Fri 4/4 - PM 70 minutes incl. 10k in 32:16

Effort was there, result was not as I ran out of gas soon after 5k and went from 76/lap pace to 79-80 in the blink of an eye. For this many laps on the track it's imperative to break it up into digestible chunks, I decided to use kilometers. Those splits as follows:

3:11
6:19 - 3:08
9:28 - 3:09
12:38 - 3:10
15:49 - 3:11
19:04 - 3:15
22:21 - 3:17
25:38 - 3:18
28:57 - 3:19
32:16 - 3:20

After 800m in 2:34, I felt the group I was with sag a bit and made a move to bridge to a group ahead that seemed to be closer to the 76 pace I wanted. Thus the faster second km. In hindsight of course I should have stayed right where I was. The next 3k I spent right following a kid clicking off the pace I wanted. Felt relaxed and under control at this point and optimistic about running evenly the rest of the way. Breathing got more labored during the fifth km which was the first sign of trouble, still hopeful though. In the 14th lap I lost contact with the pacer and the drop-off in pace was immediate. I knew at 6k I wouldn't be running 31:40, but still hopeful to break 32 if I could maintain 77-78 second laps. At 7k I knew going under 32 would be difficult at best, and by 8k I knew I was fucked. The final indignity was busting my ass while running the last km at 80 second pace, playing out the string in no-man's land.

Hindsight being 20/20 I certainly overestimated my fitness, which is the crux of the dissappointment of course. The first half of the race I felt like I was holding something back for later, and that the pace was eminently sustainable. The realization that it wasn't came quite suddenly. The 6k time trial I was thinking of doing 10-14 days ago certainly seems like a good idea in hindsight. I'd like to think had I run the first 5k in 16:00 the final time would have been at least 10 seconds faster, not that I drove five hours to run 32 minutes.

I don't suppose driving all afternoon to get to the meet was the ideal way to approach things, but I'm loath to use that as an excuse when many other people at the meet must have had a similar complaint. I felt unusually alert and crisp while warming up as well, although that ended up being an illusion of course. Whether from lack of endurance or fatigue, I reached the end of my rope about 2.5 miles ahead of schedule. Apart from a modest breeze on the homestretch, the conditions were almost ideal, and the size of the field ensured that there would be someone to follow, which there was. In fact the kid I was following early on ended up running 31:41. Overall, my fitness continues on the gradual decline since that 3k time trial at BU four months ago when I came away so certain I was ready to run sub-15 for 5k. As ever, I'd have to say the root of the issue is not sleeping long enough or well enough. It could be and has been worse in this regard, but still I need to be sleeping better if I hope to race better.

Thu 4/3 - PM 45 minutes easy

Area 51. Kept it relatively short, legs feeling better than yesterday but still a bit sore so I skipped on doing any strides. A placeholder leading up to tomorrow. Somewhat ambivalent on how things will go, we'll see.

Wed 4/2 - PM 60 minutes easy

Area 51. Difficult to resist the trails now that they're clear again, if a little damp in spots. Feeling some soreness in my right thigh after the 300s yesterday, as such the pace remained easy throughout and no strides at the end. Much cooler than yesterday and at times blustery.

Tue 4/1 - PM 45 minutes incl. 8x300

Late start this evening after standing around all afternoon at a kiddie meet. 20 minute jog warmup, changed into spikes and right into a set of 300s with 100 jog recoveries. The first one as such was an extension of the warmup, just under 60. The others went from 56 down to 54, with recoveries between 31 and 33 seconds. 11:45 total for the 8 laps. Overall it took more effort than I would have liked, but I was also going a bit too fast esp. given the persistent breeze. Some lingering soreness in the right thigh, feels like I may have a mild quad strain. Also feeling some lingering tiredness, sleeping more will be a priority the next three nights.

Mon 3/31 - PM 65 minutes easy

Area 51, Puffer and Patrol roads mainly. Dragging all day at work, expected to feel sluggish for the run and that's exactly how it felt for 45 minutes, at which point the fog suddenly lifted and I was able to move much more easily. A sudden transition to be sure. Six strides on the way in that felt pretty good. Miserable dreary conditions with rain all day and temps hovering in the mid-40s.

Sun 3/30 - AM 90 minutes easy

Track Road to Area 51. Not as fried as I was expecting after yesterday, pushed it a little bit too much at times. Took a few breaks to counteract this and made sure to take it easier the last 40 minutes or so. Still cold but not as windy as yesterday.

Sat 3/29 - AM 75 minutes incl. Lincoln tempo in 24:06

Not quite fully awake for this kind of effort, as I expected. I find it harder and harder to do hard efforts in the morning. Unseasonably cold with a brisk WNW wind that made it feel colder and also acts as an impediment on 3/4 of the course when it's coming from that direction. As such I wasn't in the mood. I resolved to try and get to 3 miles in 16 minutes and take it from there. What followed was the first instance ever that I can think of wherein the mile splits were progressively faster, to wit:

5:23
5:20
5:17
3:09
4:57

This pattern suggests some sandbagging the first mile but I prefer to think of it as not succumbing to the usual urge to blast out the first uphill 800m. I knew the effort would have to increase the second mile to come close to 10:40, this effort put things right in the neighborhood of a time trial. Attempted with limited success to relax and hold back again the next 1.6m, still closer to time trial than tempo effort but at that point I just wanted to get it over with. 15 second rule was in effect the last mile which suggests that I wasn't completely over my head with the pace the first three miles. Still feeling the effects of Tuesday's longer workout, more in terms of general fatigue than specific soreness in the legs.