I've also decided to move my Long Run / workout to Saturday and Tuesday (from Sunday and Wednesday) and move my "day off" from Thursday to Sunday. I did this for a few reasons:
- First and foremost, as a "life balance" move - this way I can relax Saturday night, even staying up past 9pm, and have Sunday completely off to spend time with my family. Getting my Long Run "out of the way" Saturday morning will "open up" the weekend for me and help me feel more "relaxed" spending time with my wife and kids.
- Traffic really sucks for me when I try to drive to work for my normal 8am start time. Running before work solves this - I drive to work (or very close to it) and run there, beating the traffic. Taking Thursday off put me back into traffic.
- So, my "workouts" for the week will be Tuesday and Saturday instead of Wed and Sunday. I did my Long Run on Sunday last week, so this week will be a transition - with my workouts on Wednesday and Saturday. I'm still getting two recovery days between each workout, so no issues.
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The recovery period last week went well, and I actually had a pretty good long run last Sunday. So, I felt ready to "turn it back on" and get to it this week.
The big workout of the week was Saturday - on the track. I haven't been on the track in a LONG time, since last year Summer actually, prior to my year ending ITB injury (which sounds very dramatic, like a real athlete or something.....). The workout is something I really like....4 x 1200 at goal 5k pace with 400 meter jog recovery. My goal pace is 5:55 - 5:57 (which puts me under 18:30 for the 5k). Calculating that back to 1200 times, means I should complete each 1200 "rep" around 4:27. I like the track for these workouts for two reasons; 1) I'm outside, actually running in the conditions that will be similar to the race (vs treadmill); 2) I can check my exact pace every 200, (which should be :44 / :45 seconds). Also, the 5k I'm running is PERFECTLY flat; run at the Dulles Airport on one of the runways. So, the track is best approximation I'll get of the actual course.
Saturday morning was much cooler than it has been and less humidity, but windy (maybe 15-20 mph)...all thanks to the hurricane currently slightly off the East Coast. I ended up running the 1200 intervals in 4:23/4:22/4:25/4:25, and I only really had to work and focus on the last 400 of the last rep. (The 400 jog recovery lasted about 2:30). So, I feel REALLY good about the workout! 4:25 is about 5:52/5:53 mi pace. That puts me at about 18:20 for a 5k IF I could hold that same pace for a full 5k on race day.
Last year at this time I did the same workout two weeks before the same 5k race. I did them all in about 4:37/4:38. And I ended up running the 5k last year at 6:10 pace. So, I do have reason to think it will translate the a 5k pace.....I'll know in two weeks if the calculations still hold.
My current PR is 18:41, so if I can pull off that pace at the race I'll have a significant PR.
Weekly Mileage: 42
Long Run: N/A
Weight: 141
Daily workouts (Bolded are the harder workouts):
Monday: 41 minutes easy on WOD in Herndon. Legs a little heavy from long run yesterday, but not bad. Hip mobility, rolling, and stretching. (5.1 miles about 8:10 pace)
Tuesday: 55 minutes easy including 4 strides on WOD in Herndon. Felt pretty good. 7 mi / 7:50 pace. Usual core work (various planks, modified bicycle thing, "windshield wipers" laying on my back), plus "Hot salsa" and Russian twists with a medicine ball. Rolling and stretching. Good workout. Feel ready for my tempo run tomorrow....
Wednesday: 9 mi. with 3 @ tempo on treadmill. Tempo portion @ 1% incline. 3mi @ 8:00 pace / 3 mi @ 6:30 pace / 3 mi @ 7:55 pace. Felt pretty good - like I could have done another mile @ tempo pace. Fully under control. ITB rehab work including single leg squats and dead lifts. Upper body strength work. Dynamic stretching.
Thursday: 45 Easy / recovery run. Ooooffaaa, legs feeling heavy today! First time running the day after a workout. Actually, doesn't fee that much different than the day after a long run....maybe a little more tired / sore. Rolling and stretching, some hip mobility stuff. 5.4 miles / 8:15 pace.
Friday: 56 minutes easy on roads around my office. Legs still a little heavy, but better. Core work/rolling/stretching. (7.1 mi / 7:55 pace)
Saturday: Track: 4 x 1200 @ 5k pace w/ 400 jog recovery. Intervals were 4:23/4:22/4:25/4:25. Recovery time was about 2:30. 2 mi warm up / 3 mi cool down. total 8 mi. Upper body strength work, ITB rehab routine. Rolling and stretching. "Theoretically" this puts me around 5:53 5k pace.
Sunday: "Brisk walk" for about 45 minutes with my wife. Coach Jay Johnson advocates this to flush out all the crap from Sat workout and feel better for Monday. We'll see. Regardless it's good time with my wife, so I'll keep doing it. I almost had to remember what to do on Sunday...it's ben so long since I haven't run a long run (or race) on this day.
It does have me looking forward to running tomorrow, which - I think - is at least part of the point.
Happy running everyone.
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