Practice To Suffer So Racing Becomes Easy

PM:  12.01 miles - had to skip the morning run to work on my camper.  Needed to finish some roof work and winterize it today.  The goal tonight was a 4x1.5 tempo at 5K+60 sec. w/2min walk recover + light fartlek of 8x15sec w/45 sec. jogging recovery.

 2 mile warm-up, then 9:31 (6:18 mile pace), 9:18 (6:12),  9:25 mostly uphill (6:16), 9:04 mostly downhill (6:01)   The 8x15 sec were an AVG pace of 5:15 - actually made this 14x15 sec. because I was feeling good and wanted to see the Badgers play!  Fantastic Badger blowout over Nebraska!

5PM:  2.93 miles Avg pace 7:45 w/starting and stopping to run athletes at practice@ Dorothy Carnes West Park

9PM:  10.01 miles Easy run Avg pace 7:19 in town

Lunch 4.20 easy mile @ 7:15 pace.  Finished the run around the soccer field at lunch to recieve a bunch of high five's from the students today.  It's fun to get them excited about running.  We're fortunate at St. Joe's to have so many students that love to run!   

PM:  12.01 miles w/1st 11 miles @ easy Avg pace of 7:17.  The last mile I did 6x40 meter hill sprints @ 80-85% effort with a walk down for recovery.  Finished with short cool-down jog.

Lunch:  4 miles w/Jameson @ easy pace no watch on Camrock trail

PM:  Big workout:  10.35 miles w/8x1000meter w/200 meter jogging recovery + 4x30 sec @ 1500 meter pace w/60 sec. jogging recovery.  Avg. run pace 6:47

2 mile warm-up - thoughts were I don't think I'll be able to pull the workout off.  My son has Strep and I had the chills this morning along with the feeling of being weak since yesterday afternoon.  Nonetheless, decided to go for it.  I tried programming a workout into my Garmin.   The intervals came out to .61 miles instead of .625 miles for 1000m.  Recovery was .11 miles instead of .125 miles recovery.  I never really did feel any good during this workout, but managed to put in a Big effort.  Part of this was run on gravel (not a good idea when running fast), but atleast the course was mostly flat.  Hope I feel better for my 10K this Sunday. 

8x1000 meter @ 10K race pace -  3:26.7 (5:37mile pace) w/1:00 rec., 3:26.57 (5:36) w/58.02 rec., 3:28.1 (5:41) w/1:00 rec, 3:33.91 (5:51) w/57.7 rec, 3:23.1 (5:33) w/57 rec, 3:25.8 (5:35) w/59.1 rec, 3.32 (5:47) w/1:07 rec, 3:26.7 (5:37) = Avg 3.28/5.39 paces

4x30sec @ 1550 race pace  4:39, 4:49, 4:58, 5:02

Lunch 4.38 recovery run @ 8:09 pace around observatory

PM:  10.70 very easy w/Jameson @ 7:50 pace on Glacial Drumlin trail.

PM:  10.09 miles very easy running day.  Ran 4.6 miles out to the golf course to watch the Fort High School team and help out in the finish area.  Very nice day for a meet and a run!  Ran 5.4 on the way back picking up Jameson from daycare ( I hid the running stroller in the woods on the way out).  Avg pace between two runs = 7:35 pace

Lunch:  4.03 easy miles around observatory Avg. 7:14 pace

PM:  11.03 easy miles random route Avg 7:02 pace (Ran 8x50 m w/100 m jogging recovery in middle of run)

AM:  7.15 easy miles w/Jameson Avg 7:22 pace

PM:  8.0 easy miles Avg 7:23 pace.  Ran from Busy Barnes play farm.  I had a blast watching Jameson play in the hayloft.

Hot temps today - very windy.  Hope tomorrow's race brings better weather.

My plan for this race was to get out hard then find a pace to run comfortably hard on the way out for the out and back route.  My goal on the way back was drop 5 sec. per mile or atleast increase the effort each mile on the way back in.  I managed to accomplish most of the goal for a 35:23 breaking my old record by 2:39 from Feb. this year.  I fully expected the competition to be stiff as almost every Madison race is.  Most of the competition happened to be in the 5K as I didn't have anyone to run with after the 5K guys turned to go back.  Nonetheless, the 5K runners helped me get out to a fast start.

The first mile was slightly downhill and I came through the mile marker in 5:31, about what I envisioned.  I was closing in hard on the 5K leader and actually cut him off at the turn because I didn't realize he was running the 5K.  The 5K winner went 15:11, so he must have really ran a fast turn in to hit that time if he went out in about 5:27.  Anyway, I found a nice pace and started to listen for footsteps.  At about mile 2 I did hear some footsteps, so I was kind of excited for the competition!  Mile 2 was a 5:41 on the flat and into the wind.  I was feeling quite good running all alone at this point, the pace felt like a tempo effort to me.  The 3rd mile was a little uphill and really into the wind, plus we had to run on the sidewalk and wind around a small turn-about that I had to slow down on due to some slippery leaves.  I hit a split of 5:54 (not what I was hoping for).  My competition had closed the gap and was about 5-10 meters behind me, so going up the hill I put in a surge to crest the hill with a little pop in my stride.  Mile 4 I got a little downhill and I increased the effort spliting a 5:41.  I could still hear footseps ever so slightly, but I could tell I made a little breathing room for the final push.  Mile 5 was mostly flat, but I had to dodge 5K walkers, which slowed me down a little, split was 5:45.  Mile 6 was mostly uphill and I was still dodging walkers and had a car pull out in front of me and a biker cut me off.   I split a 5:48 for mile 6 and missed my .2 because I forgot to stop the watch. 

Great effort for me coming off a 99 mile week.  I later learned 2nd place was a full minute behind me, so I opened a 1 min. gap on my competition mile 4-6.2.  My race strategy was a success! 

PM:  4.35 miles @ 8:39 pace

Lunch 4.96 miles Avg 7:45 pace, felt surprisingly good!

PM:  10.01 miles Avg. 7:50 - the run started off good - avg. between 7:15-7:30 pace and about 6 miles in my right quad started hurting and it progressively got worse throughout the run.  I slowed down to 8:20 pace at the tail end of the run to be on the cautious side.  It's sore to touch and I can feel tension when walking.  Probably an overuse strain.  Hopefully, it will feel better with some good sleep and some slow recovery running tomorrow. 

Lunch:  3.8 very very easy miles - 9:20 pace

PM:  10.02 very easy miles on the tredmill due to storms - boring!  Avg 7:50 pace  Good news is the quad handled 7:50 pace tonight so, hopefully I'll be good to go the rest of the week.

Lunch:  4 very slow miles Avg 4:12, quad seems to be feeling better, but legs aren't feeling all that great.  The 10K really took more out of me than expected.  Kind of a downer, but I guess I have to expect that on high mileage weeks.  Hopefully, the easy running that past couple of days will help me get through the week.  Added 4x40 meter hill sprints @ 80-85% effort, w/walk downhill recoveries.

PM:  12 miles + 1 tempo mile + 5 mile repeats @ 5K + 30 sec. on my hilly grass mile loop. Plus 6x30 sec @ 1500 meter race pace (probably in the rain) to be continued....

Well, my workout was kind of strange.  Between the first interval and the last 4 miles the temp dropped from 75 to 55!  I really struggled with the workout and opted out of the 6x30 sec @ 1500 meter race pace because I had ZERO energy toward the end of the workout.  It's rare to feel like you can't take another step.  I felt like I had motion sickness.  A couple reasons for zero energy may be:  I ate very little because I was so busy with work today, low avg sleep, lingering affects of race from Sunday.  Nonetheless, managed the following:  6:23 for the tempo, then 6:04, 5:44, 5:45, 5:49, 5:46 for the intervals.  Finished with a very very slow cooldown and finished with 11.40 total miles at an Avg of 7:24 pace.  I zipped over to the China Buffet to refuel.  Feeling slightly better, but not great.  Looking forward to another couple of really easy running days.  Managed to hit the abs with some exercises.    

Lunch:  4.01 very easy miles Avg 8:15 pace

PM:  6.97 w/4x30sec @ 1500 meter race pace (while pushing Jameson), otherwise very easy miles Avg 7:51 pace

Lunch:  4.30 very easy miles @ 8:01 pace around observatory.  This was the 3rd time I've had to leap over a snake in the past 2 weeks.  They really get me jumping out of my socks!

PM:  11.14 very easy miles @ 8:06 pace Glacial Drumlin Trail pushing Jameson. I'm amazed at how well my son does in a stroller for that long.  Very windy out of the North, which made for a challenge pushing the stroller.

Lunch:  22.28 miles w/last 6 ~ marathon pace + 15 sec.  Very windy conditions today 25 mph winds with stronger gusts made for a tough run over the hilly country roads.  The last 6 went 6:37 (legs didn't want to move out of easy run pace), 6:41 (slow due to aid station drop), 6:26 (into the wind), 6:31 (windy and hilly), 6:22 (1/2 in the wind, 1/2 out of the wind on the flat), 6:01 (flat and with wind).  The last 6 I just tried to slightly increase effort each mile without too much worry about being exact with MP+15 sec because the quad was tight in the area I injured on Monday.  The quad and legs loosened up nicely over the last couple of miles and I think I could have maintained the pace another couple of miles comfortably in the 6:00-6:15 range.  My 22 mile loop took me through 3 counties.  Avg pace of the run was 7:11, which is 1 sec slower than my Las Vegas Marathon pace last December.  Feels good to know I can probably run a 3:07 marathon on a less than ideal day at the end of a 100+ week.

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/121821875

 Late Evening:  5.08 miles pushing Jameson.  This run felt surprisingly good!  The legs were on cruise control.  Still windy, but not near as bad in town.  The run served a few purposes.  #1 shake out the legs, #2 put my son to sleep (he was out in less than a mile).  No wife, no son - just me and some college football.  Nice way to top off the day. 

PM:  6.18 miles very easy @ Avg 8:30 pace.  Got a chuckle out of scaring a lady on the trail.  I'm sure her voice could be heard for miles!  Legs felt stiff and achy as expected.

Lunch 3.97 miles @ 7:51 pace

PM: 10.12 miles @ 7:53 pace, just took what the legs would give today. Added 8x50m @ 1500m race pace w/100m jogging rest

Lunch: ~3.5-4 miles @ easy pace - No watch

PM: 11 mile @ 7:52 pace w/8x50 meters @ 1500 race pace w/100m jogging rec.

Lunch: 4 miles w/5x50m hill repeats @ 80-85% effort w/walk down rec.

PM: 15.48 miles w/7mile tempo @ 5K pace + 60 sec. 6:10,6:20,6:17,6:20,6:20,6:15,5:59 (anything 6:20 was into the wind or hilly, anything under was cross wind or with wind, just maintained effort regardless of wind - Winds topped 35 mph and our area is under a wind advisory until tomorrow) Avg Tempo pace 6:10, Avg Run pace 7:12

Lunch:  4.38 miles @ 7:59 Avg. pace around observatory

PM:  6.68 miles @ 7:33 Avg. to daycare and back home w/Jameson

Rare AM run:  6.64 miles up to daycare w/Jameson and over to work (brisk morning temp 32 degrees) Avg 8:11 pace

Lunch:  4.49 @ 7:39 pace around Observator

PM:  10.05 miles @ 7:40 pace

Another rare AM - 2 in a row!   6.47 miles @ 7:39 pace w/6x50m @ 1500 pace /150m jogging rec.

The plan for this race was to run 5:40 miles and hopefully finish with a win, but not blow up or over do it too much with the marathon in a couple weeks.  Well that plan was washed away when I ran off course and brought a good chunk of the field with me.  First of all I've never run this course so I didn't have a clue where to go and the map was terrible.  You couldn't really tell what was path or street and there was only a couple of road names that I could make out.  So I started asking a few guys at the start if they've run the race.  One guy named Travis whom I've run races against in the past said  he's run it, but the course was changed due to construction.  I guess that explains the foot drawn line (which was very crooked) in the sand at home plate on the baseball diamond we we're starting out at :)  I also talked to a friend Joe Seppe whom is a 1:22 (5:22 pace) 25K runner.  His goal was to run 5 min pace or faster for as long as he could ~ 5 miles, then relay exchange with another runner to finish up the 15K as a two man relay team in the relay competition.  So I knew Joe would get everyone out to a fast start and I figured 5:40 pace might be out of the top 5 for the 1st mile due to the relay runners only running 5K legs.  Joe also didn't know where to go, but his plan was to follow the biker.  I figured no worries I should have a few relay team legs out in front of me and I'll just follow them.  I was okay with that plan and thought nothing of it as I toed the line drawn in the sand.

The gun was a runners set then a loud voice yelled Bang - very fitting!  Joe was out fast (I later learned he ran the 1st mile in 4:50 pace).  We traversed through a very wet grass field that was over my ankles for the 1st 300m - yuck!.  I found myself in 4th at this point with Joe way a head, Travis 2nd, unkown 3rd.  I could tell my 1st mile was going to be under 5:40, but I was okay with that as long as I didn't dip below 5:30.  The 1st mile took us over some really narrow bridges that I later learned we needed run back over as we entered the 2 mile mark, which later Joe said was a jumbled mess and he had to walk over the bridge because of the slower runners crossing on the way out.  I was fortunate enough not to encounter that mess because I followed Travis the 2nd place guy (oh I passed 3rd place .5 miles in).  Travis missed that turn that takes us back over the narrow bridge and we set off on a completely different course in the wrong direction on a very busy street w/construction.  At this point I thought it was a little weird they changed the course and we still had construction, but I couldn't see Joe or the biker only Travis about 20 sec. a head of me, so I followed him.  I came through the 1st mile on my Garmin at 5:32.8 really feeling good about my chances that Travis would come back to me and my breathing and legs felt good.   At this point I still thought I might have a chance at winning the 15K since 1st was only running a relay leg.  At this point we were running a really narrow sidewalk because the street was too busy and I came through the uphill 2 mile in 5:44.  Mile 3 was uphill with a 5:43 and I was feeling good (the legs felt strong today!).  Where was the 5K exchange for the relay though?  I could see Travis throw his arms out to his sides.  I thought what weird way to shake out your arms!  Ha, next thing I know he's running back at me and then I realized he was lost.  So he joined me and then we just kept running on the same terrible sidewalk out to 4 miles on the Garmin, splitting a 5:46 with the 180 degree turn.  We decided to turn back and not go too far in an effort to warn other people, especially the 5K relay legs from running too far.  Travis and I both agreed we'd just run back the same route and finish where we started figuring the distance would be about a 10K.  The 4th place guy was about 2 minutes behind us and then we saw about another 40 runners off course that had followed us.  During this time Travis and I are yelling at people to turn around as we try to avoid traffic and runners on the narrow sidewalk.  I finally went to the other side of the street out of my own fear of getting hit by a car.  I split the 5 mile on my Garmin at 5:42 and at this point Travis put a surge in and I responded quickly to stay with him.  This got my competitive juices going again.  I wanted to beat Travis and that was solely what I focused on from that point on, being lost, running on a terrible course, and knowing I wasn't going to get a 15K race didn't matter anymore.  All I was thinking is beat this guy, get your hard race effort, and move onto the marathon in a couple of weeks.  Just before the 6 mile beep on my watch I put in a strong surge that Travis didn't respond to.  I split the 6 mile in 5:30.8 and finished the .44 @ 5:27/mile pace beating Travis by about 10 seconds for a 6.44 mile win.

I averaged about 6 sec. faster per mile then 2 weeks ago at the 10K I won, so I was happy with the effort and it was nice to have competition even if it was an unofficial race.  After some volunteers saw runners off route they moved some people up to the turn spot we missed to redirect people back toward the narrow bridge that apparently was a mess (everyone had to walk across that bridge because it was just too congested).  So because the group of people that followed Travis and I all ran different distances there was no real way to determine a true winner other than give the awards to the people that ran the actual route.

 I ran the actual course to figure out the mistake and see what I missed.  The turn was not obvious at all!  It took you across a big open grass field along a creek that went back toward the narrow bridge then away toward a less busy blacktop road.  The actual course was a great course and wish I could have run the right course, but the weather was perfect and my effort was outstanding with the adversity my brain had to go through.  Later Travis admitted he couldn't overcome mentally the mistake and so he felt a little down about not challenging more at the end.  I conceded the win to him saying he had a 20 sec. lead when we realized the mistake and I only beat him by 10 sec.  I think that made him feel better about the whole ordeal.  Officially, I'm recording this as a win for 6.44 miles because I felt I mentally handled it better than Travis and was able to break him in the last mile, but we won't tell Travis that ;o)

 I cooled down with Joe and some other guys for a couple miles then ran the part of the course I missed for a 7 mile cooldown.  

Warm-up 2.5 w/.5 tempo @ 6:10 effort

Race 6.44 Avg 5:39/mile pace according to Garmin

Cooldown 7.06 Avg 7:21/mile pace 

 PM:  4.55 shakeout w/Jen @ 9:05 pace

AM:  3.55 miles @ 7:30 pace to work

PM:  4.55 miles @ 7:30 pace to home.  I  feel recovered from Sunday's race, it took be about 4 days 2 weeks ago to fully recover from a 10K. 

Usual strength exercises

AM:  6.19 miles @ ~7:30 pace to work

Lunch:  4.05 miles @ 7:17 pace

PM:  4.46 miles @ 7:50 pace - unplanned run, Jameson hid my keys and so I had to run out to daycare to pick him up

Late PM:  Big Workout - 12.02 miles w/5 miles of tempo + 6x40m hills @ hard, but controlled effort.  Tempo splits [5:44, 5:56, 5:54, 5:53, 5:54] = 5:52 Avg Tempo, 7:11 Avg Run pace.  Got out to a faster start than I needed on the tempo, but I wanted to set the tone right!  Tempo felt hard, but controlled.  One more Big Workout and then it's a relaxing week of true taper before the Monumental.

In my last 2 10K races I set 8K PR's and tonight I ran a faster 8K than my two previous 8k races this year!  Not bad considering I'm still going to hit 80+ miles this week.  I know I'm going into this marathon next week about 10-15 lbs over ideal weight, which leaves a lot of time on the table.  I've not been letting it bother me as I let the weight naturally come off to avoid injury or sickness.  I'll have to watch my weight during taper week to ensure it stays about the same.  My last marathon was racing weight of 179-181, this one will be 167-171.  My ideal racing weight that gives me the most horsepower and economy is ~ 154 based on my past racing performances.  According to Tinman's estimates a 2 lb decrease in body fat is worth about a 14 sec. decrease in a 5k race time. That's a huge improvement if one can loose the weight without sacrificing needed muscle!  I can't imagine how 10 lbs less weight over the course of a marathon would feel!

Lunch:  8 miles very easy @ 8:02 pace around Madison from Mov'in Shoes

Lunch 4 easy miles @ 7:44 pace w/4x20 sec. @ 3K pace w/40 sec. jogging rec.

PM:  Last Big Workout! 13.33 miles w/4x1.5 mile tempo intervals and 4x30 sec. fartlek.  Kind of  a blended version of my 5 mile tempo from Wed. and the 7 mile tempo from last week.  Goal was to run slightly faster than MP pace, which for me MP is 6:04.  Looking to hit about 5:58 pace or a little quicker is okay as long as it was controlled.  At this point in the game it doesn't pay to be a super hero.  I did focus on faster recovery running to ensure I got a true tempo interval workout.  Started with a 3 mile warm-up then did a 1 mile tempo at MP just to get the feel, didn't look at my watch once and split a 6:03.55 - perfect! (even had to stop in the middle of it to give a driver directions).  Ran an easy run pace of 7:09 for .5 miles, then started the 4x1.5 mile tempo intervals.  

1st 1.5mile - 5:55 avg mile pace, [6:49 rec. pace for .5]

2nd 1.5mile -5:54 avg mile pace, [6:59 rec. pace for .5]

3rd 1.5mile- 5:57 avg mile pace, [7:03 rec. pace for .5] - very bad crown to road slowed me down a little

4th 1.5mile- 5:54 avg mile pace, [7:00 rec pace for .5]

Then rolled into 4x30 sec. @ 1500m race pace, w/1:00 easy running rec.

Finished with the final mile in 6:35 pace

Avg tempo pace 5:55 pace mostly into a 8 mph wind.  Avg run pace 6:30

AM:  Had to break the rust off the legs this morning.  Slow first mile 8:40 pace, then settled into 7:30-7:50 pace.  Avg run pace 7:59.  Felt good considering all the tempo work this week.  Tomorrow is another recovery day, but not feeling too bad today.

 Usual strength exercises

PM:  6 miles @ 7:40 pace nice and relaxed

Lunch:  4.16 miles @ 7:34 avg. pace w/ 4x40m hill sprints w/walk down recoveries

PM:  8.18 miles @ 8:11 avg. pace w/4x300m [:60,:57,:55,:54] cutdowns w/300m easy run rec.  Ran into a friend at the track and got to talking about her upcomming 1/2 marathon this weekend.  Jogged about 2 miles at 9:00 + pace as we talked. 

Legs are feeling good, but have a sore tendon in the knee that gives me trouble the first 5 minutes of my 1st run of the day.  Something I can live with for now, but will need to get checked out if it doesn't go away.  I always seem to have more problems when I run low mileage or take a day off than if I run twice a day.