6 - Briefer update

Mon 7/24 - Rest
Tue 7/25 - Plan - 3 mi, did 4.5 instead on treadmill.
Wed 7/26 - Speedwork - 12 laps at 10K pace- did the 3 miles in 7:44 pace, or 23:12. This was slower than my 10K pace from Sunday even though the mileage was less. Not sure what's going on, since the heat isn't too bad. Met some new folks (Mark and Sarah) from TNT.
Thu 7/27 - plan: 4 miles. Actual: Did 2 miles in 15:12 (slow) followed by 1.2 miles (that were probably even slower). My hip joints and flexors hurt and I am out of breath for some reason. Overtraining?
Fri 7/28 - plan: rest. Actual: rest!
Sat 7/29 - long run, possibly. Will be hot so I may drive to the lake before sunrise and do the run then. (Have to be back home by 7 am or so.) Actual: No run! Too hot..
Sun 7/30 - some kind of cross? I have some down time this Sunday so maybe I'll set up the "weight room". No cross done, was going to swim a bit in the heat, but this fell through. Will have to do long run on Monday instead (2 days late).

5 - Brief update (busy week)

Mon 7/17 - Rest...
Tue 7/18 - 3 mi, did 4.5
Wed 7/19 - Speed work with marathon team, then stuck around and did some speed work with triathlon team. About 5 miles total.
Thu 7/20 - Did 4.5 miles on treadmill
Fri 7/21 - rest
Sat 7/22 - Ran 2 fast miles in the evening (13:51). Not a good idea before race day!
Sun 7/23 - Ran a 10K in Oak Brook, time 47:44, or 7:41 mile pace. I had trouble on this course. I started a bit slow (8:41 pace) and then tried to catch up the rest of the race. It was a bit demoralizing to see a little 12 year old girl pass me at mile 2 - but it turns out she was doing the 5K so I didn't feel so bad. The course was hillier than I expected, and the weather was a bit warm. I finished 30th out of 99 runners, but only 13th in my age group (so 13 of the top 30 were in my age group!) Finishing in my goal time of 45:00 would only have moved me up a couple of places. There were goodies afterward - Jamba Juice (who gave me some gift cards to help in my fundraising efforts - thanks!) and others. Stuck around for some prize drawings, got 2 gift certificates to a spa that I will also auction or raffle off. Back to my time on this one - it's hard to believe that an extra 2K would slow me down that much..my 8K shuffle was done at a 7:30 pace. But this was a flat course and I probably was not as heavy then as I am now. Will have to run another 10K soon to have more basis for comparison.

4 - Rededication

I've decided to do the midweek training to help with speed. Tried last week but couldn't participate due to logistical issues. Here's how week 4 is shaping up:

Mon 7/10 - rest. no problem.
Tue 7/11 - 3 mi, did 3.5
Wed 7/12 - 4 mi , did 5, in speed work. 1 mi warmup, 8 times 400m fast,400m slow
Thu 7/13 - 3 mi, did none
Fri 7/14 - rest, did 4 miles
Sat 7/15 - long run? no, too hot
Sun 7/16 - Did long run in severe heat. 9 miles that took about an hour and 45 min

Running in the heat is no fun, but at least the people watching at the lakefront kept it interesting.

3 - How do you do this again?

No, I haven't broken my leg or got writer's block. Just been too busy to write. Trying to get back on the Higdon schedule and stick with the long runs for each Saturday. Week 3 is complete. Here are the results.

Mon 7/3 - Rest? Yes!
Tue 7/4 - 3m? No. More rest..
Wed 7/5 - 4 miles as planned
Thu 7/6 - 4.5 miles rather than planned 3 miles
Fri 7/7 - rest
Sat 7/8 - Busy in the evening and running late, so ran 2 miles rather than the "long" run of 5. 14:04 was the total, I think.
Sun 7/9 - No cross training.

Not the best week, will have to step it up if I'm going to pretend I'm serious.