Chugging along

Monday, September 1: 9:30 AM - Hill Workout w/ OCC
20 min w/u, 16 x 350m Hills @ 62-65 sec (Avg=63.4) w/ 2.5-3min jog rest, 20 min c/d
Tuesday, September 2: 7:30 AM - 10 Miles, 63 min
5:00 PM - 5 Miles, 34 min
Wednesday, September 3: 1:30 PM - Tempo Workout w/ OCC
18 min w/u, 2 x 20 min Tempo @ about 5:15 pace (3.75 Mi), 10 min rest, 18 min c/d
Thursday, September 4: 8:00 AM - 10 Miles, 68 min
Friday, September 5: 8:00 AM - 10 Miles, 69 min
Saturday, September 6: 8:00 AM - ~12 Miles, 86 min (Hilliest run of my life)
Sunday, September 7: 7:30 AM - 10 Miles, 69 min

Week Total = 83 Miles, 8 Runs

More of the same stuff. Since starting up workouts last week, I felt like I've needed some more recovery, so I haven't been doing many doubles, in fact I only did one this week, leaving my mileage a little lower. I've felt pretty good the last few days so I'll probably bump it back up this week and then just back off a few days before CVS later next week.

The workouts went well this week and I felt better than I did after last weeks workouts. Monday's hills were pretty much the same except a little more consistent on my part and therefore, more controlled on the last few, despite feeling generally run down early in the week.

Wednesday's tempo workout was definitely tougher, but I felt better than on the hills. We conducted this session by running around a mile long dirt loop which had each quarter mile marked off. I would have only checked the splits at the conclusion of each loop, but the OCC team had giant road-race-type clocks at each half mile point, so it was hard not to glance up when passing. Since I wasn't really sure what I'd be able to run for these, I was just hoping to key off my teammates and adjust accordingly based on how I felt. On both sets, Steve, Humberto, Jason, Sergio and I stayed relatively close, but strung out towards the end with Steve leading the charge. As usual with this group, we all went out too fast, and I knew it from the start. On the first one, I had mile splits in the ball park of 5:07, 10:23, 15:42. As you can see, I faded on each mile... but I still caught 3 out of the 4 guys that took off from me in the beginning. On the second one, I wanted to run a little more even (knowing that I had faded in the first one), but that didn't happen. From the start, I was left in the dust by the 4 guys I mentioned above. I knew it was too fast as I was barely staying within 20 meters of them in the first half mile as we passed the giant clock in about 2:25. Obviously, everyone faded as this was well beyond tempo pace for all of us. So once again, I had some very positive splits in the range of 5:01, 10:30, 15:59. It wasn't the way I was hoping to run that one, but considering the first mile, I didn't feel like I caved too badly and I rallied in the last 3/4 of a mile to finish at the same spot as the first one with only Steve left in front of me.

With no workout planned for Saturday, we again joined the OCC team for their long run at Irvine Park. It was a new run for Steve and I... and since we are always looking for new trails, we were eager to see what this one had to offer. After about 15 min of running, we weren't so eager anymore. It was a pretty interesting run, but I think both Steve and I would agree that we'd pass if anyone offered this one again. Within the first 2 miles of the run, we probably climbed about 800 ft to the top of the ridge and then just kept going up and down over these small mountains through the course of the run, varying from around 9 min pace on the uphills to about 5:30 pace on the downhills. The views were pretty incredible from this trail, but I think it would have been better to save this one for a long hike as opposed to a run.

Other than that, things are going pretty well. I've been keeping busy with various reading materials and activities. Early in the week, I attended a meeting in Burbank on Mona Vie with one of my high school friends, Vanessa Williamson. I learned a lot about this new fruity drink and the many health benefits it provides. I found it pretty interesting and have actually been using it daily since the meeting. Then today, Steve and I went into LA for a pool party that Vanessa was hosting and had the opportunity to expand our acquaintances in the area with many of her friends and teammates (including a great conversation with former National Champion Keri Hehn about the many faces of drugs in our sports - Swimming & Track). Lastly, I've also been looking into some job options in the area and might be deciding to start one up in the next couple of weeks, which should be interesting. I'll keep you posted.