Time to Jump Back Into My Training

Well my race last weekend didn’t go as planned. Although I had taken some time off from running I was still hoping that my fitness level wouldn’t drop off too much. This race would essentially kick off my fall marathon training season – a fitness check. I think I went into the race a little overconfident, with the goal of holding 6:00 pace for my portion of the relay leg. My partner came through the relay split in first place in 38:30, so he definitely held up his end of the deal – the pressure was on me now. My legs didn’t respond pretty much right from the beginning. I hadn’t properly warmed up (actually I didn’t warm up at all). I’m not going to go into all the detail but who ever planned all the logistics of the race had overlooked some crucial details. Like I said, right from the get-go I wasn’t feeling well and I put it in cruise control and held 6:30 tempo pace for my leg. So I ended up not racing but used it as a tempo run. My partner had give me such a big cushion that we easily won the relay, which was a bit of a surprise given my performance.
Well this was a little bit of a wakeup call – I need to get my butt back in shape! I was quite busy this week but I did manage to get in a ½ hour run on Monday followed by a 1 hour lifting session. On Wednesday I met with MIT for our usual speed workout. This week called for a progressive workout: 2 mile warm up, 3 miles at marathon pace (6:50), 2 miles at tempo (6:20), 2 miles at tempo -0:20 (6:00), with a 2 mile cool-down. It was a tough workout. My Garmin battery was dead so I ran it without a watch but I’m pretty certain I hit my paces. I ran with a friend for the first leg and we hit our 6:50 pace. We hit our 6:20 pace in mile 4 of the workout but then I pulled away and ran ahead. I picked up the pace at mile 5 to what I thought was 6:00 pace but I don’t know for sure without a watch. Anyways, it was a good workout and hopefully a good sign of things to come.
Since its Labor Day weekend I’ve got a lot of things I’m trying to cram into one weekend. I’m meeting my fellow MIT teammates for a 20 mile run on Saturday. With it being the first Buckeyes home game we plan on running through the tailgate lots, with is always a lot of fun. On Sunday I’m thinking of heading up to Mohican for a trail run – maybe another 20 miles…we’ll see. On Monday (Labor Day) I’m planning on going for my first bike ride in over 2 years. My friend and recent Ironman finisher, is going to accompany me on a 45 mile ride. It will probably be a joyride for him and a good workout for me. I think this is the type of weekend I need to get that fire burning again!