11/11 quality

Today we did 3x 2k at critical velocity pace. I ran the first one, and felt ok. My back has been really tight in the morning...but that may just be mental. I feel like I'm looking for something to go wrong before the race. I spent a few minutes talking to Steve after the first rep...so I missed running with the train on the next two repeats. The next repeat was about 10 seconds fast and I didn't start my watch on the third one. I loosened up and felt fine. I just need to block out all of the other craziness that is going on and really focus on the race!

pluses: productive at work

minuses: another paper coming up

11/10 easy run

I ran about 4 miles today just to make sure my legs still worked. My goal was to get in a least one run on the retreat over the weekend, but that didn't really happen. The good news is my legs felt fine when I ran today. I want to run just a little bit each day so my legs don't start to feel too heavy. I'm ready to race.

pluses: retreat went well and is over...get to focus on marathon

minuses: packing and organizing isn't fun

11/7 long run (not really long anymore!)

Today was the last "long run" before the marathon. I went around 12 miles from Barton Springs, around the lake, and back. It was a really nice and easy run. I went with my friend Tim. We had great conversation, great weather...couldn't have asked for a better run. I think it was nice that this felt so easy. It was a good reminder that I really may be ready for the race next weekend!

pluses: trip to Red Bud Isle with Brian, Mason, and Bailey

minuses: ate way too much tonight

11/6 tempo

Today was a 2 mile warm up, 4 mile tempo, and about a mile cool down. The tempo was a little tricky because the ground was slippery. I felt like I was having to give a bit more effort than usual. I would guess I was around 6:35 pace. It did take a bit of time to loosen up but all in all I felt fine. I took yesterday off because I was pretty much busy all day with getting ready for things for the retreat. I'm looking forward to the weekend being over so I can really focus on the race. Obviously it's in the back of my mind all of the time...but I can't really make it a focus right now.

pluses: first thursday happy hour and shower with work friends

minuses: still a lot to do for the retreat

11/4 20 x 200m

Today we ran over to the east side track to do 20 200m repeats with a 100m diagonal recovery jog. My legs felt really good. We were supposed to be going 5k pace but I did each of mine more like a build/stride. I love running fast. So on a workout like this, it feels great to open up my stride and just run. I felt comfortable the whole time and was glad that my legs felt much stronger than yesterday.

pluses: new blinds at the house

minuses: have to listen to the class i missed last week, and go to class too

11/3 easy run

Today was my first day back running after my two slacker days over the weekend. I thought about going for an easy jog on Saturday or Sunday, but just never got around to it. I was in the middle of the hill country hunting...and that seemed more enjoyable than running :) I think it was smart to take the two days off though. After last week my body was feeling pretty beat up. The race is still 13 days away, but I did not like the direction things were heading. I was feeling worse than I had in awhile, but I think taking the weekend off was a huge help. I felt fine on my run today. I took my usual 5 mile loop through my neighborhood. My legs were a little lethargic but that was kind of expected. I didn't have any aches and pains, so that is a good sign. I'm looking forward to the upcoming week of running...which means the break was worth it!!

pluses: time to hang out w/ Brian today

minuses: lots of little details to take care of in the next three weeks

10/31 long run

I met up with a friday long run group today to run 16-18 miles, closing at mgp. I think we ended up closer to 16, but I was ok with that. We ran from Jack and Adams to the 10 mile loop on the trail, but then cut off under the scary tunnel by the dam and ran that back part of the trail. Mandy's GPS had us at about 15 when we parted ways. Angie and I were supposed to close the last 6 miles, but it probably ended up being closer to 4.

I was pretty worn out today from the workout yesterday. The closing part actually didn't feel bad, it just felt like the rest of the run was really dragging on slowly. Good company and conversation, but really heavy legs. I went for a massage at 11am and that was probably a smart choice. My left calf muscle was pretty knotted up...and having that worked on was a less than pleasant experience. I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow but I'm hoping my legs start to feel like they're ready to race within the next 16 days!

pluses: going to Mason today to go hunting

minuses: not enough sleep this week