Easy + Weights

The schedule called for a 10k race. I did 6-ish easy miles instead. It wasn't quite as cold today, but still chilly. Then, it was off to the gym to do some weights before work. I'm trying to do better with the weight training. I should do no less than 2 days per week.

• 5.8 miles in 45:28, about 7:50 pace
• 10, 8, 8 unassisted chin-ups
• 3 x 15 bent rows, 100 lb. barbell
• 3 x 15 upright rows, 65 lb. barbell
• 3 x 25 back hyperextensions
• 3 x 15 side bends (for obliques)
• 3 x 15 oblique twists

And of course, some walking around the neighborhood with the kids Trick or Treating! Happy Halloween!

Tempo Run

At the dark, early, cold hour of 6 AM I met my good friend Matt for a tempo run today. We jogged to the 1.5 mile Athens High track and did 5 miles. Our goal was 5 miles in under 37 minutes. We flat out smashed that goal with a 35:56. What a great run!!! He says that I was pulling him. I say he was pushing me.

1. 7:21
2. 7:26
3. 6:56
4. 7:09
5. 7:02

By the time I jogged back home, I had put in about 9.2 miles for the day!! And it felt like just a couple. Running with a friend makes the miles easier!

Weights

Today was just an ordinary day off from running. I did weights this morning at the gym. I mixed it up a little bit and did barbells instead of dumbbells today. That's probably not good because of my lack of symmetry, but I just felt the need to mix it up a bit. It also helps me to realize how weak my upper body is! I need to work on that sometime, probably after the marathon.

• 3 x 15 bench press with 115 lbs.
  
• 3 x 15 military press with 75 lbs.
• 10, 8, 8 unassisted dips
• 2 x 20 leg raises
• 3 x 50 Swiss ball crunches
• 3 x 25 weighted crunches

Half Tempo

Today's (yesterday's, actually) schedule called for 2 x 4 mile @ 7:03 (tempo). I really wanted to get this one in. It was COLD! And dark! I started at about 5:50 or so and jogged over to the Athens High track. Then I took off my jacket (mistake!) and started my 4 miles at tempo.

The leg felt ok, but just ok. My left knee hurt, but I ignored it and refused to adjust my stride or gait to ease the pain. Then, the knee either quit hurting or went numb. I could still feel a little tightness in my left hamstring. I just pushed through it, wanting to do this VERY challenging workout. About 100 yards or so from the end of the 4 miles, my left hamstring tightened up with the familiar pain that I've felt there before. UGH! I was so close to 4 miles that I hobbled through, walk/limp/jog/hopping. I'm sure it was funny to watch. But I knew that I was nailing the pace. I wasn't going to stop! After the 4 miles, I walked home. Jogging was too painful.

1. 7:15
2. 6:59
3. 7:08
4. 7:02 (with the walk/limp/jog finish!)
   

That fourth mile was HARD!! I really wanted to try for another 4, but my leg just would not. Sigh. Weights and rest are planned for tomorrow and another tempo attempt is planned for Thursday (if the leg is ok). Even though speed is on the schedule, I'm trying tempo again.

This is a recovery week, so I won't feel too bad about missing some miles this week. I'm going to try to get well because I'm about to hit peak mileage for the training program. I need to be healthy for it.

Unfinished Workout

Today's schedule called for 2 x 4 miles @ tempo (7:03) pace.

I jogged over to the Athens High track as my warmup. It was pretty cold this morning, so I added 5 minutes to my warm up time and wore a jacket. I was feeling pretty warm after about 20 minutes and did some quick stretching. (Really, it was procrastinating because I knew how difficult the workout was going to be!)

Regular readers may remember a ding to my left knee that I got playing tennis. Again, I dove; I didn't fall. That's my story. Well, that just hasn't healed up yet. And the pain has affected my stride. I looked pretty ridiculous trying to run this morning. It was hurting pretty much through the whole warm up. It was cold, and I was favoring that left side. I almost wish I had a video so I could laugh, too.

When I started running near tempo pace, my hamstring tightened up just a bit. That's probably related to my stride being messed up because my knee hurts. So, I slowed down after a whopping 0.5 mile tempo run and Gallowalked the rest of the way around the track and back home. The total was about 5 miles.

Tomorrow's workout is 4 miles easy, so I'm gonna say I did tomorrow's workout today and then try for tempo tomorrow if the leg is ok.

Goals

I'm trying to figure out what my goals should be. I've been told to pick 3 goals.

1. A goal for the absolutely perfect race. Perfect conditions and some good luck thrown in
2. A second goal that is more reasonable but difficult
3. The third goal is one that I could live with, but anything worse is a disaster
   

I'm not going to tell (m)anyone what my ideal perfect lucky goal is. My second more reasonable goal is to finish. Period. Well, there's a 6 hour limit at the Rocket City Marathon, so 6 hours is my second goal. My third goal is to survive.

I was completely humbled on the 20 mile run! I tried to start slow. I really wanted no sub-8 miles early so that I could finish strong. I don't think the few early sub-8's made the difference. I was simply exhausted!

The good news is that I have 3 more runs >= 20 miles. Hopefully I learned something on this run and can do better on the next ones and be ready for race day.

20 miles!?!

I met my good friend Matt this morning for a nice 20 miler. I have a completely new respect for the marathon distance now. It is simply amazing what happened to my mind and body during that last 5 miles. I was warned, but I did not believe it. Now that I've experienced it, I know it's real.

Oh the hubris at 12 miles! "I feel GREAT! This is going to be easier than I thought!" That was simply pride before the fall! I will say that it was in some ways easier than last week's 18 miler because I had a partner. It's amazing how much more pleasant running is with a partner.

I don't really have splits. The whole 20 miles took 2:53 for a rough average of 8:37 per mile. My iPod / Nike+ started acting up again. (I need a Garmin Forerunner 305.) Most of the first 13 or 14 were near 8. Some below (as low as 7:40, maybe) and some above (one as high as 8:50, but most others sub 8:15). The last few were nearer to 9:30. And that seemed almost impossible to maintain.

It hurt. I wanted to stop. I finished. Now, I'm off for an ice bath.

And a big shout out to Matt for hanging in there with me. That last mile from your house to mine was MISERABLE!!! I needed a partner to keep me going at the end!

Thanks to my good friend Kevan Moore for mowing my lawn today! When I got home, he was on his way to my house to mow my lawn. He wouldn't be talked out of it! He says 20 miles deserves it. He's been cheering me on and encouraging me the whole way. I appreciate it bud! After painting at the church building today, I don't think I could have also mowed the lawn.

Off

I took today off for two reasons.

1. The schedule called for it
2. My hamstring problem from yesterday

My hamstring is MUCH better. I expect to do the long run this weekend. I'm even thinking about an easy run tomorrow. I'll see how the leg feels when I wake up.

Failed Tempo

Wow. Failed tempo is a recurring theme here. Last week it was the proverbial wall. Today, it was a recurrence of the hamstring problem I had back in week 2. Yet again, I was running too fast.

I was going to do 3 race pace miles and some cruise 800's before doing 3 miles at tempo pace. Somewhere during my second race pace mile, I saw my good friend Matt doing speed work. He was doing .25 mile repeats. I am tired of running alone, so I joined him. Man, he was NAILING those repeats and I was trying to keep up. We're talking 1:20-ish, some sub 1:20. I couldn't keep up for the first two, but then I was able to keep pace with him. On about the 6th one, my hammy just tightened up. I was planning to do 3 tempo miles after the repeats, but I had to stop.

I think I've learned enough to stop early. I didn't try to run much more after the pain started. I should be OK for this weekend's long run, 20 miles.

Easy 4

Today was scheduled for 4 miles. I did that on a treadmill in 31 minutes, which is probably too fast for an easy run. On treadmills, though, I catch myself speeding up so that it will be over sooner. I hate treadmills. Dreadmills. The iPod doesn't help. The TV doesn't help. I hate them. 4 miles is my treadmill limit, but I may need to see about lowering that. Did I mention that I hate treadmills? I would have run outside, but I wanted to weight train today, too.

After the dreadmill and stretches, I did some weights. My upper body is weakening with this whole marathon training thing. I must improve the frequency and intensity of my weight training.

• 3 x 12 dumbbell presses, 55lbs.
• 3 x 12 military dumbbell presses, 30lbs.
• 3 x 8 dips (struggled to complete because I'm getting so weak)
• 100 Swiss ball crunches (2 x 50)
• 40 leg raises (2 x 20)
• 30 weighted crunches (3 x 10)

Crusie / Speed

Today was scheduled for 2 x 1 mile @ 6:42, 4 x 800m @3:10, 2 x 1 mile @ 6:42, with 2-3 minutes between each interval.

1. 6:49
2. 6:35

1. 3:03
2. 3:14
3. 3:19 (long quarter, I love that excuse)
   
4. 3:05

1. 6:41
2. 6:38

All I can say is WOOT! I'm clearly pleased with that. But I was completely trashed at the end. I could barely walk! I kicked it in on the last quarter of that last mile because I did NOT want to be above 6:42 on my last mile. Today hurt pretty good. I mean really good.

18 Miler!

18 miles has always seemed like an insane distance to me. Even though I finished today, it still seems insane!

I chose to sleep in a bit today, so I didn't hit the track until about 9:00 AM or so. It is AWESOME that the weather was fit to do that today. It was ugly, slow, and painful, but I was determined to finish. I'm still learning this fueling on the run thing, and I learned some today. At about the 12.3 mile mark, my iPod crashed, so some of my splits are way off. Here they are, but they are not really 1 mile splits.

1. 7:54
2. 8:09
3. 7:49
4. 7:38
5. 7:50
6. 8:16 (get used to the 8+)
7. 8:14
8. 8:07
9. 8:27
10. 8:10
11. 8:14
12. 8:35
13. 12:36 (restroom break, water bottle refill, and ipod crash)
14. 9:35 (About a 1.2 split, the out on the Swan Creek Greenway)
    
15. 10:41 (about a 1.3? split, the back up to the nearest 1/4 marker on the track)
16. 8:49 (pretty accurate)
17. 10:23 (I'm totally guessing because I left the track)
18. No idea, I was just glad to be home.

And before I started the 18 miler I jog-walked about 1.8 miles with my wife, so I'm somewhere near 20 miles total for today.

I'm going to try my best to stick to this schedule because Saturday is the only day that I have to completely blow on a long run. I was completely worthless for the rest of the day!

Liz Hurley Ribbon Run 5k

First, I have to hand out some congratulations for friends in today's Liz Hurley 5k. Then, I'll post about today's training. Be sure to check out Tanjie's blog for a complete list of Limestone finishers. I chose to sit this race out to continue my training and sleep in.

• Congrats to Julie Carden for finishing her first race! Solid run! When's the next race, Julie?
• Congrats to Jenny Persall and her son Michael (11) for finishing today's race!
• Congrats toMike Greene for breaking the ever so difficult 19 minute barrier today!
• Congrats to Scott Michael for solid PR today. I will have to pick races that Scott doesn't run in to get another age group win!
• Whitney Hollingsworth continues to amaze me! She just consistently takes the women's masters! That was particularly impressive today with such a large field! Congrats Whitney!
  

Age group results
Women overall results
Men overall results

Failed Tempo

I tried to do a tempo run today, but failed fairly miserably.

My goal was

• 3 miles @ 7:25
• 6 x 800m @ 3:21
• 3 miles @ 7:03

Well, I got about halfway.

1. 7:23
2. 7:22
3. 7:10

1. 3:13
2. 3:12
3. 3:31 (and I was walking the last 50 feet because I was completely out of gas)

Then I called my wife to come to the track and pick me up and called Mark Freeman for some encouragement! I may try to knock out the last 4.5 miles this evening before bedtime. That's probably better than nothing. I know that it's not good to do a long run that way, but maybe I can get away with two shorter tempo workouts instead of one long one.

I'm pretty sure one problem this morning was nutrition, or lack thereof. I ate nothing before my workout, and I ate light yesterday. Eating nothing really worked for workouts of 6-8 miles or less. For workouts that break the 10 mile mark, I have to eat something before I start.

I'm gonna do an easy (maybe 9:00/mile pace) 45-60 minute run Saturday and a long run Sunday.

Scheduled (but undeserved) Day Off

I did not deserve today off, but any run today would have been almost impossible. A treadmill was my only option because I wasn't staying in the safest part of town (both traffic and unsavory characters). My schedule calls for a rest day between the long run and the first run of the following week. Tomorrow will be a hard cruise/speed or tempo workout. No matter what, I'll run tomorrow morning. The decision has been made.

Since I'm behind, I have two options moving forward.

1. Cruise tomorrow, 4 easy miles Friday, tempo Saturday, rest Sunday, long run Monday (that means a 4 am start... ewww), off Tuesday, cruise/speed Wednesday, 4 easy miles Thursday, tempo Friday, off Saturday, and long run Sunday
2. Skip tempo or cruise/speed this week and do my long run Saturday
   

Any more experienced readers have advice here? Would a skipped cruise or tempo workout be terribly detrimental? The risk with option 1 is that the schedule is so tight, there is no room for flexibility (travel). Also, the rest is limited with option 1, so there is risk that the quality won't be there for the workouts. Which is the worst to skip, tempo, cruise/speed, or rest/recovery?

At the risk of undeserved kudos, I'm pleased that it isn't worse than it is. I've been traveling 5 weeks in a row and I've managed to record some strong training runs on the road in unfamiliar places and on awkward schedules. I'm only up a couple of lbs, and that has been in the past week.

I'm really excited about the long runs coming up. I can't wait to record a 20 miler!

Attempted Long Run

So I decided that I would attempt a long run this morning. It was beyond ugly. If I ever wanted to know what my body is capable of after back to back nights of 4-ish hours of sleep, I found that limit today. Sunday, travel and work hindered my bed time. Last night, I just couldn't fall asleep and then didn't sleep well when I did doze off.

I really needed to hit the road no later than 4:00 AM this morning to have a chance at completing my 16 miler. But I just couldn't force myself up any earlier than 4:00 AM, so I didn't hit the road until 4:30. Then, I knew that I wouldn't finish the 16, but I sure didn't feel good enough to have a chance for a decent speed workout. So I slogged out 10 miles. I wanted to do at least 12. Man, I hit a wall at like 8. I was up 3 lbs. this morning from Friday. Ewww. Chubby! My knees felt every ounce of those lbs. I bruised my left knee playing tennis last week, (The truth is that I fell, but if anyone asks, I dove.) and it was terribly sore this morning, and still is. Nothing major, I expected it to hurt. Splits, ugly as they are, are below.

1. 7:48
2. 8:23
3. 8:28
4. 7:39
5. 7:32
6. 7:36
7. 8:20
8. 7:45
9. 8:09
10. 8:41

Today was one of those days that I ask myself the question that everyone else asks of me. "Why am I doing this?" That was painful, disappointing, and ugly. But the important thing is that I ran 10 miles farther than I would have run just a short year ago.

Awful Weekend (for training)

I had just a terrible training (otherwise great!) weekend. Mark, I need a good scolding!

I wanted to run the Monte Sano 15k last Saturday. Thanks, as always, to Tanjie for her timely posting of the age group results with an emphasis on the Limestone County finishers.
I had planned a trip to visit my sister in the foothills of the Smokies because of fall break, so I missed the race.

Well, this trip was about the kids, and the kids had a BLAST! I had fun, too, visiting with my family and watching the kids play and have fun with their cousins! It was a great trip! I had very limited cell phone, Internet, and TV, and that was just fine.

It was relaxed, but BUSY! I had some time to run Saturday, but I was still trashed from Friday's tempo workout, so I (wisely, I think) took Saturday off. Sunday, there was just no time to run. The return trip had me up late Sunday night, so I had no energy to run today. And my diet all weekend was horrible. Fast food, sugar, and salt. I'm up about 4 lbs. Chubby.

Now, I'm having a delima... Do I do speed (cruise) work or long run tomorrow? I'm really not sure which I should do. I'll make up my mind in the morning! Either way, I'm still behind schedule. The good news is that this week and weekend will be much more like normal, but it does have its own set of challenges. More regular posts and workouts to follow. I hope I get away with this lapse this weekend.

TEMPO!!!

I finally got close to a tempo workout today!

Schedule called for...
3 miles @ 7:25
4 x 800m @ 3:21
3 miles @7:03

I jogged over to the track around Athens High for warm-up. Then I started on the workout using the quarter mile markers to gauge distance. I headed down the new greenway and then took my usual shortcut home for the last 4 miles of the workout.

3 miles at Goal Pace. I've got to get more consistent with these splits.

1. 7:31
2. 7:21
3. 7:19

800's. More consistency would be nice.

1. 3:13
2. 3:26
3. 3:17
4. 3:20

3 miles at tempo pace. Consistency? I'm just trying to survive at this point!

1. 7:07
2. 7:10
3. 7:32 (uphill, a little rough, and a couple of gates to go through so I'm pleased with this split)
   

Counting warm-up and cool-down, I did just a smidge over 10.5 miles today. Clearly, I was fading on the last 3 miles, but I'm ok with those splits. I don't think I could have done them any faster. That last mile is a tough mile. I'm not sure I could run it under 7:00 if it were my first or second mile. I don't have a chance of 7:03 on that one for my 9th or 10th mile.

I'll probably do my long run Sunday. My legs feel great and this is by far my best week of training. I really hope I can ride this momentum until the next recovery week, which is Halloween week. I have a very difficult two weeks ahead, though. I'm scheduled for runs of 16, 18, and 20 miles. Those are distances that seemed unfathomable just a few short weeks ago. Heh, who am I kidding? They still seem unfathomable!

Unscheduled Day Off

Today was not supposed to be a day off, but I took it off. I was VERY late to bed because of travel so I slept late and that just messed my whole day up. Plus, I had a TON of work to do, so a lunch run was not an option. I played a match of tennis tonight to finish up the league that I signed up for back in the spring.

I'll do today's scheduled workout tomorrow. I need to nail that workout. The thing that has been missing from my training is a solidly finished tempo workout. Hopefully, that's tomorrow.

Easy Day

Today's scheduled workout called for 4 miles. I ran those at about an 8:00 pace. It felt slower and I felt like I could do more, but I didn't. It's an easy day for a reason!

Perhaps I was a little giddy with yesterday's post, but I just couldn't help it! I know a 1:17 ten miler is nothing to get excited about, but I expected to be unable to complete the workout! And the hills. And the view. And the trails were so well maintained. And the weather was perfect. And there were prairie dogs and squirrels. And I really felt like I had a lot left in the tank when the workout was over. It was just one of those workouts that make me thankful that I'm able to run and more thankful that I do.

Today's work (not workout, but work, that thing I do to provide for my family) schedule required me to be on my feet for about 9 hours. I treasured the brief time at lunch that I could sit down! Yesterday felt good... yesterday, but at about 2:00 this afternoon, all I wanted to do was to sit down!

Hilly and high altitude

First, results from last weekend's race are available at http://northalabamarunner.blogspot.com/. Age groups and overall results are available. I was 2nd in my age group and 14th overall.

Today's workout was GREAT. It just felt awesome! I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get through today's workout. The last time I was at this altitude, I ran one 7:30 mile and thought I would die.

Today, not so. I ran 10 of the hilliest and most beautiful miles I've ever run! See the image below.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I was considering quitting this thing. My knee was killing me. I was willing to concede that I had bitten off more than I could chew. The next time I get discouraged, I need to read this post to try to remember how I felt today! After chugging up one of the many hills today, I turned around to come down. A complete stranger running in the opposite direction reaches out and high fives me! That was cool.

Enough rambling.

Today's workout called for 10 miles with 8 minutes of uphill time. I probably had more like 40 minutes of uphill time. Even better. Average pace was a smidge over 7:40.

1. 7:26
2. 7:32
3. 7:59
4. 8:27 (The hills and altitude start to show their teeth!)
5. 7:56
6. 7:30 (I start to show my teeth back!)
7. 7:32
8. 7:50
9. 7:31 (How about that for a 9th mile?)
10. 7:55

Did I mention that today's workout just felt great?

Day Off - Much Needed!

Today is a scheduled off day. Man, I need it! My legs are tired! This weekend was brutal with the 10k race and the 14 mile long run.

Also, I attended a wedding about an hour and a half drive away on Saturday. Congrats Joe and Leah!! Then, I gave a short presentation before the Lord's Supper on Sunday morning. And finally, I was asked to do a sermon on short notice Sunday evening because our preacher is sick. You can get the sermon audio and the PowerPoint slides at http://www.eastside-church.org/. I was happy to do that and I always try to be prepared for something like that by studying the Bible regularly, meditating on it, and jotting down notes from my study. What a busy weekend!

I only have two races on my calendar for the remainder of the year.

• The HTC Huntsville Half Marathon, Nov. 8
• The Rocket City Marathon, Dec. 13

I'm considering the Vulcan Run 10k because my training plan calls for a 10k race on Nov. 1 and I really want a 42 minute 10k this year. Undecided.

14 Miler

This week's long run was scheduled to be a 14 miler. I made it!! That is a long way, and it is over halfway. Whew! I still have a LOT of training miles to log before I'm ready, but I really feel like I'm finally making some progress.

I saw my friend Matt out running today, and I'm glad of that! He has been battling some shin splints and wisely took some time off from running. That 1/4 or so we ran together sure did go fast! Well, as fast as a 2:00 quarter can be. What I mean is that it was good to have some company even if for a short while. Get better and get back out there, buddy!

I averaged about a 7:48 pace today. 7:45 was my goal, so I'm pleased, except for the last two slow miles. I also tried eating on my run. I've gotta get used to food while I run if I'm going to survive a marathon. I ate a granola bar at 5 and 10 miles, about 360 calories total. Splits...

1. 7:34
2. 7:44
3. 7:35
4. 7:41
5. 7:48
6. 7:54
7. 8:04 (stopped to tie my shoe, that's my excuse)
8. 7:50
9. 7:53
10. 7:49
11. 7:55
12. 7:46
13. 8:07 (hill is my excuse)
14. 8:07 (no excuse!)

Elkmont Rails to Trails 10k

What a great day for a race! The weather was perfect! And a big thanks to Whitney Hollingsworth for putting on this race. It was GREAT FUN! There are so many nice people who run! I met several people today, and that's always nice. I'll see you at the next race!

The course starts with a short but noticeable uphill climb on Veto Road. Then, the next 1.5 miles or so are seriously downhill. I should have taken more advantage of that than I did. It flattens for a short time around mile 3, then it turns to the trail and the next 3 miles are steady uphill. There is no flat or downhill portion of the last 3 miles. It's not steep at all, but it's uphill.

I finished in 44:24 and took second in my age group behind Scott Michael who beat me by about a minute. I didn't get all the splits, but I'll list what I have.

1. 6:56
2. 14:22 (for miles 2 and 3)
3. 7:26 (mile 4)
   
4. 6:59 (mile 5)
   
5. 8:40 for the last 1.2 miles

I wish I had every split. Oh well. Mile 4 killed me. It was the first uphill mile, and I should have kicked it in sooner. I did NOT get passed in the last 3.2 miles, which was good. I passed at least 6 people in the last 3.2. I had too much gas at the end which tells me that I didn't try hard enough early enough. I wanted to go sub 45 and I did. When I saw the clock, I knew that I could go sub 44:30 if I kicked it in, and I kicked it in and had way too much in the tank.

Of course, Tyrone Harris was the overall winner. I'll post a link to the results as soon as I have a link.

Off / weights

No running today. I needed today off after yesterday's workout! I did weights at the gym. And, admittedly, I chatted more than I lifted. I should have focused more on my workout.

• 12, 6, and 8 overhand grip chin-ups
• 3 sets of 8 dumbbell presses, 55 lb dumbbells
  
• 3 sets of 8 upright rows with 65 lb. barbell
• 3 sets of 35 back hyper extensions with 25 lb plate
• 70 and 80 Swiss ball crunches
• 20, 10, and 10 leg raises on an inclined sit-up bench
  

I did sign up for tomorrow's race, the Elkmont Rails to Trails 10k. I haven't written as much about that race as I did about the Duck and Run 5k. That's mainly because I walked to the start of the Duck and Run. I could sit in my back yard and see runners in the Duck and Run!

I am excited about tomorrow's race and I'm glad to have another race close to home. I really like a 10k race. I've never run on the rails to trails, so I really look forward to this. I have two goals for tomorrow: PR and negative split.

A big thank you to Whitney Hollingsworth for putting on this race!

Of course, I'll update with details from the race.

Slow but long

It was a challenge just to get in the workout today. I knew there would be days like this. Days where that I just have to make time for it. My biggest problem is sleep. I've got to get my sleep patterns under control. I needed to do today's workout yesterday, but I was traveling home yesterday, so that didn't happen. I didn't sleep well enough or long enough last night, so today's workout was very difficult. And I forgot to bring my iPod, so I didn't have a good way to get mile splits. And if I sat here and thought longer, I'd come up with more excuses.

I ran the UAH spring road race 5k course, then about a mile over to Hillmont, did hill repeats there, back to UAH, and ran the 5k course again. Counting a very abbreviated warm-up, cool-down, and the downhill recovery of the hill repeats, I ran about 11 miles total.

• 1st 5k loop - 25:23 (eww, that's slowwww!, about an 8:11 pace)
• The almost 1 mile over to Hillmont was about 9 minutes (of course I had to stop for Jordan Lane traffic)

Then I did 4 long hills and 3 short steep hills.

1. 1:29
2. 1:36
3. 1:32
4. 1:41

1. 0:45
2. 0:37
3. 0:36

• The almost one mile back was in 7:23, even with a stop for Jordan Lane traffic. Better.
  
• The last 5k was 25:32. I really wanted to beat my first 5k loop, but the hills just took too much out of me. When I finished, I was really surprised that it was that slow.