason)
18- 9:39

2nd Run: "2 a Day Wednesday" 8 miles on hills in the heat

I told Jay (former C25'er) that running in the heat like we had yesterday on hills for 8 miles would make him really strong for The Middle Half. He's new to long distance running so he believed me. LOL!

We ended up starting out strong on the 5 mile hilly route & I knew it would come back to haunt us later & it did. We were at a death march barely keeping it below a 10 minute pace the last mile & a half. The fact that bugs were trying to eat us alive didn't help but he was staying with it no matter what & we finished at a 9:39 pace overall. His wife is a nurse working 12 hour shifts & they have a son that can't be left alone yet. So, he's struggling to get the "long-ish" runs in but he's now back on track. He told me that running long on Monday's would work better for him since he knows NRC childcare on Wednesday's will very likely end soon. I told him my "speed work" will end over the next couple of weeks. I had already got it in my head that I'm going to do my "long-ish week day runs" on Mondays starting mid to late Sept. That may work out for him if he speeds up a little bit as it gets cooler.

My Monday's will likely have a "long-ish" run of 8-12 miles at a low to mid-9's pace until it cools down. I am hoping by the time I start doing this that the temps are cooler but you never know with middle TN. Wednesday's will be short tempo runs...I may keep the "2 a day runs" on Wednesdays for a little while longer. I do feel that my legs are getting stronger & snapping back faster as the weeks go by. ;-)

I've still not decided exactly what to do on Saturday since it's supposed be a cut back week on the long run. I guess I'll just bring enough fuel & "wing" it. Sometimes the long runs that aren't "over-planned" turn out to be the best long runs. Friday's overnight low is showing 70 on my iPhone right now but I can hope for the best.

1st Run: "2 a day Wednesday" 4 miles - tempo-ish pace

I rolled out the door at 4:56am & had decided to avoid the front of our 'hood. I didn't do the BIG hills but kept some smaller rollers in for 4 miles. My 4th mile had a lot of down hill to it. Trust me, it wasn't that I was feeling great or anything that I pushed out a sub 8 mile. It was warm & humid. When I stopped to bend over & stretch I created a puddle of sweat on the sidewalk.

4 mi - 33:41 - 8:25 pace
9:14, 8:06, 7:56, 8:24

I'm doing ab ripper when I get home & then a slow 8 miles with the club. It's going to be muggy but I can deal if I carry my fuel belt.
Tomorrow, I'm doing IT Band exercises, a few weights, & the bike.
Friday, will be ab ripper & rest....still deciding exactly how much to run Saturday since Joe's brother, Jake (and family) won't arrive until late afternoon.
I really would like a shorter run the Saturday before the Franklin Classic 10k...ummmm......

Monday night speed work at Ravenwood

This week due to a lot of school "open houses" it was just Joe, Jo Ann, Diana, Lauren R. & myself at the track.  We missed the other half of the crew last night.  Some were sick with sinus issues.  It's that time of year here.

 

9 X 800s, 1 to 2 minutes rest in between walking & sipping nuun.

1.3 mile warm up – 13.01 time

1- 3:57 (started too conservative…could've carried on a conversation during this one)
2- 3:43
3- 3:44
4- 3:39
5- 3:46
6- 3:42
7- 3:51 (feeling it!)
8- 3:39 (gave myself a pep talk)
9- 3:46 (thinking I will thank myself & remember this night if this pays off Nov 2^nd!)
1.06 mi cool down - 9:48 time

Next Monday will be my last day at the track for speed work & of course, I'm doing 10 X 800s.

It was around 82 degrees when we started the work out last night but with a lot of cloud cover. No rain so I wore my new Adidas Boost. Love those shoes!
For the evening I had a total of 6.86 miles.

I'm spinning my legs & running an easy 3 miles with Jane & the Wild Wings group tonight.

Recovery & "conservative" speed work

Yesterday I took it easy...jogged 2 miles round trip to the gym at roughly an 11 & a half minute pace, did my weights, & rode a bike for 40 minutes.  I have taken 2 ice baths in the last two days & worn my CW-X compression tights for approximately 8 hours over the weekend.  I feel great & I am looking forward to "speed work" tonight.  Have you ever got into the habit of doing something every week & you're already dreading the fact that's it is going to end soon?
Meaning...I am going to actually miss my speed work friends on Monday nights when this ends.  True, I'll still see most, if not all of them on Monday's (in the dark soon) but it's been an adventure, it's been "playtime" in a new environment.  It's been fun!  Yes, apparently, I've crossed over to the dark side where "speed work" is fun. Who am I?

So the plan for today:
Ab ripper P90X this morning before work
1 mile warm up, then 9 X 800s with about a 1-2 minute rest in between, then another 1 mile cool down

I'm going ahead with the plan to do 9 X 800s & the plan is to start out slow.  Meaning I'm going to be ok with it if my first 1-2 are 3:55-4:00 but the rest better stay below 3:55.  I've not had any trouble at all even in the heat keeping them around the 3:35-3:45 range so this "experiment" should help me practice "holding back" a little but pushing at the end.  Make sense?  It should to someone who's missed a goal twice by literally a few minutes this year. 

Next Monday on the 26th, I plan to do 10 X 800's.  We'll be running the Franklin Classic 10k the following Monday on Labor Day.  The Monday after Labor Day, I hope to do a one mile time trial back at the school to compare it to the one I did 2 days after the Franklin Half.  It should without a doubt be faster than the 6:54 mile I did that night.  (What was I thinking doing a time trial 2 days after a hilly ass half marathon? doh!)

17.2 miles: "the date experiment"

We are having some really good weather for August in middle TN.  Usually in August, the overnight lows are in the 70's & the yards are brown.  We've had so much rain this Spring/Summer that we've not had to water our back yard at all.
All that being said, I still don't run well in warmer temps.   I like it COLD. Cold meaning....anywhere between 20 & 55 degrees.  That's my "sweet spot".  This morning's run went way better than last weekend's 16 miler.  I ended up with 17.2 miles by the time I got back to the car.   This morning I think the temp was mid-60's....what a nice "gift" in August! 
We met Traci & Jonathon at 5am at the Crocket Y parking lot & took off for some hilly neighborhoods in the dark.  I got in well over 6 miles by the time we met up with the 6am group.  We dumped our reflective gear & grabbed more fuel bottles.  I pretty much emptied two out of my fuel belt during the first hour.  I also ate 4 dates 47 minutes into the run at the suggestion of Scott A.  I ate a second helping of dates (4) around the hour & a half mark.  I never got the sick to my tummy feeling that I have got with gels/gu.  I think the dates might just work!
We had dropped Joe's car with a cooler at Ravenwood high school so we would have another place to refill our bottles.  Altogether I know I drank a little more than last week so that went better, too.  I didn't have the glute cramping that I had the previous week.  (We call it "ass cramping"  LOL!)  Overall, I'm pretty pleased with my pace. I never stopped my garmin at any of the refueling spots or when Traci & Mandy went to the Ravenwood portapotties.  ;-)  We did big hills the first hour & then did small rollers the rest of the time finishing the last few miles totally flat. 

17.2 miles - 2:39:59 - 9:18 pace (I'll gladly take a 9:18 pace in August any day)

1- 9:14 (easing into the hills!)
2- 8:55
3- 8:56
4- 8:57
5- 8:58
6- 9:04
7- 11:07 (eating dates, dropping reflective gear, refueling, & circling for 6am group)
8- 9:12
9- 9:08
10- 9:29 (portapottie stop for the girls-stretched a bit)
11- 10:01
12- 10:23 (eating dates, refilling fuel belts, Tim L. & Jonathon rejoin us)
13- 9:10
14- 8:45 (picking up the pace to finish strong)
15- 8:57
16- 9:14
17- 8:46
 .2- 8:35

After breakfast at Mama's Java's, Jessica & I headed to the gym.  She wanted to work out & this was an opportunity for me to stretch & spin my legs out for 35 minutes on a bike.  I even did my free weights for my arms. 

Next weekend Joe's brother comes in with his family for a quick overnight stay on Saturday.  We are way overdue for a cutback on our long run so I'm thinking I'll likely do 12 or 13 at the most next Saturday.  I swear if the Friday night temp drops below 60, I will change my mind!  LOL!

I'm remaining hopeful for a faster marathon time this Fall.  Hey, I've got nothing at all to lose at this point.  Just keep plugging away....  I will say this, I've never run this much in the summer....EVER.  I've never done "organized" speedwork this much with this amount of mileage.  I feel like it's working.  ;-)

2nd Run: "2 a Day Wednesday"

My 2nd run was with the former "C25'ers" soon to be half marathoners at The Middle Half.
The first 5 was the hilly route & then 2.33 miles were flat with Jo Ann & Jay A. He needed 7 & of course I missjudged the distance on my garmin but he'll be ok. The weather was FANTASTIC last night for a Wednesday night NRC run. Vicki & David V. had taken the club's cooler home for the week & brought it in with water in it yesterday. This is a "new" thing that the club has started...sharing the "bring the cooler" duties. Needless to say, they set the bar high with decorating it a bit. They're UT fans so you can imagine. Very cool! Vicki who works in the beer industry brought a pick up truck full of beer to give away! FREE BEER after an NRC run! I'm not a beer drinker but I was blown away with what all they brought. So very cool! Like I said, they set the bar high for everyone who gets the cooler next.

7.33 miles - hilly for the first 5 then flat for the rest - 9:11 pace - Time: 1:07:20
I think Jay could go sub 2 in his first half if he sticks with the training & gets in all his long runs.
He's faster than he knows he is but he's had calf issues. I gave him three "Sportlegs" capsules last night & handed him gatorade off my fuel belt during the run. He had a handheld with water in it.

Yesterday's mileage for me...12.33 miles...not bad for a Wednesday.

Today, I'm doing my "yoga for runners" dvd, 40 minutes on the bike, & my IT Band exercises.
Friday, P90X ab ripper, stretching.........carb loading for Saturday's 17 miler....
I'm going to experiment with eating dates on my long run this weekend per Scott's recommendation.
Always learning something new!

Run #1 on "Two a day Wednesday"

"Everything around us that we call "life" was made up by people who are no smarter than you. So build a life, don't live one."Ashton Kutcher-the lesson he "re-learned" while filming the Steve Jobs movie.

I'm going to see the movie, "Jobs" this weekend. I read the book a few years ago & found it very interesting.

I've recently tried to find more time to read. It's hit or miss with me actually sitting down to read much right now. I started on "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougall. I'm at chapter 9. I hope to barrel through it more this weekend.

I am really enjoying the "Wild Wings" group run on Tuesday's right now. It fits real well with my schedule. Since I'm doing speed work on Mondays, I don't want to do more than 3 SLOW miles on Tuesdays right now & that's exactly what I did last night. Jane S. & Jo Ann joined us last night. Kim D. plans to join us soon. Great wings!

This morning I jumped out of bed at 4:35am startled at my alarm going off. I was in a deep sleep. I finally got out the door at 4:49am, ran 5 miles of hills, stretched some, got ready for work, & was in the car by about 6:32am. Over the years, I have learned that I can get ready for work really fast if I lay everything out the night before & use the dryer on my hair. LOL! I think it took me less than 40 minutes this morning. Most women take almost an hour or longer so I'm pretty proud of that. ;-P

5 miles – most of the hills the first few miles – 43:17 –pace 8:40

8:56, 8:59, 8:51, 8:14, 8:18

I've agreed to run slow tonight with former "C25k'er" Jay. He needs 7 miles at probably a 10 minute pace. (He's training for the middle half in Oct) I think that's totally doable after this morning's run.

This weather is totally cra-cra right now…high today of 79 in middle TN & it's August 14^th!!!! I'm NOT complaining…just wish tonight's low was Friday night's low.

8 X 800s...."Just do it!"

That's how I felt about this weeks speed work..."Just do it!"
Get it overwith & get home....

I did P90x ab ripper & some stretching yesterday morning before work.
Last night I did a 1.2 mile warm up on the track at a 12:01 pace.
It looked like rain when we started & thank goodness it was overcast but ugh, so humid.
3.36, 3.36, 3.32, 3.37, 3.36, 3.48, 3.42, 3.53 (the 3rd one is always the fastest for me)
I was dying by the last two, which tells me I really do need to slow it down on the front end.
I don't really know that I could have done two more at a 3:54 or lower, I was tired.
I rested about a minute to a minute & a half in between. If it were 400s, I would stick closer to a minute but in this weather, I'm cutting myself some slack.
I cooled down with 1.07 around the track at a 10:20 pace.

The last two 800s we did while it was lightening off in the distance.
It started raining during my cool down but just light rain.
We just barely got the speed in before the weather got bad.
God really WANTED us to get this done! LOL!

I took two sportlegs tabs when I got home & did an ice bath.
I had forgotten to take the the sportlegs before speed work. ;-(
I feel ok but I sure didn't feel like rolling out of bed early enough to get some yoga done this morning.
I've got a massage today during lunch. Hoping Ryan at the Y can work on the pirifomis in my left hip. Honestly, the only part of my body that is cranky is my hips, specifically the left one.
Other than that I feel good. I also have another massage scheduled for Monday over near work.
I will certainly need it if I do 17 miles on Saturday. Now if the Wed night overnight low would just move to friday night, I'd be a happy runner!

"cut back week"....sorta?

I do P90x ab ripper Mon, Wed, Fri, & yoga twice a week.
My yoga time averages about 2 1/2 hours a week right now.
How do I make time for it?  Well, I can't run well if I don't do it.
I'm 46 yrs old, my body doesn't snap back together like it used to, speed work EVERY Monday, & the last 3-4 weeks I've had my mileage at 40+ a week.
I NEED the yoga!  I feel better when I do it & I LOVE it.
The above, I can't cut back on but I can cut back on the running some...

First of all, I was going to do a cut back on the long run this week simply because my body was screaming for a cut back.  I didn't do it because I thought that Joe's brother & his family were coming in next weekend.  I was going to cut back my long run to 12 miles next weekend.  Turns out I had it ALL wrong, they're not coming in for two more weeks.  All this said...and with the way the weather is trending for next Friday night's low, I may go ahead & do 17 miles next Saturday...we'll see.

My "cut back"?...I didn't do 40+ miles this week.  I had about 38 miles but over 4 miles of it was slow walking.  That was my "cut back".  Instead of doing a 5 mile easy run this morning, I decided to walk.  As I stated before, my gym is 1 mile from the house.  I can walk 2 miles or add a little bit or a lot.  Thursday I walked 2 miles, did the bike at the gym, & my IT Band exercises (preventative maintenance).  Today, I walked 2.22 miles, did weights, IT Band exercises, & the bike.  I'm doing Erin's yoga class later this afternoon.  I made the decision to avoid the easy 5 miler simply because I needed to cut back somewhere.  It's also not smart to run 16 miles & then drive 2 hours round trip to Tullahoma.  LOL!

I had to forgo my ice bath & take the car into my car guy in Manchester, plus see family....been too long...  My "behind" ached on the drive simply because I hadn't stretched or had my ice bath.  The smartest thing I did last weekend after my 15 miler was the ice bath & I wore my CW-X compression tights for recovery.  I felt awesome the next morning.  When I woke up this morning...notsomuch....  I let the early Sunday morning runners know I wouldn't be there. 

As for the 16 miler itself...hot & humid meant I had to take in a lot of fluids, plus practice some nutrition.  I took in a total of 4 "sportslegs" capsules, which certainly helped.  Two before the run & two in the middle of it.  I had a "naturally" caffeinated honey stinger gel before we began, a banana flavored honey stinger at mile 7, & then another "naturally" caffeinated honey stinger about mile 11.  I drank lemon-lime Gatorade, some lemonade zippfizz, & some cola nuun.  I am determined to drink & eat everything in order to see what works & to get my stomach used to a lot of different things. I hope I develop a cast-iron stomach by the end of summer!

We met Andrea K., Jo Ann, & David V. at Mama's Javas at 5am.  We dropped fluids at Nolensville Elementary.  We refilled bottles twice.  At mile 11, which was my slowest mile, I changed out my bottles, & waited for Jo Ann to get water in MJ's & get the blood off her leg.  When she had a potty break she hit her knee on the door.  It didn't seem to slow her down.  She ended up with 15.25 miles when we finished.  Joe called his run at 14 miles due to his arm cramping.  Andrea had to be home before 6:30am so her hubby, Zack, could start his run.  (Traci was out of town, Danielle ran later, & Mandy had to do her long run on Friday.)  David V. got in his long run of 7.5+ miles & did great. 
Over all, we were sorta all over the place & at one point Jo Ann & I lost each other.  LOL!  It was an adventure much like most of our long runs. Splits below...I do not stop my garmin for anything as stated before...I strive for a "true" pace on all my long runs.

16 miles - 2:33:05 - 9:34
1- 9:43 (easing into it)
2- 9:05
3- 9:09
4- 9:06
5- 9:19
6- 9:18
7- 10:50 (my first fuel refill, dumping the reflective gear, & running my mouth)
8- 9:29 (started hitting a few hills)
9- 9:09
10- 9:31 (portapottie break)
11- 11:37 (fuel refill at MJ's & amazed Jo Ann is bleeding from her knee & still running)
12- 9:11
13- 9:31 (circling for Joe who's decided to head back early to MJ's)
14- 9:17
15- 9:19
16- 9:39 (drained, sweaty mess & just want it to be over...circling MJ's the last .25)

I am A - OK with this run since I dare say it was definitely the warmest long run I've done all year.  Had Joe been my "pack mule" I think the pace would have been a little faster but he had to cut it short by 2 miles anyway.  It is what it is for an August "long run" in Tennessee.... It feels like the rain forest here.  It was strange to see the overgrown greenery all the way from South Nashville to Coffee County.  SO MUCH RAIN....and not one drop fell on us during this 16 miler to cool us off!  gggrrrrr......

Tomorrow is speed work....8 X 800s....  I've never done that many 800s at one time.  The plan....slow it down again this week.  I have to survive it without making myself crazy sore.  If they are all 3:45's I will be very OK with that.  I just hope it doesn't storm on us. 

BRING ON FALL & FOOTBALL, please!!!!!

2nd run: "2 a day Wednesday"

Note to self:  When I have it in my head that I want a hilly tempo run, I need to do a route I'm familiar with...doh!  I'm craving some fresh new routes so for the 2nd time only, I joined the "Bent Creek" crew last night.  I accidentally called it, "Bent Cweek". The pace was "9" but most were just below that & looping for a few folks.  I seemed to be pushing ahead at some points.  I looped or waited and/or asked for directions when I would see more than one turn.  I will get it with just a few more runs, I think...so for now I'm going to toss the idea of doing a hard-ish, hilly, tempo run on Wednesday evenings. 

5 miles - 44:15 - 8:51 pace
8:50, 8:37, 8:48, 9:12, 8:48

I took two "sportlegs" capsules & boy, did they make a difference.  I usually come home on Wednesday nights from the NRC runs a little stiff legged & then Thursday I wake up a little more stiff but not this time.  I feel pretty dang great!

Recovery run & Progression run

Last night we joined the "Wild Wings" group & I ran with Jane S. & Kate J.
Since my legs were still heavy from speed work, I made sure I took it easy.
With two really LONG stop lights, it was "easy" to take it easy...
Tuesdays & Thursdays are definitely my easy days.

3.03 miles - 34:24 - easy

This morning I got in 4 miles....and it turned out pretty decent on my tired legs.

4 miles - 35:03 - progression
9:31, 8:49, 8:22, 8:21

With the craptastic weather that's going on off & on all day, I wish I had got up earlier & done 6 or so miles.  If it's not lightening...we run, though...rain or shine.

7 X 800s two days after a 15 miler....who am I?

Trust me…I'm as surprised as anyone else that I ran 7 X 800s two days after running 15 miles.

We have had between 8 & 11 runners show up every week for the last 6 or 7 weeks. It's been "bonding" time to say the least. Joe & I'll likely stop doing speed work altogether mid-Sept. My long runs will be REALLY long then & I cannot risk injury running 800s a few days after running 18 to 22 miles.

I did a warm up of about 1.4 miles at a 10 minute pace.

Then we took off. My garmin did something crazy on the first one so I ran it by myself.
I shortened my "rest" break in order to start with everyone else on the 2^nd 800.
Overall I think I was probably resting about a minute to a minute an a half in between them.
My goal was to slow them down some this week & for the most part I did.

3:41, 3:32, 3:35, 3:27, 3:34, 3:34, 3:32

I then did a 1.12 cool down run around the track. Overall mileage was right around 6 miles if I did my math right.

This morning I soaked in a tub of cold water for about 10 minutes & then I did 30 minutes of "yoga for runners". The plan this afternoon is to do an easy 3 miles with the "Wild Wing" group in Cool Springs with Jane S.  Good times!

15 humid miles & another 5 humid miles....

The goal yesterday was to hold back as much as possible, keeping the first 7 as flat as possible, then hitting the hills the last part of the run.  Mission accomplished.
We started at 5am as usual with Jo Ann, Mandy, Andrea, & Traci.  Nobody confirmed for a 5:30am pick up so we ran until a few minutes after 6 before we came back for more fluids.  It was around 70-ish degrees when we started & it was humid.  At 6am we noticed a slight drop in the humidity/temperature but it crawled back up there again towards 7am.  Andrea headed back to her house for just over 10 miles (training for Rocket City in Dec).  Mandy did 12 & Jo Ann joined her since her tummy was acting up instead of doing the 15.  Mandy, I believe, is just maintaining half marathon shape until her marathon training for Nola begins.  Traci & Jo Ann are entertaining the idea of a marathon, maybe Rocket City, maybe Carmel.  Jo Ann is actually signed up for Carmel next April.  If she can figure out what her tummy can handle, the woman has a sub 4 marathon time in her.  She's 51 yrs old so this would be a Boston Qualifying time for her!  I cannot tell you all how giddy I get on Friday nights knowing I'm meeting these peeps for a long run in the morning.  They are great friends, amazing runners, & are always dependable & on time.  ;-)

15 miles - 9:13 pace - 2:18:14
This 15 miler is way slower than I was doing in the winter months but hey, it's August, it's humid, & I refuse to beat myself up over it.  Heat training leads to better running in the Fall when it does cool down.  I know that a year ago this run would have been around a 9:30-ish pace for me but I'm a much better runner than a year ago. 

Mi 1-9:17 (so very hard to hold the pace back)
Mi 2- 8:39 (ooops....slow down!)
Mi 3- 8:57
Mi 4- 8:59
Mi 5- 9:09
Mi 6- 9:05
Mi 7- 9:37 (circling MJ's while everyone reloads their fuel)
Mi 8- 9:19
Mi 9- 10:12 (and here come the humid hills)
Mi 10- 9:21 (It's just Joe & me now)
Mi 11- 9:32 (climbing & drinking my fluids)
Mi 12- 8:53 (some down hill finally)
Mi 13- 9:05
Mi 14- 9:08
Mi 15- 9:03 (finished w/o any toes cramping)

This morning I got my weights out of the way & did the bike for 30 minutes.  I met Jo Ann, Amy L, Katie, Kelly, & Elizabeth for 5 recovery miles at a 10:16 pace.  It felt even more humid than Saturday to me.  Welcome to the real weather in the south in the summer!  I can't wait to stretch these miles out of my legs at yoga today.

Tomorrow, I'm doing P90x ab ripper either in the morning or before I join the "speed work" group.  The goal is to slow my 800s down.  Yeah, I know that is weird but I'm purposely slowing them down from the 3:30-3:34s.  My goal marathon time is sub 3:55.  If I slow down to a 3:40 on these, I think my legs will recover a little better by the next day & Wednesday.  These 40+ mile weeks have to be "managed".  ;-) 

2nd run: "2 a day Wednesday"

I ran the hilly 5+ mile hilly route with Diana, Jay, Amy L, David V, Vicki, Crystal, & Jo Ann.  Most of them added a flat 2 miles to this for their "long run" for the week. I stayed with them & ended up with 7.08 miles at a 9:55 pace.

11.72 for the day & most of it HILLS!

Today: 2 miles round trip to my gym very slowly, 40 minutes bike, & yoga for runners

Friday: ab ripper, more stretching, especially the IT Band

Saturday: going to get the 15 miler done since 2 peeps have confirmed they'll do it!  

My drink of choice today below. 

Happy TGIThursday!