Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 39:49
Pace: 9:56 min/mi

Comments: Instead of doing a pair of back-to-back runs this week I decided to take a day off after the long run/fast run combo. The new plan is a three-in-a-row effort which means easing back a bit for the first and last one.

So I left myself pretty open starting out today, I wanted to get into my pace before committing to a target. After a mile I felt pretty good about shooting for the 10 min/mi effort. With a headwind on the way out, I figured I could make it up without going overboard on the second half.

And it worked out that way. I did let myself stride a bit on the last half mile but nothing close to an all-out effort to finish under the wire or anything.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 35:15
Pace: 8:48 min/mi

Comments: The idea was to segue right into another week with one rest day during the week and one on the weekend. So, with a regular run the day after a long run, it would seem to behoove one to make it a recovery effort. Of course I blast out a speed workout.

The 8:48 min/mi pace was my fastest in the last six weeks. But I really wasn't planning on doing that. I warmed up pretty quickly and realized I had the wind at my back. So I got a good first two miles in and just tried to keep the pace up as best I could on the back half facing the headwind. It just worked out better than I expected.

Long Run

Distance: 10 miles
Time: 1:39:02
Pace: 9:54 min/mi

Comments: I decided that 10 miles would be good for this week's long run. It's a good baseline distance I should be able to do regularly without beating my legs up too bad. Under ideal conditions, anyway.

Today wasn't ideal conditions. It was damn chilly this morning -- dropped back into the 30s -- but the wind that has been blowing for almost a week refuses to let up. I had a 20+ mph headwind the whole first half of this run and it was absolutely miserable.

Obviously, I had that pushing me on the second half but my legs were pretty worn down at that point. Still, I finished it in under 100 minutes which was my goal.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:40
Pace: 9:39 min/mi

Comments: I didn't get out until late in the afternoon knowing full well it was a mistake and, sometimes, it sucks to be right. It was uncomfortably warm -- verging on actual "hot" -- and unpleasantly humid. Add to that wind gusts even more powerful than yesterday and it was all kinds of unpleasant.

So the run was pretty much a slog the whole way but particularly the second half since it was all into the wind again. I knew my pace was going to suffer but this was pretty much an acclimation run for the upcoming hot weather. In that regard, I can't complain about the effort.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 36:54
Pace: 9:13 min/mi

Comments: I knew the wind would be a delight today and so it was. The temperature was fine, the humidity was fine, the elevation nonexistent so the second half slowdown was all North Texas wind. I'm conservatively putting down 10 mph gusts but the ole NWS says they were some twice that out there at that time.

Anyhow, my legs felt pretty good and, despite the wind, I felt pretty strong the whole way on this one. I'm on the second two-days-in-a-row efforts this week so we'll see how I recover for tomorrow's effort. Wind expect for that one too.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 36:15
Pace: 9:03 min/mi

Comments: Given my slack performance last week, I am gonna take a stab at doubling up workouts this week and see how my legs respond. Yesterday's run went reasonably well and the weather cooperated again today. So out the door we go.

I put in another four miler on the river path and felt pretty strong the whole way. My only real goal was to get negative splits and I not only accomplished that, each mile was a few seconds faster than the prior. The overall spread from the first to last mile was less than 20 seconds so my consistency was better as well.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 37:10
Pace: 9:17 min/mi

Comments: So my weekend turned into a complete wash. I didn't feel well and definitely didn't feel like running when the temperatures decided to dip and kiss freezing once again. Instead I laid low and tried to recover from whatever laid me low. I just scratched on the long run.

I'll try and start back normal this week. I went back out to the river in order to run on a level course rather than throw hills in the mix. Overall I felt pretty good with the effort even though it wasn't anything spectacular. My pace was respectable although my splits were a little all over the place in comparison with my recent runs.

Fitness Run

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 49:31
Pace: 9:54 min/mi

Comments: Due to schedule constraints, I ended up doing the same run I did yesterday. It would probably have been wiser to do a shorter run with fewer hills but oh well. I needed the endurance work and at least it was cool out.

I didn't feel particularly perky for this run. It was a bit of a slog to get started and the first hill at the midway point made it clear the elevation was not going to be pleasant. The final mile was a chore to complete and my time was nothing spectacular. The best part of this run is it is over.

Fitness Run

Distance: 5 miles
Time: 48:33
Pace: 9:42 min/mi

Comments: For some reason, when I started on this run, I felt like I had been off my feet for a week. Not necessarily in a bad way, it's just felt like ages since my last run even though it was on Monday.

I went for the hill fun today. I figured I might as well after doing the sprint to the finish last run. As one might expect, my performance suffered significantly on the second, uphill portion of this effort.

Still, I didn't feel completely blasted by the run, just challenged. So, hopefully, I'm getting a bit more stamina than I've shown in my past two races.

Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time:36:19
Pace: 9:04 min/mi

Comments: Busy with a ton of kitchen projects today and didn't know if I would be able to get out the door for the run. Turns out I was able to make an escape in the late afternoon, which worked because it was decidedly chilly today.

No big plan for the run today other than the mileage. I was feeling pretty sluggish getting started but warmed up pretty good. Since the temperature was as good as I'm likely to see until October, at the halfway point I decided to try and get negative splits and upped things a bit. On the last mile I really tried to push the pace to ideal race conditions. Overall the effort felt pretty good.