Workouts Before Tomorrow's Race

I've gotten in some decent workouts in the last 2 weeks. Here are a few worth noting:


- INTERVALS ON THE TRACK about 10 days ago which I had briefly posted about before. I did 3x1600 with 90 seconds rest:

800 split, 800 split: 1600 total
2:51, 2:46: 5:37
2:48, 2:41: 5:29
2:47, 2:40: 5:27

5:31.0 / 1600 average


- FIRST OUTDOOR BIKE RIDE last Sunday! I rode 23 miles with a 19.0 mph average before hitting the side streets and slowing up a bit on the way home. It was my first time outside on my bike since my last tri (in August). Sheesh. Oops. Gotta work on that.


- LONG 12 MILE RUN WITH HENRY on Monday! I think running fast on the track a few days prior helped me "kick it up a notch" on this run. Henry was excited to start this run:

I warmed up for 3 miles (still working the pace decently), and then I did 4 tempo miles that looked like this: 6:14, 6:19, 5:57, and 6:00 for 24:30 total. I was happy about doing that with the stroller! I eased up a bit but still ran at a "moderate" pace after that for another 5 miles to end up with 12 miles in 1:23.

Henry fell asleep RIGHT away and was totally zonked out for all of those fast miles and the rest of the run. Here's a photo once I was back home:

- LONG BIKE RIDE on Tuesday! Yep, that's 2 bike rides in 3 days! AND with a 12 mile run in the middle! What a stretch of workouts! On Tuesday, I went about 32 miles at an easier pace (18.2 ave once I finished). I hit a ton of the local trails on this "all over" ride: the Greenway, the Hiawatha Bike Trail, River Road, Shepard Road, the Big Rivers Trail, and Summit Ave.


- FINAL EASY RUN WITH 1/2 MILE PICK-UPS on Thursday. Again, I did this run with Henry. We hit River Road and I did some "race pace" 800s. I ran an easy mile between these 800s. I did them in 2:57, 2:57, and 2:52, and I felt good. And Henry SLEPT THROUGH ALL THAT SPEEDWORK TOO!

A quick photo right after my last 800.
Notice there's no hat on Henry because it was 65 degrees!!

So, being he just went at 5:45 - 5:55 pace for those few 800s and didn't care at all, I feel very safe racing with him this summer! I'm still hoping to find a race where we can race together! I MAY have one figured out for next weekend.... if I scope out the roads and they're OK, and if the weather is still THIS nice...

p.s. My last 30 miles of running have ALL been with Henry! I LOVE this warm "winter."


FIVE THOUGHTS ON TOMORROW'S RACE:

1. Notice I did my first 2 bike rides of the year (totaling 55 miles) and a long 12 mile run back-to-back-to-back a few days ago? Yeah, my legs are still just a little tired. I might not be "fresh" for the race, but this is what I'll be doing this summer: just fitting in the workouts when I can. If it's a taper week and I have 2 hours to hit my bike a few days before a race, I'll jump on that opportunity. I just CAN NOT think about having tired legs during the race. No excuses.

2. The track workout and the 12 mile run with Henry did a little to make me feel better about my training. I'm quite "endurance based" right now (doing a lot of long runs with Henry and skipping a lot of shorter speed-work), but those runs made me feel a little better. I was hoping to finish the 8K (just shy of 5 miles) in around 29:00, but now I really hope I can go a bit under 29:00. That's being pretty aggressive, but I gotta just go see if I can do that.

3. The race starts at 1:20 in the afternoon. Yes, really. It's weird, I know. And it's supposed to be 75+ degrees tomorrow, so it will be a HOT March race in Minnesota!! But you know what that means.... the "Bowl Full of Sunshine" will have to make an appearance! Two years ago, I ran the 5K at this race and set my current 5K PR, and I thought THAT was a warm day. Remember this photo from that race?

But this year, I won't need long sleeves at all. In fact, I'll probably wear the "Bowl Full of Sunshine" shorts and the matching track top:

4. If you're in St. Paul tomorrow, swing by the race course and snap of photo of me if you can! I'll be heading to this race alone, so I won't have any photos unless I can get some from friends! The race starts at 1:20 on Summit Ave near St. Thomas, then runs east to Victoria (it does a quick 1-block loop around William Mitchell College of Law at Victoria), and it runs back west down Summit to St. Thomas. I hope to be at Victoria around 1:35, and back to St. Thomas around 1:49 (if everything is run on time).

5. It's an "MDRA Grand Prix" race, so that means I'll be trying to "reel in" as many people as I can in the closing meters. The Grand Prix is scored by how you place compared to others signed up for the Grand Prix. Being I don't know everyone signed up, I need to just try to catch as many as possible! I hope to see Michael there (the guy who I used as my rabbit who beat me by 9 seconds at the Securian Run Half Marathon about 6 weeks ago), and I hope I can get ahead of him at this race! I KNOW if we're near each other that we'll be working off of each other - should be a fun race!

Back with a race report ASAP!

p.s. Did you see my "Friday Funny" about my new jammers? If you didn't, scroll down 2 posts (or click here to see my new PINK PLAID jammers, and help me come up with a name for them! Thanks!