AZ Run Dad

AM: 8 easy miles toay. Actually slept in until 5 for the first time in months. Wtih the exception of the first half mile I felt pretty good coming off of a harder effort yesterday. Great way to start the new year.

PM: 4 miles easy

10 miles around the neighborhood. After 3 miles a picked it up for 6 miles averaging probably low 6:20s then did 1 slower mile to finish. 

10 miles easy + strides. I felt really good running this morning. It was just easy but it's nice to feel fresh as I'm increasing mileage. I still don't feel close to fit or fast but I can appreciate the fact that I feel healthy and fresh. I have a long way to go before Boston so there is plenty of time. It would aslo help if I could lose 10 pounds in 4 months.

16 mile long run with pickups: I warmed up just about 3.25 miles then went straight into 4 x 2 miles with a 1 mile easy jog between each set. My goal was HM pace which is probably around 5:55-6 right now. I ended up running a litttle too fast which made it so I was fighting hard on the last set. However, I feel good about this workout and the direction I'm headed. I would like to get this one down to 5:30 pace and 1/2 mile jogs by Boston. Splits for the 4 x 2 were 11:36 (5:50, 5:46), 11:39 (5:52, 5:47), 11:37 (5:52, 5:45), 11:39 (5:52, 5:47). The mile jogs between were about 7:20 pace. I cooled down with very tired legs until I hit 16. Going to try and head to the Saucony outlet today where I can still get my all time favorite shoes the Kinvara 2s!

7 miles: Easy loops around the neighborhood to start the week. 

AM: 8 miles easy around the neighborhood.

PM: 5 miles at the park on the way home from work. 6 x soccer field strides.

Track Workout: met with some folks at the SCC track at 5 am. I haven't done a workout on the track for a long time so it was a nice change. My Dad has offered to open up our shop one day a week for me while I train for Boston. This will enable me to meet with a group at 5 am once a week. I will rotate between a workout and hilly run on those days. Anyway today was 16 x 400 with 100 jogs (30 sec). I averaged about 82 and felt pretty good. The short rests made the workout. 

10 miles easy after work. I didn't set my alarm to run by accident this morning so I had to do it after work. Luckily I didn't have too long of a day so it wasn't too hard to get going. A lot of soft surfaces.

I ran 6 miles easy then did an 4 mile LT tempo in 5:48, 5:46, 5:42, 5:43. I felt good today although I did get a little fast toward the end. I'm definitely seeing improvement now and it feels good. Now I just need to run that pace for 22 more miles.

18 mile long run with John. John writes my schedule and coaches many people here in Phoenix. We had some wonderful geeky running talk for a couple of hours. I'm glad he was there or this would have been extremely boring. We met at Kiwanis Park in Tempe and ran along the canal most of the way. Averaged 7:08 pace so not too exciting today.

8 miles easy around the neighborhood. Big training breakthrough today as my Monday easy run went up to 8 miles from 7.

10 miles with VO2 Max Repetitions: I did my usual warmup with drills and strides then did 4 x 1 mile with three minute jogs. My goal was 5:20. Splits were 5:26, 5:22, 5:21, 5:17. A little slower than goal but I'll take it. On December 3 I did this workout over 20 seconds per mile slower so there's some proof of improvement in the last 6 weeks. It hurt but this workout is supposed to. I wasn't sure if I'd ever run a sub 5:20 mile again so I was happy to see the number on the last one. Cooled down a couple miles to finish.

AM: 8 miles with A couple of loops in the neighborhood and some running in the adjacent neighborhood. 

PM: 5 miles with 6 x soccer field strides

12 hilly miles in Fountain Hills. I met a group at 4:45 and we splintered from there. The route had 1200 + feet of climbing. Good tough run especially since I normally gain 30 ft a day in my neighborhood. I should be able to meet for this route every other week which will be nice.

10.6 Miles with a speed workout: Warmed up about 4.5 miles with some drills and strides then did 8 x 1/4 mile repeats with 1/4 mile jogs in about 2 min. Splits were 77, 74, 75,76, 74,72,76,73. These felt good. It was nice to get some real turnover and feel fast. The long recoveries were nice so I could be good and ready for the next rep and keep good form. Cooled down a couple miles after. 

Long Run with progressive finish. After 10 miles I started at AT pace and worked down to faster than LT pace. First 10 were about 6:55 then I went 6:16, 6:07, 6:00, 5:53, 5:55, 5:42. Cooled down one mile after that. I almost stopped at 15 but I'm glad I kept going and was able to drop some time on the last faster mile. Nice mental boost. Overall pleased with this run.

8 miles easy around the neighborhood. 7:13 avg. Everything is feeling good as I start another week!

AM: 8 Easy around the neighborhood. 

PM: 5 including 5 x 10ish sec hill sprints. Near 80 degrees, shirt off, no watch. Perfect.

AM: 10.45 w/Cruise intervals: warmed up my standard loop with some drills and strides then did 8 x 1k with 30 second jogs. With the short rests this was meant to be a strength workout. Splits were 3:26, 27,26,27,26,26,26,20. I kicked it in on the last one. Average for the 5.45 miles including the jogs was 5:42 pace. The first half of the workout felt pretty comfortable and I was working on the last few. I'm pretty happy with this one. Cooled down a couple miles after.

PM: 5 miles easy on the way home from work. Another shirtless 80 degree run.

10 miles easy this morning. Legs were tired and so was I. Day off tomorrow though!

18+ mile long run on the Phoenix Marathon course: Met with a small group and we got a ride up to the start line and ran back down. I ran the first 13 miles pretty easy around 6:45 pace. There is a lot of downhill there and it beats you up while aiding you at the same time. It's a weird feeling when the course flattens out. One I'm definitiely not used to. At 13 miles I picked it up for four miles and ran 5:59, 5:55, 5:47, 5:38 on a flatter section then jogged it back to the meeting point. Once I got going on the faster part I felt really good. Good run for Boston training and I nice reminder about downhill running. 6:37 avg. 

10 miles easy. We took the kids to Moster Jam last night and didn't get to bed until 10 which is the middle of the night for me. I actually slept in past 5 and waited for my wife to finish her run. That meant running in sunlight for the second day in a row. New record! Anyway, great weather, nice run on the dirt.

8 miles easy and early

AM: 10 miles: Warmed up my usual loop with drills and strides then I did 2 x 2 miles in 10:48, 10:51 with a 3 min recovery jog. I thought I would have to fight to hit 11 min which was the goal for this workout so I was pleasantly surprised. First one felt really good and second one was tough. Cooled down a few miles after. 

PM: 4 miles with Ariana on the way home from work.

10 miles around the neighborhood 

12.2 Miles in Fountain Hills. We had a nice group at 4:45 for this one. Plenty of hills at a moderate effort.