AZ Run Dad

AM: 8 miles easy around the neighborhood. I was tempted to venture out but at the time I run it feels much safer to run in the neighborhood without traffic.

 PM: 4.2 miles w/6 x 10 second hill sprints. Allison and the kids met me at the park on my way home from work  and I ran 4 miles with my daughter biking along. I really enjoyed it. 

Warmed up 2.85 with drills and strides then did 6 x 1 mile with 3 min jogs. It was really windy this morning which helped make this a tough workout. Goal was to start at 5:25 and get about 5 seconds faster with each one. Splits were 5:22, 5:16, 5:13, 5:11, 5:07, 5:06. I was beat at the end of this one. I'm happy with this one given the proximity to the half marathon and windy conditions.

16 miles: 10 at about 6:45 pace then last 6 at marathon pace. Splits for those were 5:41, 5:43, 5:43, 5:42, 5:38, 5:40. I was going to do this run tomorrow but I won't have time tomorrow unless I got up super early so I just got it done today. Pretty happy with how I felt. Last 6 got a little tough towards the end. A couple of decent workouts this week coming off of the half marathon. My body feels healthy and that's all I can ask for.

8 miles with a leg turnover workout this morning. I was going to do this workout yesterday and the long run today but had to switch them. My legs were a little tired during the warm up but actually felt good during the workout. I did 8 x 300 in 49 avg. with 1 min walks. Just a tad fast but I did feel in control (just heavy breathing after each one). Given the long run yesterday I was really happy to have some bounce in my legs. 

8 miles easy around the neighborhood. After 3 workouts in 4 days this one was needed.

10 miles with repetitions: Workout was 4 x 400, 2 x 1 mile, 4 x 400. 90 second jog after each 1/4 and 3min jog after each mile. Did this on the road. Splits were 68,71,72,70, 4:57, 4:56, 69,69,70,67. Very happy with this one. I liked how it was broken up. Warmed up 2.85 with drills and strides and cooled down about 1.3 miles.

PM: 4 miles easy on the way home from work. Felt great to loosen up after the tough morning session.

AM: 8 miles easy around the neighborhood

PM: 4 miles easy at Freestone Park on the way home from work.

16 miles with baby Fartlek: Nice night/early morning for running. I started each of the last 12 miles with 1 minute at anywhere from 5:10 to 5:30 pace to keep things interesting. AP 6:30

6.5 miles: 6 easy with some strides after that. I'm running a 5k in Tucson tomorrow. I'm hoping for a PR and I think I have an outside shot at 15:30 if things go well. There is usually good competition in this race. I hope so tomorrow.

16:02 6th Place: I'm disappointed with this result. I was expecting a PR and really thought I could push 15:30. Everything before the race was fine. I kind of got Father's Day treatment on  Mother's Day because my Mom came to our house at 4 am to watch the kids and my wife got up at 3:30 to come with me. Originally she planned on this race but she got hurt and I kept it on the schedule. I'm a lucky guy! Anyway I got in a decent warm up and strides and all of that good stuff. It was warm for racing (75) and a little windy but the course ran on a square so it equalled itself out. There was plenty of competition and I definitely competed but it just wasn't my day. I went out in 5:04 for the first mile which was slightly uphill and into the wind. I was fine with that pace because that would theoretically be the toughest mile. Unfortunately things only got worse from there. I stuck to a couple of guys ahead of me but the pace dropped to 5:09 for the second mile and I was definitely struggling to hang in there. Between 1.5 and 2.5 miles the course was slightly down and I had the wind at my back for most of it. Too bad it didn't help! Towards the end my legs felt like lead and when I normally have a kick I felt like just getting to the finish line was the best I could do. I'm not sure what went wrong. I competed well but it just wasn't there. It was a little warm and windy but not too bad. My best races have come in ideal conditions so I guess it shows that sometimes you need everything to come together to have those special days. Not what I was hoping for but when you give an honest effort there's not much else you can ask for.

AM: 10 miles easy around the neighborhood. Felt surprisingly good.

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

Leg Buster: 10.4 Miles

Warmed up my usual 2.85 miles with drills and strides then did a 2k in 6:32,3 min jog, 3 x 1 mile in 4:57, 4:58, 4:59 with 3 min jogs after each one. I was supposed to do a fast 800 then jog 3 min and finish with a fast 400. That turned into 3 x 1/4 mileish at around 5 min/mile pace because my legs were gone and that's all I had left. Still happy with this one.

This was done on the road.

12 miles: Legs were a bit junky to start and then loosened up nicely for this easy run.

8 miles easy + some strides. My legs and body have been tired lately. I think I'm overdue for a break. One more race and I'll be taking a break (easy running) for a bit.

15 + Miles today: Warmed up 6.5 miles with a 1 min pickup at half marathon effort and a couple of shorter strides then did 6 x 1 mile with 1 min jog recoveries. Splits were 5:23, 5:18, 5:20, 5:18, 5:16, 5:08 (Went all out last 1/2 mile). Considering where I am mentally this was a really good workout. I'm surprised I was able to run this well today. I cooled down a couple of miles and felt wiped out by the end. The weather was decent and will probably be the last long run in the 60s for 5 months. 

6 miles easy today. Legs felt okay.

9.3 miles: Usually before a half marathon I do a workout of about 4 miles a little faster than race pace and it usually feels a lot harder than it looked on paper. Nothing different today and it didn't help that I went a little fast. I did 8 x 800 with 2 min jogs between each one. I was supposed to target 2:38 which is probably about 10k pace. Actual splits were 2:33, 2:36, 2:35, 2:35, 2:37, 2:35, 2:37, 2:36. Harder than I wanted it to be but oh well. That's what I get for going too fast. 

6 miles easy.

8 miles with a little 6 x 200 workout in there. 35-37 on those with equal jogs. Just a little turnover. I'm running the Mountains 2 Beach Half Marathon on Sunday. 

6.5 miles including strides before the seven nine hour drive to Ventura, CA.

1:12:38 and 2nd Place: I got what I deserved in this race. I have been hanging on mentally with training and being strict with all the little things. I'm pretty sure I peaked a month ago at the Eugene Half but I hung on for another month. The course and weather were perfect so a fast time was there for me. However, I just didn't quite have it physically or mentally to really run a great time. All that being said, I ran a good time and was satisfied with the race. It's about what I thought I would do by the time race day arrived. Originally, I thought I high 1:10 would be possible. If I would have had the day I had in Eugene it probably would have been because of the great course and weather. This is just my opinion but I think the course is probably worth about 1 min due to the nice downhill miles 2-7. It's about 40-50 ft per mile and is not too downhill to beat up the quads. From 7 to the finish it's pretty flat so there are no hills to worry about. The only downside to the well organized race was the lack of atmosphere. The crowds were very sparse and I ran by myself the whole way. As far as the race goes the first place guy who ran a 1:09 was out ahead of me right away and we stayed that way the entire race. Much of the first half of the race was on a nice bike path but I felt like I was out doing a hard workout by myself with no one around. Most of my miles were in the 5:25-5:30 range on the downhill portions. When the course flattened out I dropped to 5:37-5:40 the rest of the way before finishing strong with a 5:25 for mile 13. I struggled those last 4-5 miles and definitely didn't have "it" that I needed to take advantage of the great conditions. Don't get me wrong, I gave a full effort in this race just didn't have what it took for a top performance. I would recommend this race as the course is fast and it is well organized and in a great area. If you come in ready you could pop a big one here. I am going to take a break now and hopefully run easy the rest of the summer.