The Next Level?

Monday, May 11
a.m. 44 min Road
6.5M (6.5)

p.m. 65 min Road + 6xHill Sprints
10.1M (16.6)

Tuesday, May 12
a.m. 33:30 Road
5.0M (21.6)

p.m. 8x1k, 2 min rec, 3mi wu/3mi cd
3:00.2, 3:02.7, 3:01.9, 3:00.3,
3:01.6, 3:01.1, 2:56.9, 2:50.7 (2:59.4 avg)
11.0M (32.6)

Wednesday, May 13
a.m. 45 min Road
6.5M (39.1)

p.m. 67 min Road + 6xstrides
10.0M (49.1)

Thursday, May 14
a.m. 42 min Road
6.1M (55.2)

p.m. 66:30 Road
10.0M (65.2)

Friday, May 15
a.m. 3x3M, 800m rec, 2.5 wu/cd
15:32.9 (5:09.4, 5:13.0, 5:10.5)
15:29.4 (5:11.0, 5:10.4, 5:08.0)
15:17.2 (5:07.0, 5:07.4, 5:02.8)
14.0 (79.2)

Saturday, May 16
a.m. 70 min Road
10.3M (89.5)

Sunday, May 17
a.m. 2:25, 10M @MP +60sec, 10M @MP, 4M @MP +60 sec
10M: 64:00
10M: 55:47, 5:34.7 avg (5:38.5, 5:30.7, 5:34.5, 5:36.6, 5:35.0, 5:34.7, 5:38.7, 5:34.0, 5:27.8, 5:36.5)
4M: 25:19
24M (113.5)

Total Miles Week: 113.5
Total Miles Year: 1543.9

I'm still scratching my head about Sunday's workout. I averaged 2 seconds per mile slower than I did a couple weeks ago and felt a little worse. I was a little surprised, although maybe I shouldn't have been, after the way the two mid-week workouts went, that 5:30 pace didn't feel easier (or possible for that matter).

The extenuating circumstances would be the wind, as I did this workout from the start line on Grandmas Marathon course and ran into what I thought was a substantial headwind for the whole workout. Weather.com reports said it was only 7-10mph, but it felt stronger to me. So was it my legs or the wind or both, I don't know. I wish I would have been able to gain a little more confidence from this workout, but I'll have to settle with a hard effort.

In retrospect, 5:32-5:34 pace for a marathon puts me right around my PR, so it seems naive to expect more, but once I start to feel good in training I get greedy. Energy levels fluctuate from workout to workout, week to week, so finishing Tuesday's workout with a 2:50 1k doesn't mean a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. One repeat. One workout. One day. The good news is that I'm remaining consistent and things are trending faster. If I come back with a strong workout this week and race well at Brian Kraft a week from today, Sunday's workout will blend in with it all.