Monday, March 12th:
Day off. Left heel killing me. Body feels destroyed. And it's Monday. Bleh.
Tuesday, March 13th:
Day off. See Monday, March 12th. Except it's now Tuesday.
Wednesday, March 14th:
4:45 am, 53 degree, 90%, 0-5mph. Garden State - Ellis Circle - Garden State. Nike Pegasus 28.
8m easy
The couple days off definitely did my body good. Don't feel quite 100%, but I feel my legs coming back under me and the body aches/heel pain are starting to dissipate. Had some right quad/groin tightness pop up out of nowhere from 6-6.5m miles, but then it disappeared after backing off the pace a little. Just hoping to get my act together before Saturday's race.
Thursday, March 15th:
4:45 am, 46 degrees, 65%, 0-5mph. Maple Shade Loop (L). Nike Dual Fusion ST 2.
7m easy, including 4x strides at end
Another so-so run. Had heel pain the first 1.5m or so, slowly dissipated but I still don't quite feel 100% yet. Body feels like its in a funk. Good news is the last mile or so felt great, and the striders felt surprisingly good. Just continuing to run easy and hope I work through this feeling of bleh.
Friday, March 16th:
5:30 am, 47 degrees, 95%, calm. Wagon Lane - back. Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.
6m easy, including 4x strides at end
Much, much better. Had cup of coffee about 40 minutes prior to the run, and also applied some Ben Gay on my heel before the run. Very slight heel soreness the first mile, much improved from there. Practiced mantras and focused on forms and breathing in preparation for tomorrow's race. Very smooth from 4 miles in. Strides afterward felt strong and relaxed. Feel much more prepared to "just race" tomorrow and see what the results bring, rather than focus on splits/time/etc.
Saturday, March 17th:
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
8:15 am, 46 degrees, 85%, calm. Haddonfield. Nike Pegasus 28.
2m warm up, 1/2mT (5:58 pace), 4x strides
9:00 am, 50 degrees, 85%, calm. Haddonfield. Adidas Adizero Tempo 4.
5K - 17:08! (5:28 34 32)
9:30 am, 50 degrees, 85%, calm. Haddonfield. Nike Pegasus 28.
3m easy cool down
Perfect day for racing. Body felt about 98% when I woke up, warmed up nice and slowly, tempo segment felt strong and relaxed. Everything pre-race went according to plan.
I decided to race with no Garmin today, and I am glad I did. Running "by feel" felt so much better and took the stress off of looking at my watch and just competing today. Fell into a decent rhythm and went through the mile right on the pace I planned. The second mile was kind of an uneven pace due to the big downhill, followed by several sharp turns, followed by the long incline that ended at the second mile marker. I kept my position the second mile and focused on staying relaxed. The last 1.1m is kind of a blur - again a few sharp turns before the long straightaway. The last 1K was long and, while I held position, I didn't quite have the mental reserve to make up the gap on the runner's in front of me, including Tom. Didn't quite "go to the well," but I am very happy with the result. Amazing even pace for no Garmin, and a nice surprise after how crummy this week went.
Some right groin soreness on the cool down, but it didn't matter. I was on cloud nine from the race!
Sunday, March 18th:
9:30 am, 48-52 degrees, 80%, calm. Moorestown. Nike Structure Triax 15 Shield.
11m+ easy
After yesterday's hard race, I anticipated the worst kind of heel soreness and groin tightness in the world when I woke up this morning. Imagine my surprise when I woke up feeling fresh, with almost no signs of yesterday's race. A little fatigued, but otherwise felt very solid on today's run. A great way to cap the week.
Weekly Total: about 42 miles
The way the week was unfolding, I really didn't think there was much of a chance I would race well on Saturday, which in a way makes my performance all the more satisfying. Will try to get some more miles in next week and then put out a hard, but not race, effort at Caesar Rodney Half Marathon next Sunday. Then the focus will shift entirely to Broad Street. Seven weeks to go!
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