Pre-Race Workout

Goal:
3xmile @ 5:30 +4x400m

Actual:
3 mile warmup
2xmile in 5:53, 5:53, 2:30 jog rest, 3x400m
3 mile cool down for 9 miles total

It's finally gotten pretty humid down here in North Carolin again and it's definitely taking its toll on workouts!  It definitely has an impact on my workouts and this felt harder than it should have.  I'm not sure if that's because of the humidity or if that's the way a typical pre-race workout feels. Regardless, I was grateful for Caleb's company because Laurie had to bail after the warmup since she had an allergic reaction to a prescription she had taken. Aside from the insane amount of sweat that accumulated on my clothes, nothing else of much significance happened. I'm ready for the half champs!

4 mile Tempo + 400s

Goal:
5 mile tempo in GHMP

Actual:
3.1 mile warmup
4 mile tempo in 23:40 5:55 (5:53, 6:00, 5:56, 5:52) + 400m in 79
3 mile cool down  for 11 miles total

The plan was to do whatever tempo Laurie was doing, but she had a rough night of sleep, so I was left to hopefully run with Jay Barringer.  Well, he didn't show up at the Dilworth Speed Loop at 6AM, so I had to find my own intrinsic motivation to get the work done.  While I am very appreciative of the running club and the plethora of group runs it offers, it has made me somewhat of a baby when it comes to working out on my own.  I guess it kind of makes sense because even in college, I rarely ran alone, and even if I did, my coach was there to support me.

To ensure that I got the work done, I decided to run the 800m speed loop four times.  After my garmin clicked off 2 miles, I headed to the standard 2 mile part and stopped after 4 miles.  Then I decided to do 4x400m to give my legs a little bit of a kick since I have an 8k coming up on Saturday.  While I would have liked to had faster splits for the tempo, I was pleased with how I bounced back after a slower 2nd mile.  The 400s didn't feel spectacular, but the point was not necessarily to go fast, but rather to get the legs going at a speed faster than tempo.

My goal for the half in June is to start out at 5:55 pace and then to gradually drop down to 5:50 so that I can be poised for a PR (faster than 1:17:50).  I think that if I continue to get these tempos done with company, I'll prove to myself that my goal is realistic.

Pre-Race Workout

Goal:
3 mile tempo at 6:00-5:50 + 4x400m

Actual:
3.5 mile warmup
3 mile tempo in 6:10, 5:56, 5:56 + 4x400m with 1:00 rest.
3 mile cool down

4 miles in the pm

This felt harder than it should have, but I've had other workouts where I could barely break 6:00 pace before a race and then really crushed the race, so I walked away feeling pretty good about my effort, and confident about the prospect of a race in DC.  Caleb, Laurie, Eric and I all met up at the Speed Loop way before the sun came up, and started the workout without much thought.  For the first mile, we were all in a comfortable little pack, talking a little too much, and it was eerily similar to my Army Ten Miler pre-race workout last year.  Except, this year we went through the first mile much more slowly and then Caleb and Laurie took off and I tried to hang on desperately, but my leg wouldn't do it.  Then I hovered around the same pace for the last mile, watching Caleb and Laurie run smoothly about 30 meters ahead.  After a half mile jog, we started the 400s and again, my legs felt heavy to lift, but I completed them feeling strong.  On the cool down, I enjoyed the cooler weather and felt really positive about the weekend.

Then, in the afternoon, I felt my hamstring revert back to where it had been a couple weeks ago--exceptionally tight.  When I really thought things were starting to get better in my hammy, a little workout went ahead and threw it all off.  It really all comes down to the fact that I was slack on my glute exercises. Like most runners, I've got a weakness in my left glute, which is causing my hamstring to do a lot more work than necessary, therefore causing my hamstring some wear and tear.  Hopefully it will hold up for Army Ten Miler!

Tempo Success!

Goal:
10 Mile Tempo at 600-605

Actual:
3 miles warmup
8 miles at 6:32 average (fastest split was only 6:20)
2 miles cool down at 7:00 pace

pm:  4.5 miles for 17.5 miles total for day

I could choose to look at this workout as a fail, but I chose to look at it as a success.  I didn't give up and I did what I could with what I've got.  And what I've got is low iron and an annoying hamstring.  Fortunately yesterday, Dr. Greenapple was kind enough to spend over an hour with me, performing ART, cupping, acupuncture and finally kinesio tape.  I know that the treatment will start working it magic in a couple of days, not overnight.  So, regardless, my hamstring was still a little tight and tired from general overuse combined with strength exercises from the night before by the time I met up with Aaron at McMullen.

Aaron's legs were tired from a couple of back-to-back high mileage weeks, so he was okay with whatever I had in the tank.  We ran through the perfectly flat trail at McMullen, not really looking at splits and still keeping up some semblance of a conversation.  I could still talk, but my legs felt like glue.  Sure, it was fabulous and I didn't hit my goal times, but I cranked through.  Right now, finding the motivation to complete a workout is tough since I know the time will be slower, but if I just get in the effort, everything will fall into place in a couple of weeks. I left this workout trusting that I got in a good effort (can 6:20 on low ferritin equate to 5:55 with normal ferritin?  I think so)

After 8 miles of work, we slowed it down a bit to cool down and both of us were equally happy to be done with the up tempo portion. Some days are meant to feel harder than others and today was definitely like that, but I still came out of it feeling really positive about how I approached the workout and how I got in some uptempo work!

7.5 MIle Progression

Goal:
8 miles from 6:20-5:50

Actual:

2 mile warmup
7.5 miles in 45:30 (6;04 pace)
6:13, 6:08, 6:05, 6:04, 6:00, 6:00, 6:05, 3:02
3 mile cool down

Legs got a little tired towards the end, and my hamstring felt really tight so I called it quits a little early. Definitely not what I wanted, but if stopping early means that I didn't pull my hamstring, then I'm going to stop.  I fortunately had the company of Chris, Brad, and Caleb on this one and even though we started at 5:20am, it was totally worth it for getting it done.  The humidity level was rather high, which definitely affected our pace, but I was happy with the effort for the first 6 miles for sure.

I'm probably going to scratch my workout of mile repeats for later this week because I can tell that my hamstring doesn't react well to the speedy stuff whatsoever.  Hopefully that will be what I need to keep my streak of high mileage going strong.

Just Like Clockwork - 5 Mile Tempo

Goal:
5 Mile Tempo at 5:45-5:50

Actual:
2.5 mile warmup
5 mile tempo in 29:36 (5:57, 5:57, 5:57, 5:59, 5:47)
3.5 mile cool down

7 miles in the pm for 18 miles total

Well, ever since I did those 400s on Tuesday, my arch, achilles and hamstring have all been extremely tight.  Nothing crazy, but also something that definitely should not go ignored because I feel like I'm on the precipitous of injury--right at the point where either I could keep doing what I'm doing now, which in terms of prehab is absolutely nothing, or choose to make some changes and actually do my exercises that help prevent aches such as these.  I'm also leading into a nice 100-mile week and I'm sure these are the kinks to be felt.

I think that the travel took its toll on me during this workout, as I felt like it was a chore to run in the high 5:50s.  However, I was able to go pretty quick that last mile, thanks to the push from Stephen Spada.  Hey--at least we were consistent with our first four miles, right?  Now I need to keep up my training regime in the weight room and make sure I keep any injuries from becoming a reality.

Workout Fail

Goal:
8 mile progression from 6:20-5:50

Actual:
3-ish warmup
5 Miles in 31:00 (6:12 average)
4 miles cool down for 12 miles total

Yeah this workout was an epic fail. I know that my latest goal is to not drop out of workouts, but I think this deserves a special exception given the circumstances.  Essentially, I ran within 2 seconds my road PR in a 5k on Saturday night, and then 12 hour later, ran for 1:40 at Salem Lake in the humidity.  Then I floated a river in the sun for three hours.  I think that this alone took a lot more out of my body than I had expected.  In hindsight, I kind of wish I had just not done a workout at all today, but there were so many people running a tempo from the dowd that I couldn't resist.  In the end, I got in 5 miles of a poor tempo at a slower pace than I'm used to, but at least I got in some sort of decent workout in this weather.

5 Mile Tempo

Goal:
5 Mile tempo in 5:50-5:55

Actual:
3.3 mile warmup
5 mile tempo in 6:02 pace (6:18, 6:03, 5:58, 5:56, 5:54)
2 mile cool down for 10+ miles total

45 minutes of dance lesson

Today was muggy.  Real muggy.  Considering the fact that I wanted to drop out of this tempo after two miles, I would say that this was an accomplishment because I ran the entire workout.  Fortunately, the company of Spada, Caleb and Aaron helped tremendously and was 100% of the reason why I did not drop out.  In fact, Spada and Caleb pulled away after 1.5 miles and I just hung onto Aaron as best I could.  The first mile went out to so freaking slow because no one else was willing to help me with the pace and my efforts to push it weren't getting us anywhere any faster.  At one point, while Aaron was talking excitedly, Spada said matter-of-factly: "Aaron.  Is Caitlin talking?  She's working.  She's give you one line responses."  And Aaron shut right up.  Not that I mind listening to Aaron.  In fact, I kind of like his uncanny ability to keep a workout lively.  After that, Aaron just kept me company by being my trusty sidekick.  I thought of how the tables had turned.  Last time I worked out with Aaron, I felt awesome and was the motivation that kept him going until the end.  This time, I was the one hurting massively.  I think that I ran a faster five mile split in the last bit of that 14-mile steady state I did.  Oh well, workouts are all relative.  Today wasn't the greatest, it was muggy, and my legs were tired.  I'm hoping the pep will return for the mile repeats workout I've got set for Friday.