M'kay

6.5 miles in 54:10, 8:20/mi, HR 135.

Today was a slog.  Poor sleep last night after attending a 40th B-day party for acquaintances that had me up 3 hours past my normal bedtime.  Plus, I'm just flat out beat up from last two hard workouts.  Not difficult at all to keep pace easy....I'm amazed it was as fast as it was because it certainly felt like 15 minute miles.  Now I've got to muster the energy to go mow the grass and perform other homestead chores...

Asics GT 2120 - 305.65 miles.

8 miles in 1:00:50, 7:36/mi, HR 149.

Legs felt tired heading uphill the first 4 miles.  ~10 mph headwind didn't help, but it did help later on the downhill when it all felt pretty easy for a decent average pace.

Brooks Adrenaline (Yellow) - 543.43 miles.

14 miles in 1:40:37, 7:11/mi, HR 158. 

A moderate easy run where I pushed the pace on the downhills and towards the end a bit more than normal.  Last 1/2 mile was fast to the finish.

Adrenaline 8 - 177.89 miles.

9 miles in 1:07:59, 7:33/mi, HR 151.

Legs tired and a bit sore.  Kept the effort easy and focused on taking nice full strides.  When I run other than easy runs I find my legs tire easily with a fuller stride so I need to work on that.  As a result, the pace was a bit higher but the effort was about the same (except for my poor tired legs). 

Asics GT 2120 - 314.65 miles.

14 miles in 1:39:50, 7:07/mi, HR 160, including 6 miles easy in 45:19, 7:33/mi, HR 150, then 8 miles @ MP in 54:31, 6:49/mi, HR 168. 

First six miles at easy pace, last 8 at GMP.  Decided on running a 2 mile stretch of road that gains or loses (depending on the direction) about 100' per mile to see if this was more doable than the recent GMP runs where I essentially ran similar elevation profiles but longer continuous climbs/descents.  Figured this would mimic the more rolling nature of the marathon course.  My legs were tired from the core workout yesterday and the running recently, but my sleep was a bit better last night.  Weather got a bit warm in the GMP section...could feel the heat coming off the asphalt.

Mile splits were 6:52, 6:39, 6:41, 6:59, 7:04, 6:35, 6:40, 6:58, with the uphill miles slower than the downhill.  The paired segments were 1/2, 3/4, 5/6, & 7/8, so the average pace over the uphill/downhill pairs was 6:45.5, 6:50, 6:49.5, 6:49.  Aside from an aggressive first mile, pretty steady throughout and more importantly felt better throughout.  Still don't know if I can hold 6:50 to get my sub-3 goal in a couple of weeks, but this makes me feel like I should be in the ballpark.

Brooks Adrenaline (Yellow) - 557.43 miles.

6.5 in 49:30, 7:37/mi, HR 150.

What brilliant network exec decided to move Lost to 10pm?  Even if I'm disciplined and decide not to stay up to watch it (which I managed last week), my wife does and I often wind up awake anyway.  Oh well.

Tired legs again today.  I can feel that they've gotten stronger over the past few weeks or so, but they're tired and need some time to recoup.  After tomorrow's long run I go into my 2 week taper so they ought start feeling better soon. 

Adrenaline 8 - 184.39 miles.

18 miles in 2:11:15, 7:17/mi, HR 156.

Finally, a run where I felt nearly great.  After waking up to some aches and pains, they magically disappeared when I started out and my legs wanted to go.  I let my body set the pace, keeping it easy, but noticed right off that it was on the fast side of easy.  Figured I might pay on the second loop of my normal uphill/downhill circuit, but just went with the flow.  Did feel just okay in some middle parts, and got a tickle in my throat at around 12 that nearly forced me to a walk with a cough, but otherwise just fantastic.  1st half in 2:06:02 (7:20/mi), 2nd half in 2:05:13 (7:13/mi).

Asics GT 2120 - 332.65 miles.