Summer Arrives

On my way I knew that this was going to be a hot one (hot = >77 degrees F) (it was 83 degrees F at the time of my run), so I changed my plan to shorten my run and pick up the pace a bit.  Ok, well, I made the decision after the first mile...well, maybe second mile, to shorten the run.

Alright, so I had originally planned to run 5 miles alternating between 9:30 and 9:00 paces; after the first mile, I dropped the 9:00 pace idea and went with 5 miles at 9:30 pace.  At the two mile mark, I decided to maintain my pace and stop at three miles.

There's the whole story.  On the upside, I was happy with this run as I have not gotten any heat training in this year and this served a good purpose doing that.  I'll have to look at the forecast for tomorrow to see what my quarter intervals are going to look like.

Second Fastest 5K Ever!

Caveat: I had plenty of rest since my mini marathon (7/8 days of rest)

Even with that caveat, I'll still break my arm patting myself on the back about this one.  Despite being down sick with a head/chest cold from Friday until Sunday, I decided that the best thing I could do to get the crap out of my lungs was to run my guts out and cough one up.

So, I did.  For those of you keeping score with the home version of Rusty Runs, this is 13 seconds slower than my fastest 5K, which is definitely good news for me as it means...I'm faster!  I'm pretty sure I can go even faster given race conditions.

And...a plan is formed for non-race weeks:
5K Mondays.  I will run a 5K every Monday.
Easy Wednesdays.  5 miles around a 10 min pace.
Interval Thursdays.  4x1/4 mile intervals w/ 1/4 mile recovery. 1 mile warmup/cooldown.
Long Saturdays. 7-9 miles around a 10 min pace.

I need to find a race...soon.

No Pace Alarms!

And I only looked at my pace twice during the whole run, and that was during the first half mile.  I did look at my mile splits, but I didn't make a conscious effort to maintain the 9:45 pace.  I felt a bit uncomfortable, but definitely like I was pushing it.  A nice recovery run, in my book.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

The Good: This is my best time for the 500 Festival Mini Marathon
The Bad: While I hit my intended pace going out, it turned out to be too fast, and I paid for it in the end.
The Ugly: Walked on the track, walked through water stations, hated the last three miles.

I didn't have the excuse of weather this year as I did last, but I am just as disappointed with the results.  I was fairly certain that I would be able to maintain that 9:30 pace and just couldn't.  I'm not sure what it is about this race, but I don't really want to run it again.  I'll stick to the cold weather mini's; 24 degrees, bring it on.

Unseasonably Warm

Since the average temperature on May 1st in the Indianapolis area is 67 degrees F, I'm going to call today's temp of 83 unseasonably warm.  I was going to say that today was seasonably warm until I actually bothered to look up the average temperature.  I was shocked by the results.  Shocked, I say!

Anyways, due to the temp, the bright sunny...erm, sun bearing down on me, and my neglecting to take some water, I decided to just shut it down after four.  Now for two days rest!

Global Warming Returns...again!

Low 70's, sunny, slight breeze.  A bit warm for my running tastes, but I'll take it!  I was too lazy to change my pace alarms from 10:04 +/- 20 seconds, so I ran at that speed instead of the scheduled 10:06.  I know...controversial!

I've got 6 on Wednesday and something on Saturday...oh yeah, the 500 Festival Mini Marathon.  13.1 miles of heart pounding action; thrilling racing on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (and access roads); cutting edge music from some of Indy's least known bands!  Rusty the Nutjob live and in person!!

It'sa gonna be a spectacle...

Confidence Run

This run is designed for two things:  One is to practice running at the intended race pace for five miles on non-fresh legs (not rotten ones, just not fresh...maybe a little limp or wilted.)  Two is to instill confidence in the runner (that's me, if you didn't know) that, yes, indeed, you can run this far at these paces.

I needed the latter more than the former.  I know from experience that on fresh legs and strict discipline to the pace alarms, that I can maintain my intended pace (9:30) for 13.1 miles.  I very badly want to break 2 hours, which at this pace will not happen.  I have to be patient; eventually, I will get there.  If I'm able to maintain my intended pace, I will own a new PR, so there's that.