Sunday, August 28, 2016

Training Log - Week Ending Aug 28

This week is a "recovery" week after a 20k race last Sunday.

I've also decided on a 5k race in 4 weeks, possibly followed by a 10k race the following week.  So, I have one week of recovery running, then 2 weeks of 5k specific work before cutting back for the next race.

But first, this week.....which is pretty much easy runs of varying time.  I probably won't do a workout until mid-next week.  I've been injury-free all year and I remember what it's like not being able to run, so I'll continue to take the conservative approach to training, especially after a hard workout or race.

Weekly mileage:  42
Long run:  10
Weight:  140


Daily Detail:


Monday:  OFF.  Recovery from 20k race yesterday.  Didn't do nuthin' (which is probably not the best idea)

Tuesday:  41 min easy, feeling out how I feel two after the race.  Actually, not bad.  It helped that was weather was much nicer today than it has been, low humidity and lower temps.  I actually forgot how nice that is!  Core work, and stretching, and "Hot salsa" with a medicine ball.   (5.0 miles / 8:10 pace)

Wednesday:  60 min easy.  Felt a little long today.  Legs were okay, but I was aware I was working some....I guess it's okay.  Plus, the weather turned hot and humid again, so maybe that's it.  WOD in Herndon.   Upper today work, single leg deadlift, single leg squats.  Rolling and stretching.  7.5 mi.

Thursday:  40 min easy.  WOD.  Feelin fine.  Easy run. Still hot and humid, but a little better(?)  ITB rehab work, Hot Salsa, rolling.  5.1 mi. (7:50 pace)

Friday:  60 min easy.  WOD in Herndon.  Weather sucked today, really hot and humid, even at 6:30 am.  Rolling and stretching.  7.7 miles (7:50 pace)

Saturday:  35 min easy incl. two strides.  I slept in some today and had breakfast with the family before my run.  This made a nice morning, but my run at 10:30 was RIDICULOUSLY hot!  (I usually run around 6-7 am).  It was a short and easy run, so not a big deal...but a reminder to get my ass out of bed on summer mornings.  4.2 mi.  Core work.  Rolling and stretching.

Sunday:  12 mi Long Run on C and O canal towpath.  7:23 pace (1:28).  Feel pretty good about the run.  Didn't realize I was running so fast, until about mi 9, so I just kept it up (I had planned to run closer to 8:00 pace).    Core work, upper body strength, ITB rehab routine, single leg squats and dead lifts.

Sunday, August 21, 2016

US Olympic Team Shoutout #2

I posted a "Shoutout" earlier this week to the US Olympic team for doing so well in middle and long distance events.

Since then, the US has snagged 3 more medals....

  • Adam Centrowicz gold in the 1500.  From the front...BEAUTIFUL. 
    • Adam is still pretty young....
    • First medal in like, forever for the US in this event.
  • Paul Chelimo - silver in the 5000.
    • Like the 1500,,,first medal in a long, long time.
    • Special shout to Lagat for finishing 5th at 41 years old.  Inspiring for old guys like me!
  • Galen Rupp - bronze in the marathon.
    • Galen hung tough and it looks like he may end up being very successful in the marathon.
    • (I hope he and Salazar are fully investigated with full disclosure and found clean...)
    • Special shout out to Meb - he didn't do well today, but at 41 he was there.....
    • Another special "Shoutout" to Jared Ward with a very impressive 6th place finish.  He kind of flew under the radar...but really came thru today with a  great performance and PR....
      • All while taking Sunday off every week for religious reasons.  Again...there's many ways to do it...
I hope this marks a trend in US middle and long distance track and field....

Training Log - Week Ending August 21 (20k Race)

This week was a "Tapering" week with a 20k race on Sunday..

So...first and foremost...how did the 20k go?  I planned a time of 1:22:xx - VERY scientifically calculated (using darts, some dice, my HM result from May, McMillan calculator, and weather prediction).  I ended up running....1:24:49, coming in 4th for my 45-49 age bracket.  Full report titled "Leesburg 20k Race Report" posted earlier today under Label "Race Report".

I had my usual "Tapering Anxiety" this week with the fewer miles and two days of no running. Am I losing fitness?  Am I going to get "rusty" (whatever that means)....all the things neurotic runners think about for no good reason, really.  Tapering is proven to work, I'm not making up something on my own or trying to create a whole new way of doing things.  But still....I find it hard to "chill" and run less....

Also, purchased some NB 1600's v2.  My Asics HyperSpeeds are starting to give me blisters, so I need to switch.  Got in two easy runs in them before the race....worked out okay (luckily).  They feel firm and fast....and fit pretty good (I buy in women's sizes...I like 'B' width).

Total Miles:  32 (14 of them on race day)
Long Run:  20k race
Weight:139


Daily Workouts: (Hard effort bolded)

Monday - OFF

Tuesday - 35 minutes EASY.  Treadmill at work lunch lunch hour (decided to sleep today).  8:00 pace with some strides.  Overall 4.3 miles.  Hip mobility / rolling / stretching.

Wednesday - 6.5 miles with 8 x 1:00 @ 5k pace (6:00 pace) with 1:30 jog (10:00 pace) recovery.  Treadmill @ 1% incline for 5k pace work.  Felt pretty good.  1:30 was plenty of recovery and never felt strained on the 5k pace.  8:00 pace for the rest of the run.  Light core work, foam rolling, and stretching.

Thursday:  33 minutes EASY.  Recovery type run.  At noon outside on streets around my office.
3.8 miles....about 8:20 pace.  Very easy.  Wore NB 1600's for the first time.  They feel good.  Going to try them on the race Sunday.

Friday:  OFF.  Take 2nd day for every race off....not scientifically proven to be the best way (that I know of), but it's always worked for me.

Saturday:  30 minutes EASY incl. strides.  3.7 mi around my hood.   Feeling fresh and ready to go for tomorrow! rolling and stretching.

Sunday:  1 mile warm-up; 20k race; cool down consisted of laying on the sidewalk panting for 10 minutes.  Lotsa foam rolling and stretching after I got home..

Leesburg 20k Race Report

Leesburg 20k Race.....

Night before the race....

Clothing/Equipment Decisions:

Shoes - I had been planning on wearing my Asics HyperSpeeds, but lately they've been giving me blisters on my 2nd toe in longer runs.  So, Monday this week I ordered a pair of New Balance 1600's - and did the thing EVERYONE says not to do, and ran the race in them with only two days of short runs to see how they feel.  Worked out fine! (Luckily).

Shirt or no shirt; that is the question - It was REALLY hot on race day - 74 degrees at start and 80 degrees at the end with VERY humid.  The "dew point" was 74.  I decided that if I saw at least one other guy with no shirt, then I would go shirtless.  But, I wouldn't be the only one.  Pretty quickly I saw a few guys with no shirt, so I took mine off and never regretted it.  (I had pinned my race bib to my shorts the night before, so I was ready for a quick decision).  I think this helped with the humidity - with no shirt I get a little more "cooling" from running / breezes and I'm not wearing a completely saturated shirt (which would have happened after about 1/2 mile).  I've basically been running with no  shirt on all outside runs the past month, so my upper body is not as lily white as usual (this is a real consideration for me).  I also tried to avoid as much direct eye contact with women prior to the start to avoid any "side eye" I might get.

Night before the race - early dinner of pasta (my usual).  Watch some Olympics and hit the bed early, trying for a restful night of sleep.  Actually, not too bad.

Morning of the race....

The race started at 7:30 about 15 minutes from my house.  Set the alarm for 5:30 to get my pre-race breakfast eaten two hours prior to start (I always eat a packet of "raisins and spice" instant oatmeal and a small glass of milk - and COFFEE).  Quick run around the neighborhood to eat the blood and legs moving and help "process" last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast.  "Processing" completed, and out the door about 6:15.

Arrived around 6:35, parked and then....relaxed.  I like having extra time before a race to "calm down", get used to the surroundings, and "settle in".  It was hot and humid and a long race, so only a 1 mile warm-up around 7:10 plus my usual pre-run dynamic stretching.

Weather:  74 degrees at race start.  Humidity 95%.  Dew point 74.  So...NOT great conditions.  I had expected it though.  This is only my second "long race".  I did a HM in June, and I've done one 10k, so I don't trust how I feel yet to tell me if my pace is optimal.  And, how much will the weather affect my time?  The HM I ran in June was at 6:49 pace.  The weather was not as bad then, as it is today, but it wasn't great either.  So, with all that, below is the plan...

Race plan.  I divided the race into 3 mile increments in my head.  I'm familiar with the course, which starts out by running thru a few streets in downtown Leesburg, then miles 3-12 are on the W and OD path.  The last .4 mile is back on the street to the finish line.  All races run by PR Running usually are well organized, and today was no exception.

I thought about the race in 3 mile increments as follows:
  • First three miles in 20:15.  The race starts downhill, and then flattens out with mile 3 being slightly uphill.
  • Mile 4-6 in 20:30 - mile 4 and 5 are uphill, with one section being pretty steep.  Should hit mile 6 around 40:45 total time.
  • Mile 7-9 in  in 20:15.  Mile 7 is uphill, but mill 9 is downhill.  Total time:  1:00:45
  • Mile 9-12 in 19:50 - all 3 miles are downhill.  Total time:  1:20:35
  • Last 0.4 in 3:00 - all uphill.  Total time:  1:23:35

So, how did it go?

Race start - the usual butterflies and nerves, but not bad.  The race was close to my house, so I saw familiar faces and made some small talk which helped.

  • Mile 1 - 3 Ahead of plan  -  19:57 - about 20 seconds faster than planned.  I ran mile 2 in 6:26 which was too fast, but slowed the pace in mile 3 to get back closer to plan.  In mile 2 I got pulled along by a small pack of runners and I was feeling good, but quickly realized I need to let them go.
  • Mile 4- 6: Back on plan  -  20:44 - slower than plan, but I'm back close to my overall planned time, thru mile 6 my time is 40:41.  The uphill on mile 4-5 was harder than I expected - I had to be careful to not work too hard here and bust my whole plan.  I had to let a couple folks I was running with go at this point and catch on to a group that was coming up behind me, Mile 6 was downhill which helped me recover some, and start feeling better.
  • Mile 7-9:  Losing ground to plan  -  20:53  -  total time:  1:01:34.  Now, I'm about a minute behind plan.  Mile 8 really sucked.  The turnaround on the W and OD was at about mile 6.8, and then the fun of the slight down hill was over and back uphill we went.  I didn't realize how steep mile 8 would be....I struggled mightily on this mile.  I ran it in 7:17 - by far my slowest mile.  My only thought was to get thru this mile, then it's all downhill.
  • Mile 10-12: Losing more time to plan - 20:05 - total time:  1:21:39.  I had planned to run this section at 6:35 pace....and mile 10 was in 6:36.  During mile 11 I tried to close on a couple guys in front of me, but right as I caught them I got a side stitch and had to slow down.  Never got my rhythm back after that and struggled to keep my pace to the end.  VERY FRUSTRATING.
  • Last .43 in 3:10.  This included a steep uphill section I just had to grind out.
Total time:  1:24:49  (6:50 pace) for a 4th place finish in my age bracket.  3rd place got a cowbell (yes, actual cling-a-ling-a-ling cowbell).  I was about a minute too slow.

I gotta figure out this side stitch thing - I sipped a little bit of water every couple miles at the water stops and poured most of the water over my head.  I don't know if I was dehydrated and needed to drink more or if the little bit I did drink was what caused it.....

Side note:  when pouring water over your head try going down ur back instead of front to avoid water logged shoes......

Next race - a 5k in four weeks......

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

US Olympic Team Shoutout

 Impromptu post - after being highly motivated last night and this morning watching the Olympics.

The US Olympic team in middle distance running has had some great breakthroughs so far in Rio!

  1.  Molly Huddle - Bronze medal in the 10k....AMAZING
  2. Emma Coburn - first medal EVER for the US in women's steeple.  NICE!
  3. Jenny Simpson - first medal EVER in women's 1500.  WONDERFUL.
    1. Note - Shannon Rowbury finished 4th.
    2. She might end up getting moved up to a medal after Dibaba's coach is tossed in jail for carrying syringes full of EPO....he's being "held" in Spain now.
  4. Evan Jager - Silver medal in men's Steeple.  First medal since the 80's...FANTASTIC.
Even the commentators on the NBC online broadcast mentioned the US middle distance performance is really coming around.  All very exciting!

Maybe...just maybe...some day....the US middle distance runners will get as much publicity as the US swimmers who just killed it!  The US media / fans are about winning.  Period.  So, it will probably take gold medals to get more attention....we're on the right path to getting there!

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Training Log - Week Ending August (And Olympics!)

 The Olympics are here!  No really, there they here!  Track and Field...finally!

As I'm writing this weekly update, we are in day 3 of "Track and Field" (otherwise known as "Athletics") of the Olympic competition.  Since my measly efforts would be considered "middle distance" running, I can most appreciate the 10k and 5k events (to a lesser extent the 1500).  But, I really enjoy watching all the running!  From the first 800 "Heat" to the men's marathon that will happen next Sunday.

My faves so far.....
  • Congratulations Molly Huddle, setting a new American record in the 10k!
    • Molly is the current US champ in EVERY US road distance from 5k to 20k.
    • BOO - NBC for doing a whole segment of her mistake at the World Champs last year....
  • ALL three of the US women steeplechasers made it to the finals!
    • Go Emma, Go Colleen, Go Courtney!
    • Good luck tomorrow....I can't wait.
  • Mo Farah - LEGEND!!!
    • First - marked in the back of the field by a Kenyan
    • Then, tripped up by his training partner (complete accident, but still...duh)
    • Jumps up, back in the pack....
    • Move to the front and out-kick the Kenyans and their team tactics to take GOLD!!
    • I think he leaps over tall buildings in a single bound too....AMAZING.
  • CONGRATS - Shalane, Des, and Amy - THREE Americans in Top 10 for the marathon
    • Impressive for all three....GREAT showing!!!
    • BOO - NBC coverage for cutting off before Amy finished - she was 9th - you can't wait another 30 seconds.  I did see online, it was great to see Shalane quickly come over and help Amy when she finished....reverse of the US trials..... 
So....what have I observed, and tried to learn from so far?  Well....hard work and dedication I guess, but really not a lot I can translate to my running.  The level is so much higher than mine...couple things I will try to assimilate....
  • Mo gets knocked down and still wins.  So what if I get bumped or can't get around slower runners easily....dude got knocked down!
  • Shalane finished 6th and Desi finished 7th running completely different strategies.  Maybe I should run my own race...the way that's best for ME....of course I should.  But, this was a good reminder.
Looking forward to all the great racing coming up this week....!
_________

Now on to my efforts this week...

It's been stupid HOT this week in the DC area.  Even my runs that start at 6 am before work are hot and humid.  Kinda sucks.....

Tapering this week and next week for a 20k race......

So, this week I'll be running 5 days, keeping a faster paced workout on Wednesday, and some HM pacing on Sunday, but with overall miles coming down from 50 to about 35.  I was starting to get a little tired coming into this week, so I'm happy the tapering is coming now in this cycle.  It's good timing too with the Olympics on TV...I don't have to get up quite so early to run, so I can stay up a little later to watch the games.  I'll never be able to watch the whole show during the week tho, since it runs to midnight.  I'm usually pushing it if I stay up till 10:00!  "The life of a runner...."

Total Miles:  32
Long Run:  10 (w/ some HM pacing)
Weight:  140


Daily workouts:

Monday - OFF.  Completely.

Tuesday - 40 minutes EASY on WOD in Herndon.  Felt pretty good.  Ended up at 5 miles (8:00 pace).  Core work.  Rolling and stretching.

Wednesday:  8 miles with 8 x 2' @ 5k pace w/ 1:30 jog recovery.  Did this workout on the treadmill at 1% incline.  5k @ 6:00/mi; jog recovery @ 10:00/mi pace.  Felt pretty good, but it was a tough workout.  Ended feeling like I could do a few more reps and/or go slightly faster....which is how I'm "supposed" to feel (I've been told).  Upper body strength / Single leg squat / single leg deadlift.  ITB rehab exercises.  Foam rolling and dynamic stretching.  Overall running time:  1:00.

This is my last day of strength work and hard(er) speed work prior to my race in 10 days.  I'll do one more speed session next Wed, but it will be closer to extended strides than actual intervals.

Thursday - off

Friday - 43 minutes easy on WOD in Herndon.  5.3 mi (8:00 pace).  Hip mobility, ITB strength, rolling and stretching

Saturday - 35 minutes easy.  4.3 mi / 8:05 pace.  I ran about 8:30 and it was already REALLY hot.  Skipped strides and tried to make sure the run stayed easy in the heat.

Sunday:  10 w/ mi 6-9 @ HM pace.  Ran this on a portion of the course I will race next week.  Miles 1-6 in about 7:35 pace, then 6:24, 6:27, 6:35 for my 3 HM pace miles, then 1 mile cool down.  I ran the HM miles a little too fast...probably closer to tempo, I think I should probably run this section of the course about 6:35 in the race....if all goes right.  Stretching and rolling.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Training Log - Week Ending August 7

The Olympics are coming, the Olympics are coming! (Say this in your best Paul Revers voice)

YAY OLYMPICS!

I know, no track and field until the upcoming Friday, but I'm excited.  I used to road race bicycles, so it was fun to watch a pretty crazy Olympics cycling road race yesterday, guys were flying off the road in all directions on a pretty technical downhill.  I know how much that hurts! (I've had my share of crashes and road rash, but thankfully never broke anything).

To get political - I'm really happy the Russian track and field team (and other sports as well) were banned due to doping.  I understand the argument on both sides to disqualify the entire Russian contingency, or allow some others to compete.  I fall more on the side to exclude the entire country to make a point.  I do feel a tinge of being hypocritical since Galen Rupp (coached by Alberto Salazar) has some shaky history of possibly doping (see Steve Magness or Kara Goucher).  Galen won the US 10k and marathon trials, and might have a chance at a medal in the marathon...he looks pretty strong....unfortunately this part of our sport is not going away any time soon, I don't think.

For my training, this week has been "back to normal' somewhat as I'm back home from vacation and working my normal schedule at the office.

My next race, a 20k is in two weeks, so I will start tapering next week.  This is my last "full" week of work.

This week my faster paced workout included 2 miles at "Tempo" pace (I set the treadmill to 6:30 pace for this one - as I said before - I'm a little unsure of exactly what Tempo pace means for me, except I know it's slower than 10k and faster than HM pace - so I split the difference), later in the same workout I did 6 x 2' @ 5k pace (6:00) with 1:30 jog recovery.....it all felt pretty comfortable at 1% incline.

Small change this week - my Wed workout I cut short on the overall mileage.  I had planned on 10-11 miles, but after 8 miles I stopped.  I ran out of time, but really got bored on the treadmill and cut my cool down short.  I've read before that sometimes a "recovery" type run the day after a workout will help recovery even more than not running.  So, since I cut Wed. run short, I thought I'd try it...I ran about 3.5 miles on Thur REALLY easy, I even walked a one point on an incline to make sure I really had no real effort the entire run.  So...did this help on my Friday run?  Eh, dunno.  I did feel pretty good on Friday, so I will keep this idea going forward.  It was also cooler on Friday, so that probably helped Friday's run.  I don't think the change hurt me any....so that's good.

My Long Run was 15 miles, and sprinkled with some fartleks at HM pace to continue to try and get a better "feel" for HM pace / effort without overdoing the workload......

Side note on my running routes.  Most week days I run on the W and OD (Washington and Old Dominion) path.  This is an asphalt bike path that runs from DC into Northern Virginia.  For most sections of this path there's an option to run on a "horse path" or side sections that are not paved.  I spend about half my miles on these "hard packed dirt" sections.  The C and O canal towpath is all packed gravel / hard packed dirt...so all my miles on C and O are on a "path".  Both are relatively flat, with only slight incline / declines.  This week, I estimate about 26 miles on dirt, 8 miles on the treadmill, and 17 miles on asphalt.  I've read it's good for my old legs to mix up the surfaces, and the trail / softer surface will help avoid injury.  Might also be some strength benefit as I maneuver over / around even surfaces / tree roots, etc.  Plus....I REALLY enjoy being on a narrow trail surrounded by trees!

I also tried a strength exercise called "Hot Salsa" for the first time this week.   I found "Hot Salsa" when looking at YouTube videos of training Galen Rupp and Mo Farah do with the "Nike Oregon Project".  Seems pretty good, combining some strength work with balance and requires a medicine ball.  I've been thinking of how to add medicine ball / kettle bell / "Olympic" type moves to my strength training.  I think it can't hurt (or maybe it CAN if I do them wrong!). 

Total Weekly Mileage:  51
Long Run: 15
Weight: 141

Daily workouts: (Bolded days are the harder workouts).

Monday - 35 minutes easy on WOD in Herndon.  Low 70's and 100% humidity.  I'm getting used to it (I guess).  Legs a little (actually quite a bit) tired from yesterday's long run.  More of a "recovery" run today.  Got in 4.3 miles (8:10 pace).

Tuesday - 50 minutes easy.  WOD in Herndon.  Same weather as yesterday.  6.3 mi (8:10 pace).  Core work, dynamic stretching and foam rolling.
Tried the "Hot Salsa" strength / core thing for a few reps today, just to try it out.  It seems like a good exercise to add into the rotation. 

Wednesday - 11  8 miles with mile 4-5 at tempo (6:30 pace) + 6 x 2:00 @ 5k pace (6:00 pace) with 1:30 jog recovery (10:00 pace).  On the treadmill with faster paced work set at 1% incline.  Miles before and after faster work done at 8:00 pace and no incline.  Overall, felt pretty good and "on top" of the workout.  Under control the whole time.  I was planning on 11 miles, but I ran out of time and really got bored on the treadmill a couple miles after finishing the working part of the run.  There's something about a 5 mile cool down after some fast running - I just can't do it.  Upper body strength work / single leg squat / single leg dead lift.  Ran out of time and energy.  No rolling or stretching.

Thursday - OFF  3.6 miles VERY EASY.  I had planned to take the day off, but thought I'd try an EASY run kind of as a recovery run.  I felt better when the run was over than when I started.  Mission accomplished.  Since I didn't do any rolling or stretching yesterday, today I did some extra plus some hip strength / mobility stuff.  For the hip stuff, I like the "Myrtle" routine which you can find on YouTube under Coach Jay Johnson.  I find it quite helpful....

Friday - 72 minutes easy on WOD in Herndon.  Felt pretty good today.  9.1 miles / 7:55 pace.  A little cooler than prior days.  Thursday's "recovery" run helped?  Dunno.

Saturday - 40 minutes easy including 4 strides on roads around my house.  Kept the pace really easy today, prepping for tomorrow's long run.  4.9 mi / 8:10 pace.  Core work/ITB rehab/foam rolling and stretching.

Sunday - 15 miles, work in some HM pace here and there on C and O canal towpath.  Ran the first 10 miles right about 7:30 pace, then slowed it down some for miles 11-12 (about 8:00 pace).  Then, miles 12-15 did some fartleks at/around HM pace with slower jogging between.  Overall time: 1:55, overall average pace around 7:35.  Felt pretty good today, especially first 10 miles....fartleks felt a little harder than they should have...but they're fartleks so that's just me pushing it too much...
My last long training run for a while.  Next week's plan has a cut back long run, then I have the 20k race and a 5k race 4 weeks later.....

Next week I start tapering for the 20k race in 14 days.....

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

July 2016 Training Summary

 Taking a "Longer" look at my training, here's a monthly summary for July, 2016:


I learned a few things about running in July.  In no particular order....

  • Running DC in July is....difficult.  It's HOT and it's HUMID.  And, it kinda' sucks until you get used to it (but really, it still sucks when you are used to it)
    • After a few runs (both easy and attempts at harder workouts) I was thinking I'm sick or losing fitness...or I have mono to lyme disease...cause I'm running really slow and it feels really hard.
    • Then, I ran a workout indoors on a treadmill and....everything's fine.
    • So...lesson learned....when it's 90F and 95% humidity...I'm not going to be running as far, and I will be going A LOT slower.
  • Racing a 5k 8 days after racing a half is NOT the best idea.
    • I raced my first HM on June 26, then raced a 5k on July 4 (cause you know, it's 4th of July)
    • First - I hadn't yet learned about the lesson above - so I used my March race (when it was 40 degrees) as my planned pace.
    • Second - it was 8 days after the HM, so my legs felt like dog doodoo.
    • Result - crash and burn in mile 3.
    • So...second lesson learned...IF I ever try to race a 5k a week after a HM in the heat, adjust my planned pace...
    • Will I apply this lesson in the future?  Maybe.  Right now I'm just too competitive to be rational.
  • Running in LA at the beach is easier....(duh)
    • I did spend a week and a half in LA on vacation VERY close to the beach.
    • Ocean breezes and great views make running a LOT easier.
    • Temps were in the mid 70's F and low humidity...nice
    • BUT - when I got back to DC it felt worse than when I left.  Weather acclimation is a REAL thing....

July overall mileage and workouts:

  • I ran 162 miles in July - about 40 miles a week (actually a little less).  I would  like to consistently get to 200 miles a month....that would be roughly 50 / week, which seems like a solid amount of miles that would improve my fitness.
    • I had to take four days in a row off mid-month due to a sinus infection that also had me coughing.
    •  In the first part of the year I had planned to work up to 50 mi a week or so, but so far this year I've only had a few (one week in July was 51).
    • I tend to end up around mid-40's per week, and less on race weeks...
      • This is usually because I cut a long run short every now and then, or don't do my planned extended cool down after my mid-week workout.....
      • But, I'm not injured, maybe this is where I should be?  Dunno.  It's all new territory for me.
  •  My "workout" goals for this month - at least after the race on July 4 - is to get better at HM pacing in prep for a 20k race on August 21.
    • I had some successful workouts at / around 6:45 pace (HM pace) and I'm starting to "feel" it, but it's not quite there yet.
    • I know what 5k "feels" like, I raced a number of 5k's and I don't really need my watch to know how I'm pacing...
    • For HM that's a different story...only raced one.
    • I'm still not sure how HM pace and "Tempo" pace are different - at least how they "feel" different.  I have a tendency to speed up toward a "tempo" effort when I want to be at HM effort....I think.  
    • Something I'll keep working on the next few weeks....(and months and years I suspect).
 As far as improving / moving closer to my 2016 goals....

  1. Don't get injured: GOOD.  (I'm ever vigilant to pay attention to over-training / niggles)
  2. Improve pacing:  NO.  My pacing sucked in the one 5k I ran...
  3. 5k in 18:36:  I ran a 5k, so I guess I can call that practice toward my goal.. but my time was way off at 19:15.
  4. 10k in 39:30:  No 10k's in July.  Did some 10k paced work that would put me under my time goal. when I run one again.

August goals: 
  1. Run a good 20k with even (or close to it) pacing
  2. Have fun
  3. Accept that the heat sucks and will slow me down. 
 Comments?  Suggestions?  Let me know....