Monday, July 8th:
Rest.
Tuesday, July 9th:
6:20pm, 84 degrees, 60%, 5-10mph. Cooper River. Adidas Supernova Glide 5/Adidas Adizero Tempo 4.
8mi total - (6:55): 2mi warmup, 2x.25mi pace (5:47) with 2:00 recovery, 3.6mi race in 20:55 (5:48/mi), 1.75mi cooldown
Race Splits: 5:53 39 54 48 (5K split 18:02)
Ran almost the same identical time as 4 weeks ago. Again, I had a runner in front of me acting as kind of a rabbit for most of the race. I felt myself picking up the pace during mile 2 as I felt strong, but then I kind of hit a wall during the 3rd mile and really held on from about 2.5mi to the finish as the other runner pulled away from me (and he was doing 2 loops!). Still, I am happy with where my fitness is at. The temperature and humidity were both high, so I can't be too upset at myself. I think taking the rest day the day before kind of left me feeling lethargic also. I am not used to running in the evening either. Anyway, these race "tempos" are whipping me into shape and giving me practice for the real racing that will come in September.
Wednesday, July 10th:
5:00am, 76 degrees, 90%, 0-5mph. Maple Shade Loop (L-). Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.
6mi recovery - (8:28)
Very tired and lethargic after last night. Heavy, heavy air to breathe this morning didn't help. Had 7 miles on the schedule, body said 6 miles was enough.
Thursday, July 11th:
4:40am, 77 degrees, 80%, 5-10mph. Hialeah-Kilmer-Hialeah. Nike Pegasus 29 USATF.
8mi easy - (8:03)
Another early morning, another 70 dewpoint day. Ugh. At least I felt much better than yesterday.
Friday, July 12th:
7:00am, 71 degrees, 70%, 5-10mph. Haddonfield. Adidas Supernova Glide 5.
8mi easy - (7:34): including 4x strides before and after
Faster easy pace run with Tom and John. Felt strong the whole way. Humidity was a bit lower and we even got a brief rain drizzle to cool us off.
Saturday, July 13th:
5:15am, 71 degrees, 95%, 5-10mph. Cherry Hill West Track. Adidas Adizero Tempo 4, Asics Japan Thunder.
10mi total - 2mi warmup (8:21/mi), 3x100m strides (:20-:21) w/:35 walk recoveries, 6x800m (2:43-:46) w/400 jogs (2:06-:12), 5:00 break to change into spikes, 2x200m all-out (30.9, 31.0) with 300m slow jogs (1:55-2:05), 2mi+ cooldown (8:30/mi).
First real "breakthrough" workout of the season. I have decided to adopt my old high school routine of doing a few pace strides before intervals now. I feel more primed and ready to go when I toe the line for the first rep. The internal 200m splits on the first two reps were really erratic (anywhere from :40-:44), but after that I stopped checking splits until the 600m mark of each 800m at which point I was locked in on the pace. I finished the last 800m rep very strong (2:43). I then changed into spikes to blast out a couple of 200s - I have not run that fast since high school! There is a certain exhilaration of running at almost your maximum speed for 30 seconds that you just don't get with any other type of running. It really brought back some memories of my high school days and just letting it fly. The focus was on form (ears over shoulders over hips over feet) with arms pumping straight up and down in an "eye punching" motion. For the first time in a long time, I felt really fast.
Sunday, July 14th:
6:15am, 74 degrees, 100%, calm. Moorestown. Adidas Supernova Glide 4.
11mi easy - (7:52)
Ran the first 5mi with Denning and Colleen, ran the next 3mi with Steve and Erin, and the last 3mi solo. Felt very comfortable and controlled the entire way, despite the heat.
Weekly Total: 51 miles
While I was just satisfied with my performance in Tuesday's race, I was very happy with the workout yesterday. It was the first physical sign that my speed is returning. Next week is going to be tough with ungodly heat and humidity, but I know that as long as I stay focused and within myself, I will continue to progress in fitness.
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