Second Wind

Rest.

I finally cracked 20 minutes on a 5K!  What a dang tough race in the heat! 

I had a sub 20 goal in mind for today and was looking around for someone at the start who would be willing to pace me for the race.  I didn't have to look far, as a couple of my Ragnar teammates were looking to run at about that same pace.  The only problem was one of them was running the 10K but he is really fast and was looking to run a 40 minute 10K so the plan was to keep these two close.  I started off about 20 minutes before the race with a fairly easy 1 mile warm-up and also did a few quick strides in that mile to loosen things up.  I lined up behind a bunch of high school kids at the start and we were off, well sort of.  It seems some of the high school kids were a little over confident about their abilities so I found myself weaving through bodies for the first quarter mile.  Once we got out of the pack it was just me and one ragnar buddy and a few high school cross country kids out in front that we were never going to catch.  Our first half mile was pretty fast for this course as the first mile is very slightly up hill so we pulled it back just a little and our first mile came in about where I wanted it at 6:22.  By this time my second ragnar buddy had caught up to us and we were into a nice rythm, not feeling great, but surviving.  By some miracle I was able to hang on during the second mile and it came in right at 6:22 as well.  The third mile I really started to fall apart but so did one of my running partners.  We ended up dropping the first partner who was running the 5K but the 10K guy stuck with me and really kept me on pace.  He stayed with me until about a half mile to go when I decided it was time to put the pedal down and get the sub-20.    My Garmin pace during mile three read as high as 6:39 but ended up coming in at 6:31 thanks to the extra effort in the last half mile.  At the finish I had to warn a few of the 1 mile walkers that I was coming in and had to do a little weaving to get around them and at this point I knew I had it.  It was awesome to see the 19 still on the clock as I crossed the line.  The course was about 60-70 meters short according to Garmin but I think my time is still under 20 minutes even with the extra distance.  I think the only reason I ended up in first for the 5K is that many of the fast runners were running the 10K.  I'll take the first place finish even though it comes with no medals or prizes, a win is a win.  Sub 20 was my only goal for the day, the win only added a little icing to the cake.

Nice and easy 8 today.  I am still feeling a little bit of the fatigue and soreness from the 5K yesterday so I decided to really take it easy and just log some miles.  The first 3-4 miles were very slow and clunky but it was about that time that I started to get warmed up and feeling better.  The last 4 miles were at a little quicker pace but not by much.  Decided to add on the extra mile again today cause I had the time and surprisingly, by the end of the run, the legs actally felt pretty good.

Time:  1:07:25  8:26/mile

Picked up the pace a little bit today but was still feeling it a bit in the legs and lower back from the race on Monday.  I will probably keep it easy for the rest of this week in hopes that the legs will get past the fatigued feeling, by then it will be time to cut back a bit for Fontana next week.  Really noticed it is starting to get much lighter earlier in the day now.  This is my favorite time to run when it's not pitch black and not 85 degrees.  It's been a nice few days of running, hope it keeps up for a while.

Time:  58:11  8:19/mile

Carbon copy of yesterdays run except for the fact that I am really starting to feel much better.  I actaully considered adding on another mile today but didn't want to press my luck.  Yesterday I was just glad to log my 7 and be done.  The 5K left me a little more beat up than I would have liked but at least I can see some light today.  Actaully picked up the pace for each mile all the way to the end and felt good at the finish.  Like I said yesterday, I am going to keep the running easy from now until Fontana next week.  This includes me skipping our Ragnar training run up on Mt. Charleston this weekend.  I certainly don't need the killer hills a week before Fontana.  The morning temps continue to rise as the mercury was pushing 80 this morning with almost no wind to dry the sweat......ya it was a bit warm....

Time:  58:14  8:19/mile

SOS..SOS..SOS - I JUST GOT WORD FROM MY RAGNAR TEAM CAPTAIN THAT ONE OF OUR RUNNERS JUST BROKE HIS HAND AND WILL NOT BE RUNNING WITH US, WE NEED TO FIND ANOTHER RUNNER SOON.  IF ANYONE IS INTERESTED IN FILLING IN, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.  HE WAS SCHEDULED TO BE RUNNER NUMBER 1 BUT THAT MAY CHANGE IF WE MOVE PEOPLE AROUND.  ALSO, THIS IS A MALE TEAM , SORRY LADIES, I KNOW, JUST WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO ALL WEEKEND IS SIT IN A VAN WITH A BUNCH OF SWEATY GUYS.  THANK YOU.

Pretty much the same as yesterday only I did pick up the pace just a little bit, but not much.  Still on cruise control for the rest of this week and next.  Nice overcast morning but with a little humidity in the air.  Nothing too exciting, just the usual run and yoga.

Time:  57:04  8:09/mile

Not a great long run today, but not the worst either.  I just felt a bit worn down and ready for a rest.  I really struggled at times to maintain a descent pace.  I do think the miles for the last two weeks are starting to catch up with me.  It's a good thing that I will be cutting back this next week to give the body a much needed rest.  I started to feel a little pain on the outside of my left foot, but have been icing and taking it easy and it seems to be okay.  This is something I have had before and a little RICE always seems to cure it.  It's actually feeling much better this morning so I am not too concerned yet.

Time:  1:55:41  8:15/mile