September 3rd-9th Training

Monday: 13.8 miles with 5k race in 15:29. My goal was to break 15:00.  I felt really flat and my legs just wouldn't go faster, even though I felt like I was crawling.  Splits were: 4:49, 5:03, 5:36 (1.1 miles). I ran harder than tempo effort, but maybe a little slower than 10k effort. Frustrating day at the office; 6.3 miles (7:22)

Tuesday: 9 miles (6:47); 6 miles (7:21)

Wednesday: 4 miles (7:01); 17.6 miles with 10x1 mile in 5:04 average with 1:00 rest. I got started a little bit later than I wanted because of a thunderstorm.  Got to the track around 8:00pm and ran in the dark.  Goal was to start at around 5:20 and work to sub 5:10 if I could. Because I've been a little weak lately, I didn't want to have to dig too deeply.  Ran the first two in 5:16, 5:15 and felt nice and relaxed.  "Accidentally" ran a 5:08, then 5:06, 5:04. The pace increase was natural and not forced and on the 6th I broke 5:00 and hovered around there until the end.  I felt nice and smooth, but struggled a little on the last one.  Really motivating workout because it was super muggy, dark and it was just me and the track. What a different two days make

Thursday: 4 miles (6:53); 9.4 miles (6:46); 3.4 miles (7:39). Ran three times because Mary had parent night at school. Life is about adaptation.

Friday: 5.5 miles (7:05); 8.5 miles (7:19)

Saturday: 20.1 miles (6:25) with 7x2:00 fast at the start of each mile.  I was going to run this in the morning but it was pouring rain.  My legs felt like crap yesterday, so I figured the extra 12 hours rest would be good.  Ran a little under eight miles solo and then met Connor Kamm.  We jogged a few miles warm-up and then went to work.  Took our time to get rolling and averaged: 5:12, 5:08, 5:03, 4:48, 4:35, 4:42, and 4:28 pace for the surges. Aerobically, they were very easy but I would have trouble turning over the first 15-20 seconds of each one, before finding my rhythm. I threw in the surges because my wheels haven't had much turnover work, and I figured the pace increases would help burn off some carbohydrates faster, so my glycogen would get a little low.  Good long run and was happy to have some company.  This was the first time I've had anyone run with me on a long run in a long time.

Sunday: 8.1 miles (7:10); 6.1 miles (7:45)

Week Total=118 miles.  Was going to shoot for over 120, but I was getting a little worn out towards the end of the week and recognized that I was adding mileage "just because" rather than having a point to it. I was hoping to be around 125-130 by now, but 118 was good for this week because of the two low volume weeks before this.  Jumping much higher than what I did would be too much pounding on my body, when it wouldn't be ready for it.  The week started off crappy, and I was glad to finish up on a solid note.  I'm not sure if I'll be ready in six weeks and I'm debating switching to the New York Marathon.