Trust The Process

4 miles on the treadmill during my lunch break (8:11 avg pace).  Tempo run tomorrow.

Weekly weight update - 182.5 lbs.  2.4 lbs lost last week.

Progressive tempo run today on the treadmill (1.0 incline).  I was really moving along today.  I hope I left some in the tank for the 10k on Saturday.

1 mile warm up @ 9:00

2 miles @ 6:40, 2 miles @ 6:35, 1 mile @ 6:31, 1 mile @ 6:27

1 mile cool down @ 9:15

This was a huge confidence booster after Satruday's awful long run.  Now I just need to prep for the weather in New Orleans.  The forecast for Saturday's race is 83 degrees and humid. I need to drink plenty of fluids this week and will probably do my outside runs this week in my winter gear to try and simulate the heat.

4 miles during my lunch break today (treadmill - 1.5 incline)

8:19 avg pace

8 miles outside after work this evening.  I was moving along well tonight.  I was averaging around a 7:50 pace for the first 6 miles then decided to push it really hard for mile seven (6:14 pace) followed by a cool down mile.  My ankle flared up a bit during the cool down mile but it feels ok now.

I got home and started packing for my New Oleans trip to discover my race bib had been mistakenly thrown out.  I am hoping my sister in law who lives down there can get to the expo tomorrow to register me again.  It sucks having to pay twice for the same race, but I am not going to let it bother me as long as I can race.

This was my second time running the CCC 10k.  The corraled start was a major improvement from the last time I ran this in 2010.  Although somewhat mild for New Orleans, it was about 80 degrees at the start and I could really feel it during the race.

The start was still a little crowded and I feel like I was fighting for position for almost the whole first mile.  By the time I checked my watch about .7 miles in, I realized I had gone out much faster than planned.  It felt good, so I didn't slow down much until after two miles.  About half way through, the heat was hurting me and I realized it was going to be a stuggle getting to the finish. 

The splits were as follows 6:11, 6:20, 6:41, 6:50, 6:52, 7:07.  Total chip time was 41:45 which was slightly slower than my goal pace of 41:30, but beat my previous PR of 42:26 from last November.  I ran the first 5k of the race in about 20:10 which also would beat my previous 5k PR by 19 seconds.  I figure that the heat added about a minute to my time compared to running in mild temperatures.  Also, my Garmin had the distance at 6.26 miles probably due to weaving in and out around people during the first mile.

Overall, I was satisfied with my performance, but again made the mistake of going out too fast which made the last couple miles pretty miserable for myself.

Ran 6 miles along the gulf coast in Mississippi.  Avg pace was 8:01.  It felt nice running along the water as there was a good breeze, but I ran shortly after having a huge po boy sandwich so I got cramps during the run.

Taking Tuesday off as I will be traveling home most of the day then I will try out Yasso 800s for the first time on Wednesday.

4 easy miles during my lunch break (treadmill, 1.5 incline, 8:00 avg pace).  I skipped the speedwork today as my legs were really sore after being cramped on a plane yesterday.  Will probably give it a go tomorrow as long as I get to bed early tonight.

Speedwork session this morning at the gym on the treadmill (1.0 incline)

1 mile warm up @ 9:20 with strides

9 x .5 miles (3:00) with .25 mile recovery (10 min/mile)

1 x .5 miles (2:44) with .25 mile recovery (10 min/mile)

.25 mile cool down @ 9 min/mile pace

This was another great speedwork session for me and was my attempt at Yasso 800s as a predicter of my marathon pace.  This was a confidence builder for sure, but I find it hard to believe that my marathon pace will be at 3 hours flat given the results of this workout.  It looks like the speed is clearly there, so I now need to work on more stamina.  I have a 20 miler this weekend and one more scheduled a few weeks before the marathon.  I am also thinking that I need to reincorporate some medium-long runs (12-14 miles) mid week.   

4 easy miles during lunch (treadmill - 1.0 incline).  Avg pace was 8:14/mile.  My right knee flared up a little bit but felt okay after my cool down/stretching.  I'm taking tomorrow off then 20 miles on Sunday.

12 miles outside this afternoon on the Forbidden Drive trails.  It was in the mid 80s during the run and I got pretty dehydrated.  I was planning on doing 20 today, but my ankle got really sore so I cut it short.  I think the speedwork and races recently have been putting a lot of strain on my ankle again so I need to take it easy this week.  I have a 5 mile race on Saturday so we will have to see how the week goes before committing to running it.

.5 warm up, 3 miles @ 6:40 pace, .5 cool down (treadmill 1.0 incline)

It's been a crazy busy week at work so I haven't had time to get in many miles this week.

5 easy miles @ 8:00 pace (treadmill - 1.5 incline) with some hill work (5.0 - 10.0 incline).

I have a 5 mile race tomorrow morning on a hilly course, then back into work for the day.  Fun!  I will be happy if I break 33 minutes tomorrow.

I ran the Narberth CF Run 5 miler this morning.  It was a great day for a run, pretty cool and sunny although if felt warmer on the course than the temperature probably was.  The overall chip time was 32:45 (6:33 pace) which placed me 16th out of 689 overall and 7th out of 96 in my gender age group.

Mile splits were 6:28, 6:35, 6:31, 6:58, 6:13.  I was happy to not go out too fast and stay around my goal pace of about 6:30.  The course is pretty hilly with the most uphills in the 4th mile as evidenced by the 6:58 mile.  I had a great kick during the final .4 miles where I passed 3 people.  I was afraid I started the kick too early, but I held on without anyone passing me.  Very happy about the 6:13 final mile.

My time in this race last year was 35:01 (36th place), but the conditions were terrible (cold downpour).  Very pleased however with the 2:46 improvement from last year.

Long run today in the rain. 8:22 avg pace. Ran from the house out to Manayunk Main St and back.

4 miles @ 8:00 pace (treadmill 1.5 incline)

5 miles @ 8:00 pace (treadmill 1.5 incline)

Race conditions were nice for a Thursday night in April (about 65 degrees and overcast).  It was a pretty similar story for me when it comes to running 5ks.  I started too fast and struggled to hang on.  My mile splits were 5:53, 6:21, and 6:40.  Overall chip time was 19:44.  It was a PR of 45 seconds for this distance in an official race and I was happy to finally break 20 minutes after failing to achieve this in about 5 5ks last year.

Last long run before my 3 week taper for the marathon.  I ran along the banks on the Kelly drive side out to forbidden drive just past Valley Green Inn and back to my house.  Avg pace was 8:17.  I was moving along well until the 19th mile.  I struggled for the last two and walked home the final mile (I was originally planning on 22 miles today).  My legs were really burning at the end. I was happy to get another 20+ mile run in before the taper, but am really concerned about glycogen depletion during the actual race.  Hopefully I will have the mental toughness to get through the final 10k of the marathon at a consistent pace.