Heading south

In less than an hour my mom and I are leaving to drive to Portland for the Shamrock Run 15K. (So I need to make this quick, I'm not even dressed yet!) The race is on Sunday, so of course we have to stay at the Benson Hotel Friday through Monday.

I haven't done this race for two years (last year I was in England), but I'm looking forward to it. I've had a great time the other two times I ran it. Even though it's a hard route, I was always happy with my results at the time. I am curious to see how it will go this time...I am sure I am faster now than I was in 2008.

Luckily this is a cutback week on my training schedule, so the race (plus warm-up) will satisfy my 10-mile long run on the plan, as well as a tempo/pace run I would have done on Friday (today) otherwise.

Even though I have the race on Sunday, I have actually done a little more running this week than usual. On Monday I did my usual morning run, 9.10 miles with 4.5 in the middle at 9:09 average pace. The miles before and after that segment averaged 10:02 and 9:37 (even those paces a little quick for a typical Monday morning!).

Tuesday is usually an off day for running, but I had in mind a little hill run I wanted to do as a warm-up for Portland. (The race is uphill about four miles, then rolling hills for a mile or two, then downhill to the end.) This long hill doesn't fit into my usual route, so I added an extra run Tuesday after work.

I promised myself I would do no more than six miles max. My final distance was 5.97. After a warm-up from my house (1.32 miles), I got to the bottom of Everett Avenue, which stretched uphill (with one down dip) for more than a mile. My idea was to go up and back down at about 30 seconds slower than race pace. The rationale was that I would run pretty hard, but probably could go faster in an actual pace. I guessed that I might do 9:30 on the uphill and 8:00 on the down.

At the top of Everett Avenue I turned and ran south on Colby for a bit to make my one-way distance about 1.65 miles. This last part was less uphill (just a bit) and more level. At Pacific Avenue I turned around and retraced my steps back down (again, with the short downhill from the first segment now an uphill).

I think that downhill/uphill aberration skewed my pace a little, in that my first half (up) was a little faster than it would have been otherwise, but the return trip was a little slower. My pace on the uphill was 8:43 (a lot faster than expected!) and the downhill was 8:09. Then I jogged the rest of the way home. Hopefully that gave my legs a taste of what will be needed on Sunday!

Wednesday was speed work and let me tell you, I was suffering trying to run twelve hours after my hill run. My legs were not rested. My warm-up, about 4.5 miles, was slow, as expected. Then I did five half-mile intervals at the track (with a short jog in between). My first three were my "slowest ever," each one a little slower than 8:00 pace. I got my act together somehow for the final two, and they were around 7:45 pace each. Better. Total run distance 8.25 miles.

Finally, my last run of the week before going into pre-race rest was Thursday morning. I really had no expectations, as my legs were still tired from the previous days' runs. I also had a very hard time getting out of bed! After 2.85 miles warm-up on my own (10:13), I met Arjin at the office and warned him I did not want to run fast, and he could go ahead if he wanted. After a couple of miles he did. I just ignored him and ran at my own pace. I was actually surprised that it came out to be 9:37 for the 4.56 miles. This was the opposite of my bad day a couple of weeks ago--I felt super slow and ended up being faster than I had thought. After I left Arjin at the office I ran home, 1.25 miles at 10:10 pace. Total distance was 8.66, a little shorter than typical because of being late and needing to get ready for work and all that stuff.

This morning I did go to the Y for an hour on the elliptical and a few push-ups and yoga stretches. I am thinking of checking out the workout room at the Benson tonight for a little gentle cardio before dinner. But tomorrow I will really rest my legs, no exercise, just walking as needed.

Now, I have to get dressed, scoop the litter boxes, finish packing our lunch, and just be ready to leave. Gotta run! Have a great weekend!