Three-Day Stretch

I've been having a string of great runs lately, and I think part of that is my excitement for Saturday's 5K (scroll below for some of the build-up posts in case you missed 'em).

Just wanted to try and recap them briefly here since it's been such a strong week.

Tuesday - Interval

I was worried about this run since it was an afternoon run and I just don't do well running in the afternoons. However, I figured that since I was able to ref just fine, and most of those games started at 3:15 p.m. that I would be fine.

And I was. It went much better than expected. I knocked out about four miles overall, but about half of that was walking in warm-up and cool-down. I counted 3.53 miles towards my total, and it took me roughly 32 minutes to get them in.

Now, of those 32 minutes I walked eight of them but I didn't discount that mileage. Not sure how much it all equates to but that's what my interval consisted of. I pushed myself at the end as I set the treadmill at a 9.0 for Minutes 35 and 36 of the interval, and I felt great. I had a bit of a hulk feeling, as in the Incredible Hulk. I felt like tearing out of my shorts and shirt, growling like a bear and run even faster. Since I was at the gym, though, I thought better of it.

Wednesday - Tempo

I had intended on running six miles at the gym on Wednesday, and to do a bit of a tempo. It wasn't quite planned out, but I figured I'd start at about a 9:40 pace and some distance at around or under an 8:00 pace. My first mile was a 9:35, then I slowly increased the speed. I felt strong and the second mile was at 9:13. I upped the speed a bit more and got to an 8:46 mile for the third mile. I'd run about a half-mile or so, maybe less, and just increased the speed on the 'mill.

My next splits were as follows:

Mile 4 - 8:30
Mile 5 - 8:08
Mile 6 - 8:17
Mile 7 - 9:04
Final .37 - 9:38

Time: 1:05:07
Overall pace: 8:50

Heart rate stats: Avg. 172 (92.5 percent of max); Max 186 (100 percent of max).

Thursday - Mt. Rubidoux

Since I'd just run the two days before, and both fairly intense workouts, I didn't feel the need to run longer than four miles, or two miles up Mt. Rubidoux and two miles down. Plus, I didn't want to over-extend myself since I do have a race on Saturday and all.

Still, I felt good and wanted to have a good run so I didn't ease off the gas too much. My splits:

Mile 1: 9:53 (uphill)
Mile 2: 9:28 (uphill)
Mile 3: 8:15 (downhill)
Mile 4: 7:24 (downhill)

Total time: 35:01
Overall pace: 8:45

Now, this is where the Polar comes in handy. Not even a half-mile into my run Thursday, my heart rate was at 165. It took me about two miles on the treadmill Wednesday before my heart got to a 165. When I was coming up to the top I was about .1 miles short of an even two miles so I went downhill for about .05 miles and sprinted to the top. In a matter of .07 miles or so, my heart rate jumped from a 177 to a 185, and I felt it. I just felt empty and drained once I got to the top, and was happy to head downhill once more for the final two miles. It took me a bit to regain my composure even though I was going downhill. The last mile was great. It felt good to be able to touch a 7:24 mile, even if it was downhill-aided.

Another cool thing about Thursday's run: I crossed the 300-mile mark for the year. I've now ran about 303 miles this year.