Cutting Shapes at Duke

Time: ~45:53
Distance: 9.68k

W/u: 22:04 for 4.26k
W/o: 12 x 400m in 62-65 w/ 2 min rest
C/d: 7:23 for 1.37k

I was a little hesitant about doing this working as my peroneal tendon has been giving me problems, but Blue Ridge Relay is right around the corner. I have to be fit!

I drove over to the Al Buehler trail on Duke's campus and started my warm up carrying a pair of racing flats. I was pretty fired up about hitting the track that I last raced on as a sophomore in college. My foot wasn't hurting too much so I had dreams of completing the workout and hitting the proper splits. I even had the added encouragement of the Duke cheerleaders being out practicing for the season opener. Not so much of a great one...

Splits:
65.96 (2:03), 66.10 (2:06), 65.39 (2:03), 67.13 (2:01), 66.77 (2:00), 66.91 blah!

I started off by jogging 400m for the first 4 intervals. That went to shit and I just stood around before numbers 5 and 6. When that started going to shit I called the workout. My foot wasn't feeling great, but that wasn't why I stopped. I just didn't have it out there on the track. I felt pretty good for the first 3 intervals and then my lack of fitness caught up with me. Not an awesome feeling.

I cooled down to the car and thought about running some more, but then figured why bother.

Lightning Workout

Time: 69:11
Distance: 10.75 miles

W/u: 24:20 for 3 miles
W/o: 12 x 400m w/ 100m jog
C/d: 21:29 for ~3 miles

This morning I woke up to hear the wind howling outside and pushing garbage cans up the street. I had agreed to meet, Irv Batten, the owner of On The Run for a workout. I asked if I could join his Tuesday morning workout crew that goes off at 6:00 am from a track across the street from his store. I wasn't thrilled with the idea of such an early morning, but needed to get my training headed in the right direction.

I first hit the Starbucks near the store and as I was getting out of the car I saw a great flash of light in the sky. I paid it little attention until I was sipping my coffee at the track. The flashes continued and I realized I was in for a classic southeast storm. The rain, wind and lightning were headed our way and I still have 15 minutes to kill before the others would show up. I waited in my car and saw another guy drive up just as the rain started. It poured and eventually the other guy left right around the time that Irv rolled up. I through on my rain gear and had a quick chat with Irv about the weather. We decided to get in a warm up and make a game time decision on whether or not to workout.

During our warm up around the neighborhoods the skies dump water on us. The lightning was still off in the distance, though one strike seemed terribly close. Fortunately it was still in the upper 60s so we were comfortable in shorts and a light jacket. Upon returning to the track we ran one loop to see about the footing and opted to man up.

Splits:
78.8 (35), 78.8 (42), 79.8 (37), 77.8 (60),
78.2 (36), 78.2 (42), 76.0 (38), 75.8 (42),
76.3 (39), 76.3 (58), 74.8 (41), 71.8 for 23:15 total and 4.75 miles.

Irv led all of the odd splits and I took the even ones. The rain stopped by the third interval and the storm seemed to have passed. The lightning still illuminated the sky off in the far distance as the worse part had been avoided. I fell into a groove clicking off 5:00 to 5:08 pace for most of the intervals. It was fun being the only ones on the track as the rest of Irv's crew chickened out. He was already drafting the email in his head making fun of those wimps who didn't brave the weather. I'm pleased with the effort and glad the achilles held up.

Tyler's Night Workout

Time: 60:32
Distance: ~8 miles

W/u: 18:40 for ~2 miles
Target: Help Tyler with his 8 x 400m workout
W/o: 8 x 400m w/ Tyler, 200m fast, 200m recovery
C/d: 19:26 for ~2 miles

Mr. Wichmann hit me up this morning wondering if I wanted to run a workout on the track. We planned to jog over to the AG and cut some shapes in the dark. It was good seeing other people out there as well and while the track was dark, it wasn't impossible to see or judge pace. He was going to run 8 x 400m in about 90 seconds or faster with about equal rest. I decided that to get a better workout, his rest would be my second lap of split 200s where I would run hard/easy.

Splits:
86.48, 32.12, (54.99),
86.00, 32.07, (51.94),
85.50, 32.88, (51.36),
85.81, 31.95, (50.62),
85.43, 32.65, (51.61),
83.69, 32.62, (50.06),
85.45, 31.74, (48.62),
81.56, 31.27, (50.36) for 22:26 total and 4 miles

I think both Tyler and I would agree the workout went well. The 400s were kept nice and even for him to pace off of me and then I followed with a hard 200m. Nothing too crazy fast, but just a long stride with a brisk recovery to pickup Tyler again. It was good having the responsibility of keeping the second lap (Tyler's rest) quick because had I slipped up, it would have effectively ruined his effort. I had to remain on point as ultimately this was his workout. We had a nice easy cool down back to the house and called it a night.

Test the Body at JCSU

Time: 69:04
Distance: 10.11 miles

W/u: 24:37 for 3.25 miles
W/o: 3 x mile (2:25 first 800, 2:15 second 800) w/ 4 mins rest. 4 x 400 in 62-65 w/ 1 min rest.
C/d: 20:02 for 2.11 miles

Today I was going to be traveling with Carol Amrani who works for Balega. My scheduling meant I had to either fit in a workout prior to visiting stores or after the day was done. I voted for driving over to Caitlin's where I was to check up on her cat Cicero, warm up over to JCSU, run my workout, cool down back to Caitlin's, shower and be on the road to meet up at Fleet Feet Huntersville by 11:00 am. It's all about time management.

I had a nice easy warm up through Uptown and got to point at all the bankers rushing off to work. They were dressed in their business attire, strolled along with their shined shoes and chatted on business Blackberries. In contrast, I was in my split cut shorts, carried my water bottle and racing flats while trying not to sweat on them at stop lights. I don't take my schedule for granted one bit, it's one of the perks of my job.

I was good and warm by the time I hit the track. The objective of the workout was to change gears after 800m of the mile repeats (really 1600m repeats). I wanted to feel relaxed as possible through 800m and then quicken the stride for a couple of minutes to hit a goal split of 4:40. Things went well.

Splits:
Mile #1 - 4:41.72 (2:25, 2:16),
(4:00 rest); jogged 400m and waited

Mile #2 - 4:40.85 (2:26, 2:14),
(3:59 rest); jogged 400m and waited

Mile 3 - 4:42.65 (2:27, 2:15),
(4:00 rest); jogged 400m and waited

400s - 65.38 (60), 66.40 (61), 65.50 (61), 63.91 for 4 miles total and ~18:25 running time.

The workout was exhausting. I had to remain focused the whole time and couldn't let my mind or body wander from the task at hand. It was relatively enjoyable being able to change gears mid-interval. After the first two repeats I was struggling but knew I could make it the first 800m on the final mile effort. It was just a matter of keeping it together for the final two laps. I hung on to finish a little slow, but still respectable. Considering the temps and humidity have returned I think the miles went well. The 400s were another story.

I struggled to turn the legs over at the prescribed paces. I wanted to run 64-65 but I was about a second off for the first three. On top of that some lady just wouldn't get out of lane one despite the fact that I had passed her repeatedly. After the final interval I was spent. I gasped for air and think it was the hardest workout I've done in a few months. I'm not sure if it was designed to be so tough, but it was. You can see how tired I was from the pace of my cool down. I essentially walked back through Uptown to Caitlin's house. This time the bankers were probably pointing and laughing at me.

Cutting Shapes at UNCC

Time: ~64:45
Distance: 9.46 miles

W/u: 24:09 for 3.11 miles
W/o: 16 x 400. First set: 8 x 400 in 71-72 w/ 30 sec. rest; (3 min. between) Second set: 8 x 400 in 66-67 w/ 1 min. rest
C/d: 19:10 for 2.10 miles

This morning I had some stuff to drop off at a bike shop across the street from UNCC, but I also needed to put in a workout. I decided that I would try using the track for my session of cutting shapes. It look to be a tough workout on paper but I was mentally prepared for it. I knew the first set was designed to tire out the legs while the second set was the heart of the effort. It turned out really well.

Splits:
71.98 (31), 70.60 (30), 72.17 (31), 69.40 (31);
70.88 (30), 70.68 (31), 70.05 (31), 70.72

(3:00)

67.31 (60), 65.02 (61), 66.90 (61), 67.08 (60);
66.27 (61), 66.43 (61), 68.43 (60), 61.82

When I arrived to the track, two former/current UNCC athletes were getting started to run some mile repeats. The one guy still in school specialized in the 800 so his splits weren't too taxing for the summer schedule. I asked for permission to use the track and they were all for it. They even liked my Karhu racing flats.

The first set had a comfortable pace with limited rest. I had just enough time to finish the repeat, turn around, catch a deep breath and start running again. I felt good, but not great. In between sets I took a lap recovery and drank water to rehydrate. I toweled off quickly before starting set two.

The second set was much tougher because the wind started to swirl on the backstretch. I stopped looking at my 200m splits and was just running hard. It was good to close the final 400m a bit quicker with something still in the tank. My second to last interval was soft because I yelled at the UNCC athletes to take one of my cards and didn't get off the line very well.

Overall, a good solid track session. I think I can run more relaxed, but for being solo I'll take it.

Cutting Shapes

Time: ~50:10
Distance: 8 miles

W/u: 23:46 for 3.02 miles
W/o: 4 sets of 4 x 400 w/ 1 min rest and 3 min rest between sets
C/d: 8:24 for 1.00 miles

The plan for the morning was to complete a workout. I looked back over my training schedule and chose a workout that I was scheduled to do when I opted to race the mile and one of the Summer Series meets. It was 16 x 400, but broken up into sets of 4 taking a minute rest between intervals and four minutes between sets. I figured that it would be easier to run a lot of short, fast intervals than mile repeats or a tempo run.

I didn't actually start the workout until a little after 11:00 am which meant the temps were already in the low 90s. Part of the reason for the late start was the fact that I had to clear the track at Myers Park HS. I was able to sneak into the track that is guarded closer than Fort Knox. Once inside the barbed wire (not kidding), I found the maintenance crew had left grass clippings three inches thick in lanes 1 to 4. Even sections of lane 5 were covered in grass, but I did my best to clear the fifth lane of the field.

It's quite disappointing to see a great public high school's track go to waste. The facility is tucked away on top of a hill surrounded by trees and protected from wind. The surface of the track looks like it's from the early 90's when I think it was last resurfaced in 2001? The worst part is how carefully it's protected. It's not like the school's administration is trying to keep the track in pristine condition because that time has long passed. There really is no need to keep runners and walkers off the track in its current state. Maybe if people were actually allowed to use it like they do the AG, then a fundraiser with a strong following would be possible to fix the thing.

Anyway, on to the actual workout. My idea was to run the first set in 69s, the second in 68s, third in 67s and final in 66s.

Splits:
Set #1 - 70.96 (60), 69.96 (60), 69.85 (60), 69.32 (3:00)
Set #2 - 68.27 (60), 67.90 (60), 69.38 (60), 66.33 (3:00)
Set #3 - 68.35 (60), 64.85 (61), 66.89 (61), 66.03 (3:00)
Set #4 - 66.67 (60), 66.30 (60), 64.93 (61), 59.40

I slipped into spikes for the final two sets. Somehow I only managed a 68 on the first interval with spikes. Usually I'd drop a 63 due to the aggressive spike plate and lighter weight. It took a couple intervals to get back into a rhythm. Overall, I'd say this workout went well and was in control. I was pleased to close in sub-60 and really only pressed the final 150m.

Pre-Race at UNC Chapel Hill

Time: ~46:50
Distance: ~6.83 miles

W/u: 16:26 for 2.06 miles
W/o: Pre-race of 2 x mile in 4:45, 2 x 400 in 65
C/d: 17:52 for 2.02 miles

Today took us from the shores of Virginia Beach to Greenville, NC. The drive was mostly on back roads and side highways because the GPS device likes taking me on the "scenic route" for whatever reason. I arrived in Greenville a few minutes early for my scheduled meeting with a woman who is opening the first specialty store in town. There is an Omega Sports, but nothing else that is solely focused on running and triathlons. It was a successful day for Craft, Balega, Orthaheel and Fuel Belt.

Next up was a some casual visits to bike stores in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. I also gave a quick hydration clinic to a group of runners at Fleet Feet Carrboro. When all the work stuff was done, Meagan and I headed over to the UNC track where I had to put in a pre-race workout. I'm gearing up to run fast at this weekend's GPx race so the workout was intended to get the legs rolling without too much strain.

I started the workout with a few 200m strides. The first one felt terrible and I actually ran slower than the goal pace for the mile. It was incredibly humid and I was poorly hydrated. Despite giving advice on how to stay properly hydrated moments earlier, I was essentially drained of all fluids except coffee.

Splits:
36.81 (1:41), 33.86 (2:01),
4:46.08 (4:46), 4:41.95 (3:31),
64.53 (2:31), 63.84 for 27:18 total time and 3.50 miles

The first mile was rough the final 150m. I felt tight and heavy coming down the homestretch. I want to hit the mile in 4:45 this weekend and I just struggled to run that fresh tonight. The second mile felt much better as I focused on maintaining pace and form throughout. The 400s were easy enough.

After a quick cool down, Meagan and I were off to eat our snacks from Weaver Street Market.

Runnin' with the Flights

Time: ~64 mins
Distance: 8.81 miles

W/u: 22:47 for 3.16 miles
W/o: 14 x 400 in 67 w/ 1 min rest, hammer #11
C/d: 23:24 for 2.90 miles

After Let Me Run got out I headed over to Caitlin's to start the warm up to the JCSU track. She was doing some 300s while I was scheduled to cut shapes. The last time I did some shape cutting was back in the marathon build up and it was snowing. The pace for today's effort wasn't too bad and I only had 14 of them. On February 12th, I did 25 x 400 w/ 1 min rest averaging 68.31 and last year in August I did 12 x 400 w/ 1 min rest averaging 64.15 on AG's track. The second workout was before I knew the track was a little short.

I took a good amount of time warming up properly this afternoon. I did some drills, very light stretching, and an easy stride on the grass. I also got back to doing a couple of 200s before the workout at pace.

Splits:
32.72, (81), 32.87, (4:00). Switched into flats.
67.32, (60), 65.95, (61), 66.75, (59), 66.53, (59), 66.57, (60), 66.07, (60), 66.70, (60),
66.78, (60), 66.12, (61), 67.xx, (60), 62.00, (61), 68.85, (61), 67.70, (60), 64.84 for 35:01 total and ~3.75 miles. Average 66.37.

I'll take it. I was happy to just be able to lace up the flats and hit the times. The soreness is slowly leaving the legs and I was still able to complete the workout hitting all the times. I was thankful to have Caitlin's little track group out there as they jumped in with me on number nine over the last 200m. I also had them jump in my hammer interval on number 11. I didn't let them pass me on that one.

In a few weeks I'll be averaging 64-65. That is, if it's not 80 degrees and humid.

Cutting Shapes in the Snow

Time: ~64:22 (actual run time)
Distance: ~10.85 miles (actual run distance)

W/u: 23:14 for 3.11 miles
W/o: 25 x 400 in 66-69 w/ 1 min recovery
C/d: 12:10 for 1.51 miles

Let's get things rolling. I promised to update this bad boy and didn't. Usually I update starting with the oldest run first, but not tonight. I'm going to hit things from the most recent to oldest. Not sure if you will want to read all of the runs, but here it goes.

This afternoon I drove my new Jetta VW Sportwagon TDI, (yup, new owner of a family friendly vehicle, more on that yesterday which comes later) to Providence Day School. I had an important workout to complete before the snow started. Thoughts on this workout were good, but it's a long one that requires a lot of focus.

I warmed up to the Boyce parking lot bathroom of McAlpine and then returned to the high school campus. The legs were feeling good at this point which I usually don't like. I, for some reason, have good workouts when the legs feel bad on the warm up and bad workouts when they feel good. It was chilly this afternoon and I was layered in some Craft gear when I hit the track to change into some flats.

I mentally broke the workout into 5 sections of 5 reps. Basically, I told myself to run a mile and then one extra 400m interval. That was step one, now just repeat 5 times.

Splits:
72.24, (61), 69.37, (60), 67.77, (59), 67.80, (59), 68.95, (60);
68.97, (59), 68.88, (59), 68.86, (69), 67.95, (60), 68.40, (61);
68.64, (59), 67.93, (59), 68.28, (61), 68.71, (60), 67.45, (61);
68.58, (60), 68.14, (60), 68.41, (60), 67.52, (60), 67.88, (60);
68.56, (60), 67.50, (61), 69.00, (60), 66.65, (60), 65.35 for 52:58 total time and roughly 7.5 miles. Average of 68.31.

Check out those first two splits. I thought this was going to be a bad one. After all, my legs felt good on the warm up. Luckily, I was able to dial in the splits that I needed to run by the third interval. I remained smooth and relaxed throughout. In fact, I think if I had someone working out with me, I could have averaged low 67s. The pace never felt all that quick and the rest seemed like an eternity compared to the 800 workout I ran last week.

I had to think that this workout wasn't going to be all that bad. I had 30 more seconds rest, was running half the distance and only had to run 3-4 seconds faster than what I was splitting through the 400 mark. I had the confidence need to run this workout strong and am pleased with the splits.

It started snowing around interval number 12. A light flurry began and it continued to get more serious as the workout progressed. It was fun to see the snow begin to accumulate on the grass while the track remained relatively snowless. That certainly isn't the case anymore by the looks of the parking lot outside.

The Mini covered in snow next to the TDI Sportwagon. Meagan wants to call him Felix.

The Kid is Back

Time: ~65 mins
Distance: 10.13 miles

W/u: 22:33 for 3.00 miles
W/o: 25 x 400 on a 2:00 interval
C/d: 17:09 for 1.88 miles

I needed redemption after last week's 400 workout. I opted out of a workout yesterday because I thought an extra day of rest would do the calves good. The Queens team was running there fabled 25 x 400 meter workout on a 2 minute interval this afternoon and I thought that I would tag along. The 2 minute interval makes things interesting because the fast you run, the more rest you get. For instance, run 65 seconds, get 55 seconds rest.

We used a section of McAlpine just off the main path because it ends with a slight uphill on the way out. I wasn't looking to impress anyone today with my foot speed so I opted out of "hammering" some of the later intervals with some of the guys. My goal was to stay consistent and relaxed as possible. The group of guys broke up nicely to where I was running with Oscar, Nelson, Simon and Futsum for the majority of the workout. Devin was lurking just behind, but made his presence felt during the hammers and late in the workout.

The intervals started out quicker than they usually do based on the guys' reactions after the first 3. I hit splits of:
67.54 (50.90), 63.49 (58.28), 65.18 (54.64), 63.51 (56.37), 64.95 (55.35),
63.57 (55.90), 64.98 (55.05), 64.27 (56.03), 65.45 (54.30), 63.66 (56.32),
65.82 (53.93), 64.57 (55.20), 66.36 (54.32), 64.02 (56.13), 66.22 (53.93),
64.75 (55.45), 65.77 (53.90), 65.10 (55.41), 66.39 (52.65), 66.53 (54.87),
66.28 (52.90), 67.05 (53.00), 67.82 (51.43), 65.24 (54.58), 64.01 for 49:03 and 6.65 miles.
Avg = 65.30 sec.
Avg rest = 54.62 sec.

The workout is incredibly long and took a lot of focus. After each interval I found myself walking a little bit to shake out the legs and hoping that by 30 sec. I felt recovered enough to start running again. The countdown for the 2 min. interval would come pretty quickly and the group would jump off the line and get back at it. I'm pretty sure this is the most 400s I have ever run, surpassing the 20 I did earlier this summer. I'm not convinced the section of trail we were running was a complete 400 meters and would guess that it was 380-385, but this is not a complete science and the work we put it was solid.

Cutting Shapes

Time: 69:09
Distance: 9.46 miles

W/u: 22:11 for 3.14 miles
W/o: 12 x 400 in 62 with 2:00 rest
C/d: 15:58 for 1.97 miles

This afternoon I warmed up to the Alexander Graham Middle School just off Runnymeade. Jailhouse wrote my training for the next few weeks taking me through the trip to Japan. Word on the street is that I might get to run one of the relay legs so the focus is still on running fast at 5k. I need to be able to run 68s comfortably and the purpose of this workout was to hit 62s with lots of rest. It didn't go as planned.

Splits:
63.78 (1:52), 65.18 (1:53), 63.21 (1:57), 64.23 (1:56), 65.58 (1:57),
Stopped jogging 400m and dropped the rest to 90 seconds.
65.03 (1:32), 64.78 (1:29), 63.72 (1:30), 67.26 (1:30), 64.93 (1:32), 65.38 (1:32), 64.67 for 31:40 total.
Avg = 64.81 sec
Avg rest = 91.82 sec

Not sure what happened out there. I felt great on the warm up. Very relaxed. Good arm carry. I didn't think this was going to be an easy workout but I knew with all the rest the pace wouldn't feel taxing.

I used lane two for the entirety of the workout and ran the first 10 where I had the wind in my face the final 80-120 meters. Since the wind was on the backstretch I tried to take advantage of it as much as possible. It felt easy going through 200m in 30-31 on the handfull where I looked. However, the last 80 of almost every interval felt terrible. I'm not sure if it was because of the wind or lack of power but my pace slowed considerably and my form crumbled. On the split that I hit 67, I thought that I should relax the first 200 and try to attack the final straight. You can see how that worked out.

I'm perplexed as to why this workout went south. Maybe I'm still a little sick, have run too much this week, ran too late in the day?

Gaining Confidence

Time: 52:26
Distance: 8.18 miles

W/u: 23:09 for 3.10
W/o: 2 x mile in 4:35, 2 x 400 in 60-61 with full recovery
C/d: 16:54 for 2.08 miles

I met up with Tanya and we drove over to Johnson C. Smith University for our pre-race workouts. She was meeting up with Pezz, who is also running CVS, to do 2 x 800, 2 x 400. Since Jailhouse is such the slave driver he had me run double the distance at the start. The goal is to run as relaxed as possible and today's weather was quite humid, so I was hoping not to blow up early.

I started with a couple of 200s in trainers because I wanted to feel especially light when I slipped on the flats. Splits:

33.73 (1:18), 32.83 (7:37),
4:34.25 (6:00), 4:34.93 (4:32),
60.83 (3:42), 59.76

The workout ended up going really well. I felt fairly relaxed clicking off 68s during the miles despite the humidity. I was drenched with sweat once the workout was over and just hope that the weather in Providence isn't so damp. I think that I'll be able to go out in 4:35 to 4:40 this weekend and feel comfortable doing so. The race starts with a big downhill so it will be a balancing act of getting out hard without going to the well before 2.5 miles.

I have a little bit of tendinitis in my left knee that I can only feel when I press on it. John Gregorek would say, "don't press on it then."

Cutting Shapes with Special Needs

Time: ~47 minutes
Distance: 7.65 miles

W/u: 22:07 for 3.05 miles
W/o: 12 x 400 in 64-66 with 1 min rest
C/d: 12:30 for 1.55 miles

I had a workout for this morning planned after a little retooling of the training program. Jailhouse scheduled me to cut shapes in a workout that I tanked last week. The venue for this workout was new and along Runnymede at Myers Park Middle School. Their track looks nice but is just ever-so-slightly coated with rubber. Thus, the track is hard and relatively fast, if not short by 5 meters. The common finish line was 5 meters beyond the lane 1 400m start, but since I was starting and ending at the 200m line I paid little attention to this minor detail.

My splits were:
65.26 (60), 63.47 (61), 63.55 (61), 64.42 (61), 64.37 (61), 63.80 (61), 64.60 (61), 64.82 (61), 64.67 (62), 61.27 (62), 65.97 (61), 63.60 for 24:02 total and 64.15 average.

This was a much better effort than last week's late night workout. I felt fresh and light on my feet. I also averaged over 2 seconds faster per interval. Today I didn't feel all that snappy but I can tell there is more in the tank. After number 8 I felt my form was starting to break down after 250m. I had to concentrate on the hammer interval (number 10), but I felt relaxed and fluid dropping a 61.27 in there. The following interval wasn't so hot but I finished on a good note.

Around interval 9 a special needs class came out to walk the track. At first I didn't realize who was in the class as some of the boys seemed to really enjoy running, but then I was able to observe a little more during my rest. I'm thankful that I wasn't asked to leave as I had a good session going. I apologized after my hammer interval and told the teachers that I was only going to be out here for two more. They didn't seem to mind that I was using the track which is something I will note.

Who would have thought that Dathan Ritzenhein would break Bob Kennedy's American 5k record today? Anna Willard breaking 4:00 in the 1500? Good stuff. That track in Zurich must have been as short as the one at Myers Park MS today.

Cutting Shapes by the Light of Stars

Time: ~75 minutes
Distance: 10.62 miles

W/u: 22:03 for 3.00 miles
W/o: 12 x 400m in 62-64 with 1 min rest
Barefoot C/d: 14:01 for 1.62 miles
C/d II: 23:18 for 3.03 miles

I'm lucky to have even gotten this workout in so I'm not going to complain. My plan was to take the bus to Main St. and walk over to the Norman High track arriving around 7:45 to start my warm up. Well, that went out the window when the bus didn't show. I decided to stash my gear behind a dumpster and have Scotty pick it up before meeting me at the track around 9:15. He was working at the liquor store until 9:00 and was wanting to put in a few miles. Problem solved.

My warm up started from the car wash with my spikes in hand. I ran to the Norman High track which was almost exactly 3 miles. By this point it was almost 8:15 pm and the sun was on it's way down. I didn't have much of a chance to stride out or stretch because I just wanted to get started with the workout before it was completely black.

Once the spikes were laced I jogged into the first interval and felt amazing. Having the spikes on felt great. I was light, powerful, fluid and the interval felt effortless. I knew that this was going to be an awesome workout, but then I saw the split... 71.point. WTF?! No wonder it felt so easy. After a minute rest I started the second interval which felt like I was sprinting. See the shapes below...

Splits: 71.16 (60), 64.56 (60), 64.15 (60), 66.08 (60), 65.32 (61), 65.90 (60), 66.67 (61), 66.56 (61), 67.86 (61), 64.53 (61), 68.70 (63), 64.86 for 24:26 total and 66.36 average

I'm not thrilled with this effort but considering that I ran 6 miles this morning, worked all day, it was hot/humid and at night, I will take it. The legs never felt great turning it over, but I was able to recover quickly. A few weeks ago I cut shapes in the morning, but I was wearing flats and did 20 of them.

Scotty showed up a little after 9:30 which had me a bit worried but we were able to throw another 3 miles on to the day.

A Pre-Race Effort

Time: ~54:40
Distance: 8.35 miles

W/u: 23:39 for 3.01 miles
W/o: 2 x mile, 2 x 400 at 10k pace and 60-62
C/d: 19:06 for 2.34 miles

Meagan would call this workout a "pre-race" as it preps you for the race ahead. I got out the door a little late this morning which meant that the temps were approaching the upper 70's. The humidity wasn't helping my cause either so the actual intervals were a bit more difficult than I expected. I hit splits of:

4:58.96 (4:00), 4:55.85 (4:02), 60.02 (4:01), 58.45

Overall, I wasn't expecting a dip under 5:00 mins to feel so tough. I could tell that I wasn't cooling off effectively. That being said, I felt solid on the quarters. My stride was going in the right direction as all my energy was channeled to moving me forward.

Mile Repeats

Time: ~74:38
Distance: 12.41

W/u: 22:58 for 3.01 miles
W/o: 6 x mile in 5:05, 5:00, 4:55, 4:50, 4:45, 4:40? w/ 200m (2 min) recovery
C/d: 20:23 for 2.40 miles

I was in contact with Carrot Top yesterday as he was wondering what I was doing for this week's workouts. There was a big one planned that I figured he could be a part of and so he joined me at the Norman High track this morning. Jailhouse wrote the workout starting at 5:05 and dropping to 4:45, problem is that would only be 5 intervals. I figured I could start at 5:10 or be a badass and finish with 4:40. Carrot Top decided that his workout was going to be the first and last 400m of my mile (1600) repeat.

Splits:
5:03.84 (2:02), 4:59.58 (2:00), 4:53.50 (1:57), 4:51.63 (2:30)
Decided at this point that the wind and heat were too much and I needed to change the workout. I was feeling great for the first 4 repeats and then 800 meters in to number five I felt awful. Finished the session with 2 x 800 and 4 x 400.

Splits:
2:25.80 (1:57), 2:23.38 (1:57), 71.52 (1:28), 69.12 (1:20), 68.32 (1:19), 65.37 for 45:46 total.

I was able to save the workout by running some shorter distance intervals at the end. It seemed that my stride was falling apart about 300 meters into the 400s for some reason. The heat and wind wasn't helping but I was glad to get in the effort. Carrot Top helped out big time on a few of those mile repeats as I was able to just tuck into his slipstream for a lap here and there.

20 x Cut Shape

Time: ~78:00
Distance: ~11 miles

W/u: 20:38 for 2.68 miles
W/o: 20 x 400 in 65-66 (w/ 1 min jog recovery)
C/d: 17:11 for 2.06 miles (first mile barefoot)

Today's workout was rather interesting as I approached it with a bit of excitement. I love being on the track and running 400s is a natural part of the sport. Taking it back to SAT days, the 400 is to running as free throws are to basketball. I didn't get a great night's sleep before heading out the door which isn't a big problem because I usually sleep poorly before a big workout. However, I slept bad due to the heat of my apartment and not the anticipation of the track session. That could have been sign number one.

The jog over to the track with Scotty was uneventful. I ran a few strides before changing shoes to the Lunar Racers. I hit splits of:
66.59 (59), 68.31 (59), 66.12 (59), 69.89 (59),
67.36 (61), 66.07 (60), 67.08 (60), 68.14 (59),
68.19 (58), 67.51 (60), 70.33 (57), 70.18 (50),
69.11 (68), 70.20 (68), 69.55 (67), 65.20 (65),
67.56 (60), 70.81 (59), 67.00 (62), 64.32 for 41:52 total

This was rough. I knew after the first interval that I was going to struggle. I never felt relaxed running 66s and the 200m recovery was a bit much in the minute. I jogged for only 4 intervals and then I started taking a standing/walking rest for intervals 5-11. Once I was off the prescribed pace I got a little frustrated and my mind wandered. Scotty was out there cutting shapes in 70-71 so I joined him for intervals 12-17. I hammered my 16th in 65 which was decent since I made my move in the final 200 meters, but bad because it was back at the prescribed pace. Scotty hammered his 16th so I was able to run another sub-68.

After 17 I almost called the workout but I figured I could wrap up three more 400s. I got a little help from Scotty on the final two along the backstretch which was windy. The help brought the pace back to an honest level.

As I look at the splits now, I guess it wasn't awful, just not great. While running the workout I was flustered at not being able to hit what I thought was a reasonable workout. The last time I cut shapes was in early April during my lead up to the marathon. I averaged 68.20 for 16 intervals then and 67.98 for 20 intervals today. A slight improvement.

Cutting Shapes for the Tracksters

Time: ~60:30
Distance: ~9 miles
W/u: 24:23 for ~3 miles
W/o: 16 x 400 in 68-70 secs. with 1 min. rest. Hammer #'s 12 and 15.
C/d: 18:04 for ~2 miles

Scotty and I both got off work around 3 pm and he was at OK Runner a few minutes later to pick me up. We headed over to the Norman High track for our respective workouts. He was doing something a bit more at tempo effort while I was going to cut some shapes. On the drive over I check to see when the last time I did some serious shape cutting. The most recent time was in October of 2008 where I ran 6 x 400 with some 200s. I also found that I kinda did 16 x 400 a little over a year ago.

Scotty and I warmed up to the GT for a few 800m loops and then ran back to the track. The high schoolers were just finishing and the middle schoolers had just arrived. Coach Scott Minard is trying to produce some decent talent in Norman with a middle school program and I respect the fact that roughly 80 kids were in attendance. They were doing drills but mainly flirting. I could understand why, who wants to run in 80 degree weather? I do. The hot was awesome.

I laced up the LunarRacers and got to work. Splits were: 68.81 (59), 70.11 (60), 68.75 (59), 69.75 (60), 69.13 (60), 68.88 (61), 69.20 (60), 68.86 (60), 68.63 (60), 69.07 (61), 68.70 (60), 63.13 (60), 69.13 (60), 68.82 (60), 62.71 (59), 67.5.

I love workouts. Especially when they go well. I don't like standing/walking around for a minute checking the watch every 12 seconds though. I would much rather have the workout be 16 x 400 with 200m jog to keep some sort of rhythm throughout. I really liked the hammer intervals. This was the first time I have incorporated them into my training. Jeff wanted them on numbers 12 and 15 so that's why the splits in bold are so much faster. The pace felt rather comfortable and I knew that if I could run solid for the first 250m the last 150m wouldn't be so bad as the wind was going to be a help. Overall, I felt this was a big step in the right direction. The legs were feeling good to have the bit of turnover thrown in with those hammer intervals.

Lastly, I was also greatly impressed with the level of respect the middle schoolers showed during the workout. I ran into a lanky girl once but other than that the students were relatively aware of my presence and made every effort to get out of the way. I'll also say that in comparison to middle school tracksters, high school football players (male adolescents) are a bunch of fatasses. The Norman High football team was having a spring practice out there today and I couldn't believe how soft some of the guys looked. The middle schoolers in comparison were clearly much smaller and generally looked much fitter. This could be for various reasons like puberty, football vs. track (runner) athletes, or possibly the lack of a recess at the high school level. All I know, is that I saw the chubbiest, flabbiest, mushiest group of Under Armour wearing football players I've ever seen.

Cutting Shapes

Time: 42:23
Distance: 5.5 miles

This morning I ran over to the OU track to cut a few shapes. I wasn't completely set on the workout that I was going to run but I knew that I needed to put in 6-8 400s around 72 second pace. The warm-up to the track took 14:24.

Target: 6-8 x 400m in 72 with 200m jog.
Splits: 71.54, (60), 71.83, (62), 69.32, (64), 69.42, (2:30).
After the 4th interval I jogged 200m, rested for another 90 seconds and then picked up the pace.
67.01, (30), 66.83, (25), 32.68, (20), 32.77.

I used the two faster 400s to see if I could respond to shorter rest without completely locking up. I finished with a couple 200s because I needed to really cut down the rest to roughly the same about of time it is going to take to drink a sno-cone. This could be rough.

C/d back to the Lodge in 13:02.

GT Shape Cutting

Time: 83:08
Distance: 12+ miles

Meagan, Scotty D and I started at the OU track this morning with the GT as our destination. It wasn't too warm nor too windy. We jogged our way out to the track nice and easy in 21:38. After a little stretching and contemplating what Scotty and I were going to do, we got to work. Meagan was instructed to run 8 x 800 in ~3:00 after adjusting for the slower surface and wind, so Dizzle and I decided to cut a shape while she jogged for 400m.

Target: pace Meagan's 800 in ~3:00, launch into a 400m ~75 secs.
Splits: 3:03, 74.4, (67), 2:49, 76.5, (58), 3:02, 74.2, (65), 2:58, 73.8, (68), 3:00, 73.0, (70), 3:02, 71.7, (68), 2:59, 71.5, (71), 2:57, 68.7 for 41:28 total.

Good workout all around. Legs responded nicely. The GT wasn't running particularly fast today, but the wind wasn't too bad. I don't think it had been cut in probably 10+ days and the split marks were difficult to spot, but we made it work. Scotty and I goofed after our first 400 which made the second paced 800 a little fast as we tried to catch Meagan. Other than that the workout went smoothly. After the 400m we would loop back and then pace the 800, so the time between the end of the hard interval and the 800m is listed in (). Scotty ran tough on those 400s which I could respect. It was a little difficult finding the right stride on the terrain. It had been quite some time since I'd been out to the GT.

On the way home we ran through Andrew's Park and spotted a mini-water park that we used to our advantage. We had no shame mingling with the 6 and 7 y/o kids that were having a great time. Although my feet were terribly soaked on the remainder of the 20:02 c/d it was well worth it. Once we got back, I did something that I usually never do and that is stretch. Hopefully it helps my right hip loosen up a bit so I can continue this reckless training cycle.