Run Buffs Run!

Today was an easy run, and I felt really good. I wish I could have done yesterdays run today. I don't really know exact pacing (no watch) but I would guess I was around 6:20's by the end. Tommorrow is mile repeats, and I am scheduled for 4:40's!!! Whew! That will be a good workout!

Today was the best workout of the season so far. Wetmore works us up to this workout throughout the season, building aerobic ability to the point at which these are manageable. I was assigned 4x1 mile repeats at 4:40 per mile with 400 meters of jogging between intervals. This seemed ridiculous at first since I haven't even ran a 4:40 mile before, but I trusted his judgement and tried not to think about it too much. He also handed us some bags of Endurox (which works really well by the way) before the workout (I am pretty sure he wanted to scare us with how hard the workout was going to be). We did a three mile warm up, some strides, then hit up the workout. The first mile was 4:40 flat and felt really easy. The second mile was 4:41 and again, did not feel too hard. The third mile hurt a bit more around 1,200 meters, but again we ran almost exactly 4:40. On the last repeat we went out pretty slow. We hit 71, 71, and 70 for the first three laps. On the last lap, however, we kicked into gear running a 67 finishing in 4:39. Yeahhh! That felt good to hear 4:30's at the end! This workout was tough, but definitely manageable. I thought that the 400's we did earlier this season were much tougher. I will take a bit of added distance to slow the pace a bit. They said that this workout is about equivalent to 14:30 for the 5k on the track at sea level. I guess we will see come track season! 

Easy miles before work today. Felt great!

Today was a "long" run at the grange. We ran about 6:20 pace and just cruised. It felt good to just relax.

Easy miles today from BRC with my old coach. It was good to catch up and talk about runnin'.

Today was a pretty easy workout consisting of 8x300 meters. We went out hard the first 150, then settled to race pace for the following 150. We took 30secs. rest then ran did 150 at mid-race pace, then closed the last 150. We did this progression four times. It was not too hard, but I am feeling a bit of cumulative fatigue so it did have a bit of hurt.

Today was a middle length run around South Boulder Creek. We were scheduled for 62 mins. at steady pace. I don't know exact length, but we were running about 6:15 pace. This run felt good.

Sad day; the team left for regionals in Ogden, UT today. Wetmore said next year I would be running all of the big meets, so that makes me excited. I am hoping our team does good at this meet (I think they will win if everyone runs well). Who knows, though. At that level it only takes a couple of guys having a bad day to put your team a ways back. I am curious as to how Brent is going to run. He took some time off with some shin problems, but seems to be recovered. If he is full strength, he will be very hard to beat (well I'm sure Lopez Lomong would beg to differ). Yeaaah...go CU!!!  

Since the team was gone, I did my workout alone today. I did 5x800 meters at "fun hard" (Wetmore's lingo). I did my warmup, hit some strides and got going. My splits were as follows: 2:13 (too fast), 2:15, 2:17, 2:16, 2:12 (haha a bit fast for the last one). On the last repeat I went 68 for the first lap, 64 for the last one (maybe I should have held back a bit more). These repeats were not too hard, and I felt like I could have done a bit more, but I wanted to stick to Wetmores plan. I did four miles for cooldown, then lifted weights at Dal Ward. Good workout overall!

Easy miles in south Boulder.

Although today was not too long, it definitely felt good. I cruised at decent pace the whole time and picked it up a bit at the end.

Easy run with the team up the Boulder Creek Canyon. Tommorrow will be some 500 repeats at race pace. I don't care about mileage this week. If I run 40 or 70 it doesn't matter, just as long as I am ready to roll in a week.

Today was a pretty easy workout designed to get us ready to finish strong and kick. We did 5x500 meter repeats simulating a race (out hard for the first 150, settle for 250 then kick for 100). We ran about 1:20 (a bit faster at the end) total for most repeats. The finishing kick became pretty intense when Wetmore told us to hit it harder. On the last repeat we hit mid/high 12's. After already running 400 hard, this was not cake. It's all about just gritting your teeth and making it happen...

New picture: Soooo close to the finish line at Pre-nationals. I barely edged out this Oklahoma State runner. You can see the intensity/hurt on my face haha! 

Easy ten today on the Mt. Sanitas loop. It was cold so I wore half tights.

Felt great!

Today I did 8x400 meter repeats to keep snappy. It was really windy this morning, so that definitely slowed me down a bit. I ran 64's and 65's for most of the repeats (I ran 67 once when the wind pretty much picked me up off the ground), so overall the workout was good.

Easy miles today. From now until Wednesday I am going to really ease up. I will throw some strides (maybe some 200's) in to stay sharp, but I am not going to run anything big. As Wetmore says, "the hay is in the barn"!

Today was an easy seven with 4x150 meter strides on grass.

Easy seven at 6:30 pace. I can't believe the race today :( I guess we just had an off day, that unfortunately happened to fall on NC's. I am curious as to what Wetmores take on the situation will be. I am sure he is far from thrilled. I want to see the full results before I begin to over-analyse, though. On a happier note, I am feeling pretty good for my turkey trot on Wednesday. Thats all I can control right now, so I am going to keep my head focused on that.

Easy miles with strides at the end.

Ok, the race was actually tommorrow. Bummer...I wanted to run sooo bad. Apparently college doesn't really teach you common sense haha. 

Finally, I ran my final race of the season! It was four miles, something that I am typically not used to (usually 5k or 8k). The field this year was pretty good. There were five people that run 20 mins. or below. It was sooooo cold (about 20 degrees), so that was no good. After "warming" up I headed to the starting line and did a few strides. The gun went off and away we went. We cruised steady through the mile at 5:05. It was down to five already, and I felt pretty comfortable. I really think that is the main difference in early season fitness vs. late season fitness. In the early season, races feel very uncomfortable. In late season, you are "comfortable" being uncomfortable (if that made any sense!). Anyhow, we kept on moving at some solid pace, maybe picking it up a little. At mile three I knew that it was the last mile of my season, so I hit it hard (I don't know what I ran b/c I didn't wear a watch). I had trouble seeing at the end and it felt like my contacts were frozen to my eyes. I just tried to forgot about, and finished in 19:48. Wetmore came out to watch me, too!!! That was awesome. Before the race he gave me advice and a "race plan" if you will. I felt honored to know that he came out to see me race! He said I ran what he though I would, and that I should be happy with my effort. Yesss! Well, now it is time for rest. I am taking two weeks off before indoor track starts. The second week I will probably do some cross training every other day or so. I am excited to start with a clean slate next season! Who knows what it will bring...