What a week!

10/10-10/16

Mon: AM - 4 miles @ 8:09/mile - wore vibrams; on treadmill w/ 1% incline, 7.4 speed; easy run
PM - 6.24 @ 8:02/mile w/ 142 avg heart rate - easy run on hilly route

Tue: 8.25 miles - 2.75 mile warmup, 2 mile cooldown, 3.5 mile tempo in 21:27 (6:08/mile)

Wed: AM - 3.8 miles @ 8:15/mile - easy run on hilly route by office
PM - 5.25 miles @ 8:04/mile w/ 138 avg heart rate - easy run

Thu: 8.5 miles @ 6:58/mile w/ 157 avg heart rate - goal of run was 6 miles at 85% of 10K pace

Fri: 5.63 miles @ 7:50/mile w/ 139 avg heart rate - easy run at sub 8-minute pace

Sat: 12.5 miles @ 7:46/mile w/ 154 avg heart rate

Sun: 3 miles @ 8:44/mile - unplanned regeneration run with no regards as to pace

Weekly Totals: 9 runs, 57.17 miles

Thoughts:

Tuesday's tempo run was a welcome change.  The last couple months I had been running tempos about every other week, but I had not experienced much improvement in terms of pace.  I had noticed increased endurance, but not improved pace.  I knew I had lost come of the top end speed I used to have, and it is possible it hasn't returned because I have not focused on that aspect of training.

Thursday's workout was maybe the best I have had in a long time.  I wanted to get in 6 miles at sub 7-minute per mile pace.  I wanted to get into a rythmn and just go with it.  After taking the first two miles to get into the run and warmup, I dropped down to pace.  It felt tough getting down to that pace, but once I was there, I felt really strong.  I decided to extend the run a little and did 6.5 below 7-minute pace.  I could have kept going, but I was pleased and had achieved the point of the workout, hanging right around 6:50/mile for those 6.5 miles.

The remainder of the week I accomplished what I set out to do, which was take it easy and get in 50+ miles for the 2nd week in a row.  Throughout the week, I felt like my health was improving, almost to the point where it was a non-factor.  I'm not quite ready to say that yet as I have some lingering lower left leg tightness.  I continue to focus on keeping my stride uniform and using the proper muscles for the act of running.  I do not expect this to happen overnight, but I do expect continued improvement.  I am religiuosly foam rolling and performing the stretches provided by my physical therapist.

My running continues to progress, with the last 2-3 weeks being the breakthrough I have been hoping for for months, if not years!  I will continue to stay vigilant in my actions to "get normal".

I think I finally may have found a race that works within my schedule.  The Eerie Erie 10K is in the morning of Saturday, 10/29.  This would be a good measuring stick to see where I stand as I hopefully progress towards beginning an actual training program for a specific goal race.  That is a big question mark for me right now because I am not comfortable identifying specific paces for workouts.  Getting back on the starting line will be exciting.