AZ Run Dad

Plan today was to do this as a hard workout with an 18 mile run with the last 10 in 57:30 (5:45 pace). I am racing a 15k next weekend and was given an entry into Phx so that is why I did this. Anyway, I parked a few miles from the start and ran along the course before flipping and running back to the start with about 5 minutes to spare. I ran about 4.5 miles there. I took the first three miles easy and ended up running with some friends averaging around 6:35 or so before picking it up at mile 3. It was somewhat fun passing so many people but as I got to the faster people I crept up on them more and more slowly. I ended up within seconds of 57:30 for 10 miles and ended with a time of 1:18:32. Running the 10 miles faster was not easy by any means but it wasn't half marathon effort either. I'd say my effort felt between half marathon and marathon effort. The weather turned out to be much better than expected with not much rain and only a slight headwind most of the way. Just my opinion but the conditions probably were costing about 5 seconds a mile which is not bad. I cooled down another 3 miles after and I was pretty beat. 

12 miles around the neighborhood a few times. I was tired for this one after yesterday. I plan on  a bit of a down week heading into the 15k next weekend then another few weeks in the mid 80s before Boston. The key is to stay healthy and consistent for the next 6 weeks. If I do that I'll be as ready as I can be. 

AM: 6 Miles

PM: 4 miles with Ariana on my way home. 

12 miles with VO2 Max Reps: typical warm up with drills and strides then 10 x 1/2 mile on the road with 2 min jogs. Splits were 2:31,33,37,32,37,32,35,32,35,31. Odds are slightly up/evens slightly down. Hard workout but I felt good. Nice to have the strength for 10 of these today. Easy the rest of the week!

AM: 8 miles

PM: 4 miles 

10 miles this morning about 7 min pace. Thought about sleeping in and doing this after work but very gald I didn't. 11 hours on my feet followed by an hour and fifteen minute commute wouldn't have had me too excited to run. 

6 miles easy + 6 x strides. Legs felt good this morning. I've been tired all week so it's nice to feel a bit fresher today. Racing Mountain to Fountain 15k tomorrow. 

This is always a great race. I ran a 7 second PR but I went out aggressively so I was kind of slow in the last 5k. I just raced and only looked at my watch when it beeped for the miles. This is always my best approach to racing. Anyway first mile is uphill before a few solid downhill miles followed by a couple miles of rollers leading into a nasty 1/2 mile hill at about 7 miles. After that the last couple miles are overall down with a couple of bumps. I got passed by Sara Hall just after a mile and was pretty much 15-20 seconds behind her most of the race. Splits were 5:38, 5:11, 5:25, 5:16, 5:22, 5:37, 5:40, 5:52, 5:31, 2:03 (.4) for the last part. I'm happy I went for it today I just faded a little too much in the last 5k with the big hill. I wanted to run about 30 seconds faster but I'm still happy with this. Met Jeff and Jon Coyle from Idaho (super nice guys) and saw tons of running friends. Always a great morning at this race!

AM: 6 miles

PM: 4 miles with Ariana on the way home

AM: 10 miles

PM: 4 miles

Mostly easy all week to fully recover from the 15k and get ready for a few more tough weeks of training before the marathon.

12 miles around the neighborhood + 6 strides. My legs felt pretty good today so I was able to run a few miles under 7 minutes for the first time this week. I got a relatively late start because my Dad felt bad when I told him I had to get up at 2:15 to get 12 miles in before work so he opened up for me. I slept on until 3:30 and it was great. The neighborhood is much livelier at 4:30 than at 3. 6:44 AP

15 miles in Fountain Hills: started out by myself at 4:30 then picked up with the rest of the group who had twelve on the schedule. Started pretty easy but ran the second half pretty strong. I felt good today. Not that I have been running this run hard but today was my fastest pace on the route by far. The best part is that it felt really good and I had a lot left. About 1500 ft of gain today. AP 6:43

12+ miles: Got up early and got this in so I could follow the Gate River 15k where my wife was running. Easy run with some strides the last couple miles. About 7 min pace. Tomorrow is a long run with a nice MP chunk. Looking forward to that one.

20 miles: Pretty big group this morning with most training for Boston. We met in Fountain Hills and started with 10 easy miles over hills before everybody running 10 at their own marathon pace. We ran the fast portion down the Beeline Highway so we dropped about 300 ft over those 10 miles. The first 10 were 1:12 and I did the second 10 with my coach John in 58:09. We were targeting 5:50 pace so we executed nicely. The goal was to not push much beyond marathon effort. I felt good and definitely had a good amount left. It was a really nice morning and it's great to get out with such good people. 

Finally uploaded four months of training:

First part of the run:

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/462551123

Second (faster portion):

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/462551134

AM: 6 miles easy. 

PM: 4 miles easy + 6 strides in the grass.

12 miles around the neighborhood a handful of times. Legs felt pretty good and weather was terrific. Could have used a few more minutes of sleep but oh well. Workout tomorrow.

AM: 13.65 miles with LTish repeats: normal warmup (2.85) including drills and strides then I did 8 x 1 mile on the road with 1 min jogs between each. I was thinking right around 5:30 going into this session. Splits were 5:27, 5:26, 5:24, 5:24, 5:25, 5:22, 5:24, 5:18. This was one of my better workouts ever (hopefully that actually translates to something good!). Very similar splits to the same workout I did 3 weeks prior to my half marathon PR last April. The best thing was that while this was a tough workout I never felt like I was grinding to hit those times. Cooled down a couple of miles with my wife.

PM: 4 miles easy at Freestone Park

12 recovery miles around the neighborhood too many times. These long recovery runs have been my least favorite part if this training cycle but I know they will make stronger.

12 miles with VO2 Max intervals: I warmed up 4 miles with my usual drills and 6 strides then did 20 x 1/4 mile with 30 seconds walking rests. I averaged 76.5 and it was a a tough workout. This workout is mentally tough because of the short rests and volume. I never felt like I was pushing  too hard but it was never easy either. I feel really good about this workout. 5 miles at 5:06 pace is solid work for me. I think I have a decent 5k in me next weekend at Carlsbad. It's not really marathon specific but we love Carlsbad and it's a great excuse for a family trip. I will do my biggest long run workout the following Saturday which will be 16 days out from Boston. Nice to have those couple extra days with the Monday race.

24 mile long run with a large group at South Mountain in Phoenix. This is a pretty hilly run. We did 2 x San Juan Rd. twice to make the 24. The goal today was just time on the feet a bit longer than our marathon times. I felt really good and was surprised to see that we averaged sub 7 pace. Desire Davila Linden is staying with one of my friends so she joined us for some of the run (she only had 20 scheduled). Not every day that you get to run with an Olympian. All in all this was a really good run. I feel very good and can't ask for much more at this point. 6:55 avg . After the run (and a shower) we went to brunch and had a couple of beers with friends and Davila Linden. Yes Olympians do drink beer!

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/466658897

AM: 8 miles 

PM: 4 miles with Ariana. 

AM:10 Miles easy around the neighborhood. 

PM: 4 miles with Ariana on the way home.

10 miles with VO2 Max repeats: typical warmup loop with drills and strides then 5 x 3/4 mile w/slightly longer than 1/4 mile jogs so I could start in the same spot every time. Jogs were all 2:11-2:13. Splits were 3:42, 3:43, 3:42, 3:42, 3:44. This was one was hard. Probably the hardest workout I've done this cycle. I'm really pleased with the splits and I'm pleasantly surprised to have some speed in the middle of marathon training. 2 mile cooldown to finish off the workout.

12 miles in Fountain Hills. Nice and easy today. Legs felt pretty good which was very postive this morning. 7:29 AP

6 miles. Headed to Carlsbad for a 5k this weekend with my family. 

6 miles in Carlsbad. Kids did the junior races. Made for a fun and crazy morning. 

15:38 and a PR today. Completely went for it and it paid off. A lot of pain but no fear. Kilometer splits of 3:05, 3:05, 3:12, 3:10, 3:04. 3 weeks to Boston!

We are here with the kids and my wife's parents so my wife and I got to warm up together which was nice. We ran about 3 miles and made it to the start area with about 15 minutes to go. Plenty of time for some drills and strides. They have individual races for under 29, 30-39, masters, and the elite races which are unbelievable to watch. My wife and I were in the 30-39 race. The race atmosphere is lively and competitive. I was excited. When the horn went off my goal was simply to stick  with the lead group as long as I could. The group wasn't a tight pack but I was up towards the front. I went through the first mile in about 4:52. It already hurt but I didn't care. I continued to push and went by some guys. I was probably in about 10th place around at the first mile. The harder part of the course is the second mile. It has a gradual hill and was into the wind which wasn't much today. I passed a couple of more guys during mile 2 and I continued to push as hard as I could. Even though I was hurting I was overcome with confidence. I came through two mile in around 9:52. It was exciting to see that there were only a handful of guys ahead of me. I contined to put the pedal down as hard as I could. I was able to have a decent finish and ended up in 6th place. Obviuously I'm really pleased with this result. I am proud of the way I competed today and once again I had a good race when I didn't pay much attentiion to my watch. I'm not going to read too much into this for my marathon training other than that I am pretty fit right now. Using this same strategy in Boston will result in a quick death. No thanks! This is a great race and a highly recommend it. 

8 miles easy in Carlsbad. Ran from the hotel down to the ocean and along the ocean for a bit. Pretty much my dream run minus the part where I had to run through the busy freeway entrance and exit. 7:42