week of 16 February

Monday, Feb 16 - 5 mile easy run

Really nice run. I'm running much more upright now and I felt very efficient. I was taking short strides, but had a decent pace (around 9:00 after the first mile) and a low 129, 130, 131, and 136 after the first mile. There were also unforecast snow flurries and half an hour later it was completely blue skies. Neat.

Tuesday, Feb 17 - 6-8 mile easy run including the Rock

Did 7.0. I felt very strong *except* my runner's knee (or whatever it is) that I have been struggling with off and on since last Sept bit me in the first mile or so (downhill). It's been flaring up some the last couple of weeks. My running feels qualitatively different than it did before the half. I credit the rock circuit as much as anything else. The hills also seem to be paying dividends.

Wednesday, Feb 18

AM: 10 mile total moderate run including 10 min @ LT effort. Full recovery then 8-10 x 3 min hills @ 10k feel w/2-3 min jog rests. Finish run w/10 strides

It was hard to pack all this in 10 miles. I did about 1.6 warmup, then 10 min at a semi-wimpy LT. I just squeaked the 10 minutes in a section for a stoplight and then jogged about a mile to the bottom of my hill. Sometimes it's hard to arrange these around the terrain. I did 3 minutes uphill and 3 down. I pushed the down ever so slightly above a jog just to get to the bottom and have enough hill.

PM: 4 mile easy run

I never feel very good doing afternoon runs and especially after a hard morning run, but I trudged through 4.06 miles at a scalding 10:08 pace.

Thursday, Feb 19 - 5-6 mile easy run

Travelling for work. 5 miles @9:08 in an office park. Back and forth on a half mile stretch of road. I didn't have the heart for a 6th mile of monotony. Plus I was late.

Friday, Feb 20 - 8-10 mile moderate run including 10 x 20 sec @ 800m race effort w/ 1 min recovery

Still on travel but drove to a nice 1.8-mile bike path around a lake about 10 minutes away. Had to get up at 5am after the guy in the room next to me was yelling at someone on the phone from 3:30am-4:30am. Got there and did the first lap in seclusion with a head lamp. I forgot how many 20 sec @800m pace I was supposed to do. I did 20. Oops! Plus I thought I was supposed to do 10 strides and threw some extremely half-hearted ones in at the end (the last was maybe 10 yards). I was probably nowhere near 800m pace though. I don't even no what that is. I just ran hard for 20 seconds. Anyway, I made this harder than it was supposed to be, but only average 8:25 pace, so it wasn't terrible.

Saturday, Feb 21 - 7-8 mile moderate run including the Rock

I felt pretty stiff and it felt hard for the pace when I was warming up (this seems to be a Saturday theme), so I ran easy (135-139 bpm and low 9 pace). My knee was giving me trouble starting up on the strides during "the Rock," so they were more like jogs.

Sunday, Feb 22
- AM: 15-16 mile total moderate run including 5 miles total @ alternating paces: Mile 1 @ GHMP, Mile 2 @ GMP, Mile 3 @ GHMP, Mile 4 @ GMP, Mile 5 @ GHMP; 10 min recovery jog; then 2 miles @ alternating paces: 1 mile @ GHMP, 800m @ 10k feel. 800m @ 5k effort or harder. Finish w/10 strides

Pretty stiff, so I warmed up slowly and let the pace come to me. First couple of miles were 9:40, 9:30, then ~9:10 until I got to the track (5.4 miles). For the 5 "miles" (1600m splits) I did 6:53/164, 7:08, 6:48, 7:11, 6:47. I had planned on 7:20 pace for the MP sections, but I fell into ~7:10 and that felt right. 1800 meters in 10:01 rest (8:57 pace). My legs got stiff during the rest. It probably didn't help that it was snowing/raining and ~35 degrees. I had a little trouble ramping back up and the last part was 1600 in 6:54, 800 in 3:22, and 800 in 3:14. Jogged home and did the 10 strides (about 2 miles). Total was 15.6 miles.

PM: 4 mile easy jog

4.26 at 9:44 per mile

Total: 67.4 miles