October 29th-November 4th Training

Monday: 5.8 miles (6:45); 6.6 miles (7:15)

Tuesday: 10 miles with 6 miles of 1:00 on/off at 5:49 average. One of my favorite speed workouts. I will usually start these around 10k pace and work down to faster than 5k pace and really make myself hurt the last few.  There were 25mph winds during this workout, so times were a bit slower than anticipated and I averaged in the mid/upper 4:40s. Since I'm not in good shape, I had to be patient with these and make sure I didn't get rolling too soon. When I'm fit, I can make myself hurt early on and recover in time to hammer again. I felt smooth but have a lot of work to do; 7 miles easy

Wednesday: 8.5 miles (6:59); 4.5 miles (7:07)

Thursday: 4 miles (6:57); 11.4 miles (5:50) with 10.75 medium (5:43).  Started out with heavy legs and had some trouble getting under 6:00 but after a few miles, I felt much better.  Ran the last 5 under 5:40 pace and felt good aerobically.

Friday: 5.5 miles (7:02); 6 miles (7:10)

Saturday: 7.9 miles with 5k in 15:37 (watch said 15:35).  My plan was to run just under 15:30.  I was alone the whole way and split a comfortable 4:51 first mile.  Mile two was 5:01 and since I only needed a 5:08 or so to break 15:30, I backed off a hair but I guess it was too much, as I split a 5:12 the last mile. I caught myself slacking a few times that last mile. The effort was harder than I would have liked but if I would have had people to run with, I feel like I could have run a low 15.  Legs have been really heavy lately as well.; 3.4 miles (7:37)

Sunday: 20.1 miles (6:18). I was expecting to feel like crap because my legs were tired last night and I've only had three easy days in the last nine days. Felt smooth the whole way and was rolling low 6:00s with very little effort towards the end.  Basic endurance is good, I just need some more race fitness.

Week Total=100.8 miles.  My first 20+ mile run in nearly two months and my first 100 mile week in about 1.5 months. My body is starting to get a bit worn down and I'm at the stage where I'm piling on a heavier workload than my body can maintain but I feel like it will "jumpstart" in about 2-3 weeks. Based on my timeframe, I have to rush things a bit but once I start adapting to the workouts, things will go much more smoothly. I'd like to be in low 65 or under half marathon shape by the end of the month, so I have some work to do.