Week 15 (77.2) - Stronger

I'm not sure that it was a breakthrough per se, but it was a really good week. After running long last Sat and Sun, I ran 14 on Monday, and actually ended the run early because I had to get into the office. I drove to Houston that afternoon and was surprised that after nearly six hours in the car, I wasn't twisting and shifting trying to find a pain free position. It's funny how all this extra pounding has had the opposite effect - I don't wake up sore much at all, and shaking off the morning cobwebs seems to get easier and easier.

I desperately needed to sleep late on Tuesday, and had planned to run the neighborhood that afternoon, but it turned out to be a five-step turnaround. (My first day-off in nearly two weeks.) Wednesday morning midway through the 7-mile LBL loop, I felt like I was running way too slow and took a detour to the Austin High track where I ran 3x800's in 2:55, 2:52 and 2:49. It didn't feel particularly smooth, but it was nice to open up. I met Roger for speedwork on Thursday, but his hamstring was tight, so I ran solo on the track - 4x800 in 2:50, 2:49, 2:45 and 2:46 and 4x400 averaging 79 seconds. I'd always heard that big slow miles sap speed, but I'm not too far off normal. Friday was a recovery day - 8 miles at 64 minutes.

Saturday, Peter and his wife ran with us from Barton. I listened to Allison talk about how she really didn't have the time to devote to running right now since she just accepted a teaching job at UT, but we ran at a 7:30 pace up Scenic and Mt Bonnell and she and Peter kept going and going. I suggested that they run back to Lake Austin Blvd via Exposition, but neither was interested in cutting the route short so we ran UT and Congress and never slowed. I offered gels all around, but discovered that my zipper was down and the gels had fallen out. Peter and Allison did 16 miles and made it look easy. Mike and I added another 5 for 21 total. Great day. No ice bath. Long nap.

On Sunday, I ran to the Rock and then then did the 10 mile LBL loop in 72 minutes. Didn't intend to run that fast, but felt smooth and I found myself picking up the pace from mile marker to mile marker. Hard to believe that I'd just run 21 on Saturday. I got back to Barton with 15 miles under my belt, but jumped in with Ken Fries for one last mile, which put me over 77 for the week. 15 minutes left for a free soak. All good.

Just 31 days to go before Day 1; three weeks of serious training left. Home stretch. Next Sat, Sun & Mon (Labor Day) I'm hoping to run a total of 52.4 miles (2/3rds of the Triple).