Log for September 5-6 – Training for Bank of America Chicago Marathon on October 9th. Goal for the fall and winter marathon season is to break 3:15 for the first time.
Monday
- Crash – One day removed from the Tupelo 14.2, I took Labor Day as a rest day. I didn’t even set my alarm, and my awesome wife got up with the kids and let me sleep-in. Without an alarm or kids to wake me up I slept till NOON! Other than days when I’m sick, I can’t remember a time in the last 10 years where I’ve slept till noon. I guess it’s obvious that my body needed it. I also ended up taking a nap in the late afternoon while Sara was asleep. It is nice to feel rested and refreshed.
- Cross-Training – Even though it was a day of mostly rest, Olivia and I did one set of P90X: Ab-Ripper X.
Tuesday
- 7.25-Mile Tempo Run – The remnants of tropical storm “Lee” have brought much cooler weather to Middle Tennessee. At 6am this morning it was in the mid 50s with steady rain and wind. Tuesday is normally my tempo day, but didn’t know if this type of pace was possible only two days after a race. I started at the PW Park gates with Nathan and Paxton, and told them I’d let them go if I needed to take it easy. The plan was to do two loops with a stop back at the cars in-between for some fluids. I stayed with them for most of the first two miles, but after that I started to fall back as my legs were feeling a little heavy. I also cut off the route a little shorter than they did for a pit stop at the golf course. My first four miles ended up being 8:39, 8:21, 8:13, and 8:11.
I ended up meeting them back at the cars, and we decided to run the second loop down and back Belle Meade Boulevard. Even though my legs felt heavy for the first loop, they felt GREAT for the second loop, and I began to pick up the pace. My last three miles were 7:41, 7:01, and 6:11. It was like the cooler temps had taken the shackles off of my heart and lungs, and I felt like I could run as fast as I wanted. I know that Nathan and Paxton thought I was crazy, and honestly it probably was to run a 6:11 final mile. Regardless, it felt really good to run fast, and it was a big confidence boost to know how much more speed is there when the temperatures are lower.
- No cross training tonight, as Olivia and I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary with a nice dinner at the Stockyard, followed by coffee at Starbucks.