So, if you’ve ever worked hard in the garden all weekend, then tried to drink off the soreness with rum and bourbon, then perhaps you’ve experience a run like I had today. Something that is normally a very easy run for me turned into a struggle. I made it, though. I was seriously sweaty at the end and I felt like I was grasping at the air with my arms in an attempt to pull myself somehow to the finish. I completed the workout with some core exercises. Not great, but not horrible either.

Actual workout

5 minutes warmup

3 miles at 8:19 pace

5 minutes cool down

I got out of bed a little earlier than usual and headed out the door for a 6 miler. I planned out a new route for today’s run since my normal route is part of the St. Anthony’s Triathlon this weekend and is thus inaccessible without an official number.

Anyway, the route was mostly through various waterfront neighborhoods. Nothing incredibly interesting (the view of the water was most blocked by houses save the occasional bridge), so I just relaxed and enjoyed the sound of the birds and the fresh air. I ran along at a pretty steady pace and didn’t stop running except for traffic once or twice.

Actual workout

1 mile warmup

6 miles at 8:47 pace

1 mile cool down

I set out today with the intent of doing 5 miles and doing some of it fast. So, I set out, running the first mile in 8:30 or so, then I took off on the first (and as it turns out) only planned fartlek of the run. I ran about 400 m at between 6:00 and 6:15 minute mile pace. Then, I continued on, speeding up every once in a while for some shorter distances of about 50-100m. I fought off the stitches pretty well today and didn’t take a walk break. I did get a pretty serious stitch at about 4.5 miles, but with only half a mile to go, I just gutted it out. I’m pretty happy with the effort today.

Actual workout

8 minutes warmup

5 miles at 8:23 pace

10 minutes cool down

I headed out for a 4 mile run with the idea to run it at about the pace I’ve been using for my 3 mile easy runs and also to work on my breathing. I went out just slightly faster than usual, finishing the first mile in 8:40. Then, I ramped it up and felt pretty good. Unfortunately, I stitched up at about 2.5 miles. I really worked hard to try to get rid of it, but ended up waling for about a minute. After that, I finished pretty strong. Despite the walk break, I still averaged 8:21 minutes per mile over the whole run. I think I worked the stitch thing out in the end, so we’ll see how it goes for future runs.

Actual workout

8 minutes warmup

4 miles at 8:21 pace

8 minutes cool down

We had a cold front pass through last night, so it got all the way down to about 50 degrees by this morning. It was also very windy (20-25 MPH) and drizzling a little so I opted for a cross training workout on the stationary bike instead of my originally planned speed work. Actually, I’m still feeling a little something or other from the race on Saturday, so I had planned on ditching the speedwork for a 6 mile run outside anyway. I’ll do the 6 miles tomorrow. I was glad to have stayed inside today. I did 40 minutes instead of my normal 20 minutes, but I skipped the strength training. I”ll return to that next week. Overall, it was a pretty good workout.

Actual workout

40 minutes (15.06 miles) stationary bike

I bumped the treadmill up another 0.1 MPH for my 3 mile easy run today. That puts my 3 mile easy run at 8:19 min/mile now. I was really in the zone today. I cruised through 3 miles and felt like I could do another three when I was finished. Today’s a weird week because I probably won’t be able to run this weekend and I’m in semi-recovery from the race. I’ll probably skip the speedwork tomorrow and replace it with a moderate distance like 6 miles or so.

Actual workout

5 minutes warmup

3 miles at 8:19 pace

5 minutes cool down

I headed out feeling fresh this morning. I didn’t want to work too hard today, but I did want to build my confidence for the race. I decided to push myself in the middle third of my tempo run. My goal was to average less than 7 minutes per mile over that middle 10 minutes. I focused on shortening my stride and relaxing. Things went pretty well. I just barely came in under 7:00 minutes per mile for that 10 minutes. I would have been a little better, but I took a really sharp turn and instantly got a pretty big stitch, so I stopped for about 10 seconds or so trying to get rid of it and then stumbled through the last 30 seconds of that segment.

Actual workout

8 minutes warmup

10 minutes at 9:20 pace

10 minutes at 6:59 pace

10 minutes at 9:32 pace

I woke up this morning with a pain in my left knee. It was kind of scary because it was more or less the same pain I felt during the marathon in January. I went back and forth in my head about whether it was better to run on it today, or simply shut things down and rest until the race on Saturday. Before the marathon, I rested and had not run for a week before the marathon. It did no good and perhaps made things worse. Based on that and the fact that the pain was really quite mild (more of a pressure then a pain), I decided to run.

Once I got warmed up and running, the pain was gone completely. I ran the my 6 200 m intervals with little effort. Later in the day, I felt the pressure again, but no pain. Tomorrow’s 30 minute tempo run is my last scheduled workout before the race, so I should be okay.

Actual workout

5 minutes walking

5 minutes at 10:00 pace

6 200 m intervals at 5:00 pace with walking recovery

5 minutes cool down

I hit the treadmill for 2 miles today in the first day of a week full of easy workouts. The goal was 2 easy miles, but I couldn’t help but crank up the speed in the last quarter mile. All in all, things went quite well.

Actual workout

5 minutes warmup

2 miles at 8:20 pace

5 minutes cool down

Today, I ran the track of the Grand Prix of St. Petersburg. The race wasn’t actually being run at the time I was there, but I could hear pre-race interviews on the loudspeaker as I approached the track. I ran right up to turn 9, but there were no cameras rolling, so I will not be appearing on Sportscenter tonight. I ended up watching the race on ESPN as I rested in bed this afternoon. I’m not a huge motor sports fan, but it was a pretty good race. It rained during the first few laps, so there was quite a bit of strategy that went into the selection of tires throughout the race. It was a little freaky to see these cars flying along my normal running route, covering a distance that takes me 16 minutes to run in a mere 1 minute, 16 seconds.

As for my run, it went pretty well. It was slow and steady at right around 10:00 minutes per mile. My legs are a little sore, but it’s comforting to know that I only need to run 2 miles tomorrow and I’ll be tapering down to my race on Saturday. I’m a little nervous about it right now. I think I’ve put a lot of pressure on myself to break 20 minutes. I need to relax a little.

Actual workout

1 mile warmup

90 minutes (9.06 miles) at 9:56 pace

1 mile cool down