JohnK

3 miles very easy. Arrived home from last night's race at 3:15 a.m. and slept maybe 3.5 hours then got up and decided a very short run might help my recovery but I sure wasn't interested in anything much. I should feel good tomorrow and hope to get in at least 15.

16 miles easy. Felt good, still some overall fatigue/soreness from Friday night's race and more likely from the drive home and lack of sleep that night.

10 miles easy (75 minutes). Felt okay, still recovering from very little sleep Friday night and driving home 1-3 a.m. after the 10K race. But going 16 yesterday was no problem and 10 today did feel like a good recovery run.

10 miles, mostly easy except for several :30 build-ups.

14 miles total, first 3 to warm up then 10 x half mile loop (about 500m uphill and 300 down) in 2:55, 2:56, 2:55, 2:55, 2:55, 2:56, 2:55, 2:56, 2:53, 2:53 with long 4:00 recoveries (~800m) and then an easy cool-down mile. Felt good once I got going on the repeats and am really pleased with how strong I felt even after #10.

8 miles easy (60:00). Felt some overall fatigue so definitely in need of a very relaxed run today.

13 miles in 1:27.40, doing an out-and-back course (6 out, 6 back) plus mile #13 in the neighborhood. Ran the first 6 in 41:50, a little over MP (7:10, 7:00, 6:55, 7:00, 6:50, 6:55 = 6:59 pace) then the next 6 in 38:20 (6:25, 6:30, 6:30, 6:30, 6:15, 6:10) = 6:23 pace with the 13th mile in 7:30 as a cool-down. Pleased with the effort and how it felt.

9 miles easy. Felt pretty good, should be up for a key long run tomorrow.

21 miles in 2:29.10. First 15 in 1:47.34 (7:10 pace) then ran 6400 on the track with 1600s in 6:38, 6:36, 6:37, 6:37 and miles 20 & 21 both in 7:30. Felt okay today but could tell during the early miles that I wasn't completely recovered from hard efforts on Wed. and Fri., so I was worried about being able to manage the planned 4-5 sub-MP miles late in the run. But I got through it okay. I only drank 8 oz. of Gatorade in the 9th mile and that's definitely not enough as I feel really dehydrated now, more than two hours after finishing and after drinking everything I can get my hands on.

Very easy 6 mile run (45:00), at first feeling rather fatigued from yesterday but after about 20 minutes it was considerably better. Still I knew I needed a short recovery run so I resisted temptation to continue for a few more miles.

10 miles easy (75 mins.). Felt pretty good but wanted another easy day following the hard effort Sunday.

10 miles, easy except several 150-200m build-ups. Felt good.

17 miles in 1:56 going 8 miles out in 56:03 (7:00 pace) and 8 back in 52:22 (6:33 pace) with a 17th mile cool-down jog in 7:35. The goal was 7:00 pace for the first 8 and 6:30 pace for the second 8. The first 8 went fine and I was feeling good, although it was low 70s and humid this a.m. when I had been expecting low 60s. Coming back I went 6:35, 6:36, 6:35, 6:40, 6:40, 6:36, 6:25, 6:15. I think part of the reason I didn't hit 6:30s was that the traffic on this route is fairly heavy and it's kind of distracting, having to switch back-and-forth from road to sidewalk. Maybe that's a lame excuse, but I think had it just been me and the road I would have focused better and hit the 6:30 goal pace. Maybe I wouldn't have then picked it up the final 2 miles, who knows. Anyway, it was a good effort overall.

8 miles easy (60 mins.). Rather fatigued from yesterday.

9 miles, easy except one mile in 6:15. Felt good. Right hamstring was a little sore in the area that bothered me for an extended period in 2005. Not really noticeable while running but during the day yesterday and a bit after running today.

22 miles in 2:33.37 (6:59 ave. pace). Started out with a 7:20 and worked down to ~7:05 thru 12 and then 6:55 for miles 13-15. After 15 (1:46.07) I ran 8K on the track in 32:19 (6:30 pace) with 1600s in 6:26, 6:24, 6:20, 6:35, 6:34) and then 2 miles cool-down both in ~7:30. Really pleased with how I felt when I got on the track, and wasn't expecting it because I was on my feet basically all day yesterday watching our son play soccer in the morning and then with him at Georgia vs. Western Carolina football in the afternoon, plus mowing the lawn. So I was really beat last night but felt fine this a.m. It was somewhat cooler (mid 60s) with less humidity, although rather breezy. Maybe I was inspired by how well several bloggers did at Top of Utah Marathon yesterday. This was a confidence-building run 3 weeks out from Chicago Marathon.

7 miles easy. Was expecting to really feel yesterday's long, hard run, and while I started out very slowly and not feeling so great I was very pleased to eventually feel quite good -- much, much better than last Monday. But regardless, I wasn't about to go any more than 7 today.

8 miles, easy except 10 x 100m strides on UGA track. Felt good.

13 miles, first 4 to warm up then 10 x 800m loop (~500 uphill and ~300 downhill) in 2:56, 2:55, 2:54, 2:53, 2:54, 2:53, 2:55, 2:55, 2:56, 2:56 (= 2:54.7 ave.) taking a 2:00 (~400m) jog recovery after each repeat and then 1.5 miles easy to cool down. Felt good, please to get same average as two weeks age despite cutting the recovery time in half. (Taking 4 mins./800m the previous two times I did this workout was really too long, so today was a much better workout.)

8 miles easy (60 mins.). Dragging today, but that was expected. Left foot was sore briefly yesterday afternoon/evening but not noticeable this a.m.

14 miles, out-and-back 13 miles and then a 14th mile cool-down jog in the neighborhood. Started at 7:10 then 7:05, 7:05, 7:00, 7:05, 7:15 and 3:35 for 1/2 (46:15 at 6.5 miles = 7:07 pace). Was feeling okay but definitely not great, and most likely some of the cause was lingering fatigue from Sunday and Wednesday. Nevertheless, I picked it up a bit on the way back:  3:15 for the 1/2 then 6:30, 6:40, 6:45, 6:45, 6:40, 6:35 (43:10 second 6.5 = 6:38 pace), plus mile 14 in ~7:30. Not a great run but not too bad either.

8 miles, easy except 8 x 100m strides. Felt pretty good. Wore new adidas adistar comp 4 flats which I got for Chicago Marathon. Very nice. Was planning on Asics Ohana Racers but couldn't get them in my size. I had an earlier pair of the adistar comps I used for several half marathons a couple years ago and I think this new model is even better.

8 miles easy in early a.m. in Arlington, VA. Later a lot of walking on the Mall in D.C. Felt okay during the run, not great, but yesterday was kind of a long day of travel and then up late.

8 miles easy in Arlington, VA, with a few pick-ups. Felt good although had some pain in the back of the right knee. Really odd but I am guessing it's nothing to worry about.

6 miles easy with a few pick-ups. Felt good despite arriving home at 1:15 a.m. this morning and only getting ~4 hours of sleep. Right knee wasn't really noticeable while running but is still somewhat sore otherwise. I had wanted a mid-long run today (maybe 12-13) then easy tomorrow followed by 3-4 x 1600 at 10K race pace on Thursday. But now I'm not sure, I'll see how the knee is the rest of today. I'm not worried about it but want to figure out the best use of the training time between now and Oct. 7th. I've now had four easy days in a row and it's more like what I should be doing a week from now! I still want to get in the 1600m repeats tomorrow or Thursday and a 13-14 miler on Sat. or Sun., plus a "dress rehearsal" run probably next Wednesday, just 7-8 miles w/ 3 at MP. Otherwise next week will be quite easy.

8 miles easy. Felt pretty good and the right knee issue seems to have cleared up. So I feel I'll be ready for a good workout tomorrow.

13 miles, first 4 to warm-up then 3 x 1600 on UGA track in 5:47, 5:47, 5:49 w/ 400m jog recoveries after #1 and #2 then an 800m jog after #3 followed by 3200 in 12:54 (6:34, 6:20) and three miles cool-down. Felt pretty good, pleased overall, especially with the fact that the 3200 wasn't difficult and the pace didn't feel too tough even after the repeat 1600s. Last workout before Chicago Marathon.

6 miles easy. Felt pretty good, only mildly fatigued from yesterday's workout. Marathon taper seriously underway now:  just one 13-14 miler this Sunday and an hour run w/ 2-3 miles at MP on Wednesday otherwise pretty short and easy the next 8 days.

7 miles easy, felt pretty good. Looking forward to a pretty hard run tomorrow and then six easy days prior to Chicago.

13 miles in 1:27.49. Went 6 out in 41:50 (all miles in 6:55-7:00 range) then next 6 in 38:29 with miles 7-12 in 6:35, 6:30, 6:28, 6:26, 6:20, 6:10. (Total of 1:20.19 for 12 miles = 6:41.5 pace.) Mile #13 easy in 7:30.

Felt okay the first 6 but was not floating along effortlessly as I'd hoped -- during this part of the run I was having some negative thoughts about how hard it will be to run 6:48-6:50 per mile for a full marathong. But I felt good during miles 7-12 so overall it was a satisfying run and I don't believe I went too hard today.