Everything Counts

9.5 miles easy.

AM: 6.5 miles easy.

PM: 5.5 miles easy.

AM: 8.75 miles easy.

PM: 4.5 miles easy. Very hot. Very humid here in Ohio. Legs still don't have bounce in them since Saturdays race. I'm hoping they'll feel well enough for a workout tomorrow but not that may not happen.

6.25 miles easy in South Weber.  I got home late last night from my work trip and it was a tough week of running in Ohio! Good to be home.  I've felt pretty sore, fatigued, and tired all week from the half last weekend.  Add to that the two-hour time change (running at 3:00 am MST) and the hottest, most humid week they've had all year back there and it turned out to just be a flat week.

I planned on hitting 85 miles this week, but there's no way that was going to happen.  Every morning (and afternoon) that I left the hotel to run, I always turned back earlier than planned soaked, tired, and with no energy.  Yesterday's Aerobic Builder was a disgrace.  So, I gave in and decided this would be an easy/recovery week. 

Tomorrow's race could be either really bad if I still feel like blah.  Or it could be really good with all the 7:30+ paced miles I've trudged through this week.  I guess we'll see tomorrow.

On the positive side, my weigh in this morning was really good.  Usually after work trips (or any trip) I come home up on weight for a few days, but it was down this time.  So, the nutrition changes are helping.

DRAPER DAYS 5K

Pretty good race for me this morning.  I feel like I'm gaining some of my lost fitness back. Spencer was awesome enough to pick up race packets for Ben and me and let us stay at his place last night.  Thanks Spence!  It was nice not having to wake up early and drive down.

My goal for the race was to run hard and really get after it.  I really didn't know what to expect.  I felt pretty horrible all week, so I figured it could be as good as 15:00 or as bad as 15:30.  But I wanted to go hard after 15:00.

The first mile we got out pretty decent but not quite as fast as I wanted.  I wanted 4:45-ish.  I took the lead about 0.6 miles in and tried to quicken the pace a bit, but still only came through in like 4:53 (on garmin; according to mile mark 4:48).  I was slightly in the lead but a good group was right there with me, about five of us I think.

In the second mile Jake threw in a surge and Josh, Tomy, and Teren went with him.  I fell back about two seconds or so.  But then I focused on getting my shoulders forward and caught right back up.  At the turn Josh and I were side by side leading with me on the outside.  We came up to a turn where there had been some construction and there was a temporary stop sign about five feet away from the curb.  Apparently Josh thought we had to round that so he turned very wide and with me being on his shoulder I didn't really have a choice but to turn even wider.  Meanwhile Teren and Jake took the inside of the stop sign and gained a few feet on us.  I was kind of annoyed at Josh, but oh well.  I don't blame Teren or Jake at all, that's the same path I would have taken had Josh not been in my way.  So, now I was in like 4th just like that and I never caught back up to Teren, he and Josh pulled away from me a bit right before mile 2 and Jake fell back just a tad.  Mile two was 4:43.

Mile three has some decent uphill and I was just trying to bear down and run hard to the finish, knowing that Jake was breathing down my neck.  I couldn't make up ground  on Josh and Teren though either.  Mile three was 4:58 and then 4:34 pace for the last tenth.  Finish time of 15:04. 

I'm happy with this.  It's the best flat 5k I've run since college.  I had fun cooling down and hanging out with everyone afterward (Spencer, Ben, Scott, Jake, and Bryant - who was kind enough to handicap himself by running 10 miles in 60 minutes before the race!)