Good Old-Fashioned Southern Road Trip

3 mile w/u + stridesTarget: 200m-300-400-500-600-700-800-700-600-500-400-300-200 w/60-90 sec. restActual: Above, starting at 5:30 pace down to 5:15-5:102 mile c/dTotal: 9 milesCharleston's Cooper River BridgeAfter a few hectic weeks of work and travel, I was beyond excited to spend a few days relaxing with my parents and Jordan in Charleston, SC. Though Jordan frequently visits accounts there (and was actually in town the previous week), neither...

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Week In Review

70-71 miles2 doubles4 days in CHI3 AFDs (oops)As promised, I enjoyed a relative down week of training. Though my mileage wasn't terribly low--and, in fact, would've been higher if I hadn't confessed to Jordan on Saturday afternoon that I was already at 65 miles, thus inciting him to relegate me to a measly five mile run on Sunday--there were really no workouts to speak of. True, I did do 16x1 min. on, 1 min. off with Caitlin at an ungodly early hour on Tuesday morning, but what the session delivered in speed it made up for with a relative lack...

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Week in Review

87 miles3 doubles3 days in DC2 runs with Jilane5 AFDsAs the month of June rapidly comes to a close, with it comes a respite from the seemingly continuous racing I've been doing the past few months. Now that the Running of the Bulls 8k is in the books, I don't really have anything else coming up until the Beat the Heat 5k in a double fortnight. (Okay, that's probably not an actual expression. Damn you Wimbledon!) With all of the top five finishers from last weekend slated to return for the 5k champs, Beat the Heat could end up pushing all of us...

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Running of the Bulls 8K

2+ mile w/u + stridesTarget: 8k race @5:45 pace (28:40) or fasterActual: 28:14 (5:41 pace); 2nd female, $300Results4 mile c/dTotal: 11 milesI'm so tempted to take the easy way out since Caitlin just penned a great recap of yesterday's race, but she already told me that such laziness is unacceptable. Thus, I will try to share some of the action from my perspective without completing rehashing what she's already written. (Okay, and because I'm just...

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Rock Creek Park Fartlek

3 mile w/uTarget (in mins.): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1w/rest jog equal to half of the preceding intervalActual: Above1.5 mile c/dTotal: 13+ milesAfter two aborted workouts attempts last weekend, I would be lying if I said my self-esteem wasn't suffering just a tad. With one of my summer goal races less than a week away, feeling overwhelmed with fatigue on lethargy on every single run isn't exactly ideal. With that in mind, I wanted Jordan to write me a workout for Tuesday that could be based off of time and feel rather than pace and distance....

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Week in Review

85 miles3 doubles4 days in Austin5 AFDsThe summer heat has descended upon us in full force, and nowhere is that more apparent than Austin, Texas. While I love running there, I can't say I was thrilled about 100+ degree temperatures all week. Though the intensity of my runs wasn't anything out of the ordinary, the sheer volume of mileage coupled with the weather and my travel schedule translated into some wicked dehydration come the weekend. At one point on Friday night, out to dinner with my friend Allison and her boyfriend, I looked down at my...

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20x300 Fail (Sort Of)

2.5 mile w/u + stridesTarget: 4x(5x300m); first set in 60s, then 59s, 58s, 57s100m jog @30-35 b/t reps; 500m jog b/t setsActual set avgs: 59.5, 58.5, 57.5, 57-flat2 mile c/dTotal: 10 milesEvery time I attempt a version of this workout, the same thing happens. I look at it on paper and think it's going to be a complete breeze. I mean, come on, starting at 80-second quarter pace? That should be cake. Never mind the fact that I'm in Austin and it's a million degrees and I only have 30 seconds between intervals. Pish posh.In reality, inevitably, this...

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Week in Review

82 miles3 doubles4 days in Chicago5 AFDsIs it becoming a bit repetitive to say I had a busy week? Spending more than several consecutive days in my own home is a rare occurrence and this week was no exception. Our next 13.1 isn't until Minneapolis in August, but I still have tons of travel on tap before then, including another visit to Texas on Tuesday and a return trip to Chicago for the Fleet Feet Conference at the end of the month.As for training, I think I've thoroughly exhausted the topic of yesterday's thoroughly exhausting race. I capped...

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13.1 Chicago Race Recap

~1 mile w/u + strides13.1 miles in 1:21:42Total: 14 milesResults1st place female, $1000It happened just before mile 12. Turning to the man pedaling his bicycle alongside me, I mustered up enough breath and energy to ask how much distance separated me from the next female. It was the first time I'd spoken to him all day. He arched casually over his right shoulder to scan the pavement behind us, then turned back to me. "She's at least two or three...

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