Sean's Running Blog

A very early 3:20am start this morning and 16 miles. A pretty nice morning. Didn't see a single car until the 1-hour mark. It was the paperboy.

8 more this afternoon under beautiful sunny skies. It was almost warm...~53 degrees.

Well...today's workout I had been dreading for a week. I knew they were mile repeats but I didn't know what pace my coach would put me at.

3x1M @4:48-4:50 (72s) w/2:30 rest. Hard. But to make it worse, I couldn't make it to the indoor track tonight to run with the group so I had to do it on my own in the 36 degree sunshine this morning.

If I had been asked to wager money on whether I could have hit the times by myself, I probably would have bet $100 against it happening.

I was down in Auburn for a meeting in the morning so I found the nearest track I could (Kent-Meridian HS) and ran there. The frost from overnight had burned off and the sunshine was bright but the temp was not exactly warm. Fortunately, the breeze was light.

4-mile warmup around the track and then rolled right into the first mile. As always, the first lap was too fast: 70 seconds. As usual, I overcorrected on the second hitting 73. Finshed the first mile in 4:48. I was happy not only because I hit the lower end of the time range, but because I wasn't completely wasted. One very slow lap around the track and a drink of water was what the 2:30 rest got me and I was off for #2. Finished that one in 4:47 and was tired but knew that a final mile in 4:50 was not crazy.

Another very short 2:30 of active rest and mile 3 was underway. First 200 was in 35 seconds...way too fast but I corrected and finished the first lap in 72. Second lap was the hardest of all. One of the challenges of running speed workouts by yourself is that it takes total and constant concentration. There's no one else there to keep you on pace and focused. Lap 2 was evidence of that. It was a 74 putting me two seconds behind with two laps to go. All I wanted to do on lap 3 was make up one of those seconds and not do anything crazy. Lap three was in 71 so I got one of the seconds back. The first 200m of the last lap was in 35. Not sure how I did that because at this point, I was wasted. The final 200 was all about gutting it out which I managed to do finishing in 4:49.

I was very happy with another solid workout. It would have been a challenging one even indoors and with other guys. This was a real confidence booster because now I know I can do it by myself if I need. to.

What is crazy to think about though is the pace I ran my 3x1M intervals at today is the pace the best marathoners run their marathons at. Absolutely insane.

Six mile this morning under clear skies and 39 degrees. Another 10 this afternoon under mostly sunny skies. It was supposed to be 60 degrees again today, which is why I saved the bulk of my run until the afternoon, but 49 is all we've managed so far.

36 degrees and clear skies this morning at 5:15am. Cool but beautiful morning for a run. Slowly but surely the sun is creeping up earlier and earlier.

It felt like it took forever to get moving this morning. First few miles were slower than 7:00 pace but i finally got going halfway through. Today's run marked the retirement of my first pair of Brooks Infinity shoes. They have served me well. Not sure which new pair I will break out tomorrow. The Trance 8s or another pair of Infinitys. Also retired another pair of ST3 racers this week.

A more typical winter weather day this morning with temps in the low 40s and drizzle. It actually felt kind of nice. Decided to go with the Trance 8s as my new pair of shoes. Not sure I like them as much as the Infinity.

Great workout today. I waited as long as I could for the weather to warmup. It was 40 degrees when I got started under beautiful blue skies. Four mile warmup before hitting the track for a 3x1.5M interval workout. My coach told me to do a slow:fast:slow @ 7:31:7:27:7:31 with ~4 minutes rest between each repeat.

Hit the first repeat in 7:23 (4:55 pace). Oops. I knew after the first lap I was going to be fast but I felt fine so I kept pushing. Second repeat I commited to taking a bit slower. Hit it in 7:28 which was still fast but slower still. During my two laps of rest I was thinking about doing an extra repeat but wanted to see how the third one went first. Third one felt good all the way through although the last 800m I could begin to feel the muscles burn a bit. But hit 7:24 nonetheless.

I was pretty spent so I didn't commit to a fourth repeat until the second rest lap. There's a lot of mind games that go into these workouts and I was determined to prove to myself that not only could I do these alone but that I could go farther and faster than the workout proscribed.

By the fourth repeat, the wind had gone from calm to 10mph. Didn't prove to be all that big of a deal but it was noticeable. I finished the fourth repeat in 7:28. I was very pleased. There wasn't a single mile that wasn't under 5:00.

I also learned to really love the 1.5M repeat and I think it's is my favorite. I like it because it breaks up into vey manageable chunks which is important for me when I'm working out, esepcially alone. At the 800 mark you have a mile to go. After three laps you are halfway done. At four laps, you have one mile down and just a half to go. These frequent check-in points are helpful.

Grest finish to another strong and long week.