Conditioning Work

This was the last workout of this month's "camp" and, as a result, it was pretty brutal. After a very thorough warm up effort the menu of the morning was a lot of high intensity conditioning work followed by a hard run. The conditioning part kept lengthening as the workout went on. It was not intended to be a pleasant experience.

I started in the hole and didn't make much progress from there. I woke up too early and overtired. I got out to the workout but could feel I was lagging and my right hamstring was not cooperating at all. I got through the warm up OK but on the first set of the "real" workout I could tell I was in trouble. I pushed it as hard as I could on the run but the hamstring was not happy. I battled through the second set and that was about as much as I was willing to push my luck with the leg.

To compensate for missing out on the run I made a real effort to get all the way through the conditioning drills and get some more core work while I was at it. I don't think I came even close to the goal of the workout but I definitely gave it about all I had on a not-so-great day.

Training Run

Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 34:33
Pace: 8:38

Comments: The workout yesterday took more out of me than I expected and I slept like a rock last night. I woke up a little bleary and as a result, I got out the door a bit late. The upside was catching a spectacular sunrise at its peak.

This run was pretty solid the whole way. It was definitely faster than anything I've done to date but that's far less important than holding a steady pace the whole way. My splits were 8:40, 8:36, 8:35 and 8:40. Hard to get that close even when you are trying. That's the strength I've been building finally showing up on the clock.

Conditions:
Hour: 6:15 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 74 degrees
Humidity: 78 percent
Wind: nada
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: My right hamstring felt a little wobbly at times.

Conditioning Work

Had a lot of anxiety about this workout for some reason. I guess it's because I was so worn out at the end of last week. It turned out to be fine but the feeling was odd. As usual, the humidity was more of my nemesis than the routines.

We did a decent amount of work slinging around sandbag weights which gave my obliques more work than they have had in years. That'll be a delightful soreness later. Also did some resistance running with elastic straps. Felt that in the hamstrings and quads.

Recovery Run

Distance: 4.0 miles
Time: 36:13
Pace: 9:02

Comments: Welp. I set 9:00 as the threshold pace for recovery runs and so I'm gonna stick with it. But in terms of exertion, this was just as tough a workout as the training run last week. It's formidably hot and humid out there again and that's taking a toll on my stamina.

Still, this was a solid effort. A slower first mile to warm up. Two miles right in the 9:00 pace range and a significantly faster final mile. I'm feeling more in control of the run but my form and focus are still kind of all over the place. But that will come later.

Conditions:
Hour: 6:00 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 79 degrees
Humidity: 75 percent
Wind: nada
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: nada.

Long Run

Distance: 8.0 miles
Time: 1:11:53
Pace: 8:59

Comments: I was hoping all I needed was a night's rest for my legs to recover but Saturday was pretty much the same as Friday. I took it easy most of the day and slept almost ten hours. I wasn't 100% this morning but I did feel a good bit better.

The weather was unusually cool but once you add the humidity and the sun things were decidedly challenging out on the pavement. I felt very good the first half of the run, decent the next quarter and struggling not to walk it in the last two miles. Still, I finished with a sub 9 min/mi pace which is good and bad.

Good in that my conditioning is clearly improving. Bad in that my stamina is still lacking. I also probably need to be doing my weekday runs at a slightly faster pace.

Conditions:
Hour: 7:40 a.m.
Surface: concrete
Weather: clear
Temperature: 68 degrees
Humidity: 88 percent
Wind: nada
Location: Lewisville, Texas
Shoes: Brooks Adrenaline GT 14

Injury update: nada.