Back to Work Wednesday

The schedule called for 6 miles total with a 4-mile tempo run so I figured I'd run the 1.8+ miles to the elementary school, do laps on the track and run home. It worked out pretty well and even had a little speed-racer intrigue thrown in.

I figured out or remembered the key mile points so I knew about how far I had to go to get the 4.0 miles in, and would you believe that I nailed the distance? After a 10:00 warmup, I did the tempo run in 32:48 (8:12 pace), then a walk/jog back home for the remainder. This wasn't as fast as I wanted - I was shooting for 8:00, but my Runner's World tempo run pace is 8:09. OK, I know I'm training for a marathon, but I'm used to 5K paces where seconds count.

When I got to the track, there was a young woman about five yards ahead of me and we were running about the same pace. I did one lap to finish the first mile, and kept back off her shoulder for the next 3 1/2 laps. On the last half, I turned it up a little, but she knew I was there and kept ahead of me, so I turned it up a little more. I didn't want to burn out, but I did want to pass her to finish the mile. She faded on the straightaway and I dusted her, but then went into a jog to cool back down, so she passed me and stayed about 20 yards ahead until she left. SO... do I look like a jerk for racing her, then slowing down? That's what I feel like. I'd make a bad triathlete - that sounds like two overtaking penalties in 100 yards...

Speaking of triathletes, some of my blog buddies are training for Ironman Coeur d'Alene on June 22. They're getting their last long race-simulation workouts in, and they'll be tapering soon. They'll want to eat everything in sight, and wonder why they can't just go out for a quick 15-mile tempo run, or an easy century. They will go crazy. I wish them all luck - surviving the taper, that is. Hug a triathlete today!

Easy Run Day

An easy 4.25 on the treadmill put me over 30 miles for the week. The new shoes are feeling just fine, and this run was a good stretch after yesterday's 10 miler.

It was fun to watch the Masters while I was running, cool to see Trevor Immelman win, and amazingly Tiger Woods finish alone in second place. Continuing with the weekend plan, I'm watching live finish line coverage of Ironman Arizona, watching out for Benny and Commodore, waiting for their sherpas and buddies to post updates. Have I admitted here that I read triathlete bloggers for inspiration? Once I started running regularly, it was Duane, the star of yesterday's Triathletes Are Awesome story, who helped inspire me to train for a marathon this year. Read about Duane's first triathlon here, and tell me you don't want to make yourself a better person.

Weekly total: 30.26 (that's better!), 42.06 April to date, 344.72 YTD. 25 weeks to Wineglass Marathon. Last year, I didn't reach 344 miles until an Adirondacks hike on September 15.

Long Run Day, Awesome Triathletes Story

Today's run was a good 10.3 mile loop in great weather, with my trusty new two-bottle belt. The bottles' sloshing was more tolerable than my first run with the belt because of the wind - I barely heard the sloshing at all. My times were really great, too:

• 8.7 mile split time: 1:24:44 (9:44 pace)
• last 1.6 miles: 12:14 (7:39 pace - nice!!)
• overall: 1:36:58 (9:25 pace)

I am beginning to think that there is no way I can run an entire workout at "easy" pace - I have to run it in at the end, so that's how today's run ended. There's some truth-in-training here - I guess that combining tempo with long runs teaches you to run fast when you are fatigued. The key is to do it in training so you learn just how fast and how long you can go. I know I can go fast, and I can go long, now the key is to start combining them - that's called racing, I think...

Today's Triathletes Are Awesome story is brought to you by Commodore and Stronger (private), who put their heads together to raise money in a "secret fundraiser" to get Duane a new bike. Just go read about it and tell me you aren't touched at least a little. If so, your heart is made of empty darkness.