20K

My legs felt 70-80% recovered this morning - mostly good, but climbing stairs I could tell that my glutes were still a bit tired. Still, I knew it would be important to do the whole 20K if I could, as I need to get my body used to 3 days in a row with a speed work day and a long day.

The weather was interesting. It was 50F (10C) at the start and 60F (15C) at the finish, but the wind was STRONG and GUSTY. It was 25mph steady (40kph) with stronger gusts. Not helpful. It was at my back for the first 7.5k, then from 7.5 to 17.5k it was in my face, and then from 17.5k to 20k at my back again. Challenging.

My legs held up quite well until 15k, when they were very, very tired and starting to be sore (maybe a bit of the weird soreness? but I think mostly just regular soreness from a long walk). Stevie walked with me for 15k, and then he stopped and I walked the last 5k alone; I saw Diane and Nancy at Arrowhead park and stopped there to talk with them and of course when I started up again it was painful. But the last 5K still went decently all things considered - it was not a death march and I wasn't in agony. Just uncomfortable.

I'm just glad I finished. It's good to know I can still do it (long day after 2 workout days) even if I was sloooooooow as a turtle.

Total: 2:12:00 for 6:36/km with ave HR 146. 5K splits pretty even at 32:25, 32:40, 33:34, 33:21. Slow, but considering the wind and my legs, I think that's decent. I worked really hard for it anyway, for what that's worth.

Garmin data here.

6K

I thought today might be disastrous, but it wasn't. Yes, I was a bit sore, and a little slow, but it didn't feel terrible, and my legs are recovering OK. Glad I didn't have to do more than 6K today, but that actually was the perfect amount to get me moving, work on my technique (especially posture! I think I'm getting better!), and just get used to walking 3 days in a row like I'll need to in order to do 5 days per week training again.

The weather was pretty good at 40F (4C) with a slight breeze and clear. When I did my first 500m I thought it was going to be a terrible workout, as everything was quite stiff, but I loosened up after about 1.5-2km and things went OK. I had to stop and stretch my piriformis frequently, but other than that things were good. My foot didn't bother me, and though I was a little sore in general from yesterday it wasn't bad. My legs were somewhat heavy, but not horribly so. Whew. Could have been lots worse.

Like I said, I wasn't fast… but that is OK. That will come. Today was a recovery day.

Total: 6K in 39:06 for 6:31/km with ave HR 142.

Garmin data here. 

5x1km

Yesterday: 45 min elliptical. My legs felt tired.

***

Today: Weather was chilly (38F, 3C) and breezy (about 10 mph, 16 kph). It wasn't raining when I started, but it began sleeting (snow/rain mix) right after my first 1km interval.

I warmed up feeling so-so in 10:03 with a couple 100m strides. I could tell it wasn't going to be a great day but I thought it might go OK. I had a lot on my mind as our dog was much worse this morning and I knew we'd have to take her in to the vet to have her put to sleep, and I was trying to figure out how to make all that work schedule-wise. I wasn't in the mood to do a hard workout, but I figured it was a good mental toughness workout regardless. Add in the sleet, wind, and the fact that my legs started to have some of the weird soreness in the 3rd km, and it was a sure-fire recipe for generating mental toughness. I figured if I could finish the workout then I would have gained something even if it wasn't a physical benefit.

My first two 1K intervals were all right. 5:45.1, 5:47.7. Then on the third my legs started to hurt a bit but I still did 5:49.5. The fourth and fifth weren't pretty but I did finish and under 6 min/km so it was probably beneficial to do them. The fourth was 5:53.6 and the last a gritting-my-teeth-giving-it-all-my-washed-up-legs-had 5:58.4. Ouch.

My legs have hurt a bit since then but not terribly, and I did do a fair amount of sitting at the microscope this morning. I will admit that I was a bit worried that whatever my mystery illness was is returning, but logically it's probably just the stress we've been under this week.

Garmin data here. 

***

We did say goodbye to our friend Sahara today. That was really hard, but it was clearly the right thing, as she was obviously suffering this morning. The kids said goodbye before they went to school, and honestly I think they are taking it better than we are. Calvin wanted to know when we are getting another dog. Geez, kid, let us process this one thing at a time, OK? But I'm glad that he is not dwelling on it and is able to move on.

I'm tired and sad. I took this afternoon off work and I'm going to take a nap.

10K w/3x3' bursts

I was feeling better this morning, except for lack of sleep… our poor sick dog vomited at 4:30 am and woke me up, and of course I couldn't fall back asleep. I listened to some music for a while and then got up and went for my walk.

It was a nice warm morning for this time of year, at 40F (4C) and it was a bit breezy. Overall, quite comfortable and a good number of people were out exercising.

My legs were slightly sore from yoga yesterday, but not too bad. It was a good kind of sore, though, and I don't think it slowed me much.

I wasn't fast today, but I didn't really care too much. I was just glad to be out there and feeling better than yesterday morning at the track. I worked really hard on my technique, and was reminded why I love and hate racewalking :). It requires a lot of concentration to make and keep technique changes, and I like it because it's challenging, but at the same time sometimes I just wish I could let my mind wander.  I focused hard today.

Total time was a rather slowish 1:04:21 for 6:26/km with ave HR 149. The bursts were slow too, at 3:02, 3:01, and 2:59. My legs were tired, and after sitting at the confocal microscope for a couple hours today, I did have a little of the weird soreness, though it was very mild.

Garmin data here.

workout fail….

I went to the track this morning. The weather was good - 40F (4C) and light breeze. I was not good. 4 laps of warm-up and I was glacially slow (10:36) and felt like my legs were made of bricks. Plus my right piriformis was bothering me. It was one of those days when I felt it would be super risky to try the workout. I was quite concerned I'd pull something, and there was no way this was going to turn out well. I'm just not recovering well from the 5K. Pathetic. I wonder if this is a last vestige of whatever illness I have had?

Mentally, I wasn't there either. I can't explain it but I just woke up grumpy and out of sorts, imagining crazy stuff. Our dog has completely stopped eating, and I'm imagining finding her dead somewhere in the house or the kids finding her, and then my mind wanders to horrible what-ifs about the kids, etc. It was bad.

I went home and did a good yoga workout instead to try and strengthen my hips. I've been neglecting strength training and it's showing.

I'm sorry coach. 5 workouts this week isn't going to happen :(. Maybe next week my recovery will be better.

Running of the Leopards 5K

Yesterday: elliptical

Today:
5K race! First race since last October's horrid 29:56 effort at the 5K Nationals in Kingsport.



Calvin is bugging me to get going… so this will have to be quick!

Warm-up - did 1.4km with some strides around the parking lot. Felt antsy. Right hip a bit irritated from Thursday (piriformis). Weather was about 40F (4C) and breezy, but it was a tailwind for the race. Pretty nice out, actually!

Race: Billed as "The Fastest 5K in Utah" and it probably is :). Nice descent of about 300ft (100m) with just a small uphill in the first mile (in the 2nd km). I felt pretty good initially, but my legs just didn't have the turnover I wanted; probably my fast-twitch muscles are just not there yet. Not surprising. Also, I just didn't have that little extra push I needed - was a bit afraid to go really hard because I don't trust my fitness just yet. I did a nice fast 4th km (5:32, my 2nd fastest) but on the 5th km though I worked harder (see my HR increase! Averaged 169 on 5th km, but max was 174 - working hard!), I didn't go any faster. Admittedly I was slowed down a bit by about 5m of sand on the track entrance and then the fact that the last 300m was flat, on the track.

So - I wasn't as fast as I'd hoped - was hoping to break 28 min on this nice downhill - but it's a good start to my season. Time 28:19, with splits of 5:24 (biggest downhill), 5:56 (the uphill was here), 5:46, 5:32, 5:39. Average HR for the whole race was just 161, so I think there was more room to push there. With time and some fast workouts, this will improve.

Garmin data here.

***

Calvin was just AWESOME this morning in his race. He did a flying fast 24:10. That's really good for a 9-year-old, I think!!! He got 2nd in his age group (under 11) and had a great time. We'll be doing more races together I'm sure!

tired not-quite-12km

My legs were tired this morning. That about sums up today's workout. After the hard effort I gave the 5x1km yesterday, I was a bit sore and didn't recover well.

This morning the weather was cooperative at 39F (4C), though I will say it felt a bit cooler than that to me. Anyway, it wasn't a factor. I started off and right away my legs were very heavy. I really had to talk myself through this whole walk. By 3km I was tired, and by 7km my legs were VERY tired and I was wondering if I'd make it to 12km. I fully intended to try, but by 10km it was increasingly difficult to hold my form, and my muscles felt weak. My right piriformis had been bothering me a little yesterday, and as my form deteriorated today, it began to bother me more. I decided to call it a day rather than injuring something.

Believe me, I gave this a lot of effort. It was mentally very taxing and I did not decide to stop early lightly. I think it was wise given how I was feeling. Sometimes you need to respect how your body is feeling, and you need to know when to push and when not to.

Totals: 10.83km in 1:11:07 for 6:34/km with ave HR 140.

Garmin data here.

My foot is slightly achy now (at lunch) but mostly OK, and my piriformis feels totally fine. I'm still glad I stopped.

5x1km

Yesterday: physically and mentally a bit wiped. Maybe more so mentally, but I was very tired and had trouble getting up. Still dragged myself to the gym and managed a measly 20 min on the elliptical. I'm proud of that, as I was tempted to skip entirely.

***

Today: 5x1km intervals. I was still tired, but better than yesterday. However, my body wasn't wanting to do anything. It was cold this morning (a bit cooler than usual for late March, at 31F or -1C) with a breeze of about 10mph (16kph). It was dark. I wasn't thrilled.

My warm-up (the usual 1600m with strides) was slow and I felt sluggish. I hoped things would turn around for the 5x1km, but alas, not so. My HR was a bit low, so maybe it was just one of those mornings? My times were pretty awful, but not because I didn't try hard. In fact, I'm proud of today's workout because I didn't quit. I was sorely tempted to quit after the 3rd one, but thought, no, I can quit after the 4th if I really want. And then there was only one left, so I figured I could pull it off.

Times: 5:49.5, 5:50.0, 5:52.9, 5:52.2, 5:52.5.

As my friend Nyle would say, "blark". Not sure exactly what that means, but it's ugly. Speaking of friends, here's a shout-out to people who have kept me going through all this: Loren, Nyle, Jim (coach), Erin, Sarah, Jonna & Erica, and Ollie, among others. Thanks for your words of encouragement.

My legs felt rubbery when I was done, and they are a bit sore. Not the weird soreness, though - just the post-hard-workout-I-gave-it-my-all soreness. Am supposed to do 12k tomorrow…hahahaha that'll be interesting!

Seriously, though --- I am happy I can be out there training hard again, even if the results are not so good.

Garmin data here.

12K w/3x3' bursts

Sunday: rest day. I felt good - a very tiny bit of the weird soreness while sitting at the piano at church for an extended period, but other than that no problems. I had some normal post-race delayed onset muscle soreness, especially in my shins, trapezoids, and deltoids. Odd to have so much soreness in my upper body, but I haven't been diligent about weight training, so I guess that's not surprising. Time to hit the gym again now that I am pretty sure the muscle thing is 95% better.

***

Today: 12k w/3x3' bursts. I was a bit sore today too, but didn't think it'd impact my workout much. At about 7k, my legs got quite tired and I definitely slowed down, but I still did a respectable 1:16:55 for 6:25/km with ave HR of 146. The three bursts were 2:57, 3:01, and 2:57 - slower than last week, but I didn't try to go all-out, just at 10K effort, which was slower today due to race recovery.

The weather has been freaky. 57F this morning (14C) - so warm - and windy, with 11mph wind, as a storm front was blowing in. Not as windy as on Saturday at the race by any means, but still noticeable and a bit annoying. Later in the day it cooled down to about 43F and was snowing on and off, but still super windy, so it was snowing sideways. I had to do a bunch of errands with the kids after work (shoe store, grocery store, thrift store) and it was not pleasant. Add in just plain tiredness from not enough sleep and I am grumpy now and ready for bed.

Oh yeah, and I got 2 blisters from the race - one on my right toe #3, and one on my right heel, where I've never had one. The toe blister is no biggie, but the heel one was really bothering me this morning and then all day walking around work and during errands. Glad to get off my feet.

Garmin data here.

Canyonlands Half Marathon

Yesterday: rode my bike to work in about 30 min, keeping it moderately easy --- used really low gears to climb the hills, kept my HR from getting too high, and didn't work my legs much. Usually if I work it harder it takes 22-24 minutes, so I did take it easy.

***

I left work early yesterday and Sarah, Erica and I drove to Moab (about 4 hr), arriving in time for dinner. After a relaxing dinner at the Moab Brewery, we checked into our hotel… that was a bit ugly. Sarah had reserved a room with two queen beds. The price was $79 per night for 1 person with a 2-night minimum (because of race weekend - all the hotels in town do this - and we could only stay one night!), because at the time she'd reserved it she didn't know she'd have me and Erica along with her. When the desk clerk realized 3 were staying, she jacked the price up to $109 per night, costing each of us $20 extra. She was fairly rude in her mannerisms, too. We were pretty annoyed, and even more so when we discovered the ice machine was broken, because we wanted the ice for my foot and Erica's ankle (which has been bothering her a bit). Needless to say, we will not be staying at The Virginian again… cannot recommend it at all. I will say that at least it was clean and comfortable and quiet.

This morning the race start was not until 10 am, so we got to sleep fairly late for a race morning! We were out of the hotel by 7:30 and then got on the bus to the race start. Because of the remote location, they bus everyone in, and you have to hang out for an hour and a half before the race. However, it's beautiful, and though it was chilly it wasn't cold until maybe 30-45 min before the race when the wind picked up.

I knew I was not in shape to race this, but it sure was fun to do it as a long day. I figured I'd be happy if I walked under 6:30/km and had a good recovery. My coach is particularly interested in how well I can recover from this week, and especially this race.

Back to the race… because of the wind, though it was 50F (10C), I opted for tights and a long-sleeved shirt. I think I'd have been happier in shorts and a T-shirt, in retrospect. By mile 3, the sun came out, and the wind calmed a bit, and I was downright hot. I worried that I wouldn't make it to the finish in one piece, but within 2 miles, the weather changed to partly cloudy and strong, gusty winds. VERY strong winds. The weather said it was a steady 25 mph (40 kph) with much stronger gusts. The wind was a headwind on and off until mile 11, with gusts so strong I could barely WALK never mind racewalk at some points. Add in some larger rolling hills, and it made for some slow miles and tired me out a bit. Starting at mile 11, we left the canyon and the wind was thankfully at our backs for a while, but the damage had been done and I was slower at the end. No matter, as I wasn't actually trying to race, just go the distance for the first time in a long time.

Mile splits:
1 - 9:44 (BIG downhill!), 2 - 10:02 (still downhill), 3 - 9:56 (still downhill), 4 - 10:23 (flatter, hotter), 5+6 - 20:39 (rolling hills), 7 - 10:25 (windy, slight uphill) 8 - 10:53 (larger uphill, windy), 9 - 10:30 (rolling hills, windy), 10 - 10:38 (rolling hills, windy), 11 - 11:04 (flat, tired legs), 12 + 13 + 0.1 - 22:06.

Total time: 2:16:16 for 6:27/km with ave HR 150.

Garmin data here.
Pre- and post-race photos at left.

10K w/3x3' bursts

This morning I woke ready to work out. I seem to have adjusted to the time change, at last. My foot felt great, too, and has continued to feel good even after the workout. I iced it twice so far today just to be extra careful, but it didn't feel uncomfortable at all. 

The weather was chilly, but seasonal for March at 35F (2C) with a light breeze that felt quite cold. I wore a long-sleeved shirt, jacket, tights, and gloves, and a headband, and that was just right. 

I started off fast on the downhill but didn't feel my technique click in properly for at least 1km or so. Have to work on that. Still, it did click in and then felt good the rest of the time. I concentrated a lot on it so as not to re-injure my foot or hurt my piriformis or tibialis anterior. Whew. 

My bursts were nice and fast: 2:53, 2:54, 2:53, but after the 3rd one I was quite tired, which isn't surprising since I did 5x1km yesterday and my body is not used to that yet. So I slowed a bit and my total time was slower than last week at 1:03:01 for 6:18/km with ave HR 145. 

Ready for some cross-training tomorrow and a half-marathon on Saturday! :)

Garmin data here.

5x1km

Yesterday: elliptical 30 min; then stationary bike for 7-8 min. I woke up late (again… dratted DST!) and that's the time I had. Almost got the kids to school late, but we made it. Iced foot frequently and it felt good.

Today: 5x1km was the workout. I woke up a bit later than I intended, and felt lousy. Still not used to DST. Why can't we just leave the clocks alone? Now it's darker and colder for my workouts…grumble, whine, moan. That was my mood this morning, and I really did NOT want to do the track workout. Just didn't care. But I know that I am competing in the 15K in May, so I really do want to get back in shape. I made myself go, and it went well.

Warm-up - truncated to 1200m with strides because of the time. 7:18 or so, and I felt pretty good.

Weather: average for this time of year, but chillier than it has been. 34F (1C) and a very slight breeze. I wore my new warm jacket and my new headband that my mom gave me for my birthday, so at least I looked stylish haha. There was only 1 other person at the track the whole time I was there, and it was dark, so stylish hardly mattered. I was concerned the track might be icy, as it snowed and rained a bit yesterday, but it was dry.

Edited to add the selfie I took with my new headband.

Workout: I felt pretty good and was consistent on all of the 1k intervals. Each one was naturally a bit harder, but I had something left for the last one. My foot did not bother me at all, but I concentrated a LOT on keeping it aligned properly to avoid tweaking it more. In fact, I worked on my technique a lot. At first I thought "technique over speed" and then I thought, no, "technique IS speed" and repeated that  over and over to myself to make sure I held my posture, used my hips, kept my foot aligned, and used my left glutes more.

Times: 5:41.0, 5:44.0, 5:43.5, 5:43.9, 5:42.9. HR was up to 170 max, and averaged over 165 on the last 500s of the last 2K, so I know I was working hard.

Garmin data here.

8k after work

Yesterday: 30 min stationary bike to burn off part of my birthday dessert. Usually I take Sunday off of training but I wanted the exercise.

Today: Gotta love  daylight savings time. NOT! Overslept my alarm and missed my morning workout. Luckily for me, the kids are old enough to take with me now! I get off work in time to pick them up from school on Mondays, and after walking home we readied ourselves to go out. Wish I'd taken a photo as they were so cute. Calvin had his running shoes and his scooter and was planning on one lap of the park on the scooter (2.25k) and then 5k running. He is training for a 5k in a couple weeks and wanted to practice running non-stop and timing himself. Grace had her rollerblading and all her protective gear, and her plan was to rollerblade 8k with me.

It was warm and windy, as a storm was coming in. 60F (15C) and quite gusty at times. I hate racewalking in the afternoon, because I never feel quite right. Today was no exception. I was originally planning on 10k with bursts, but the kids and my foot (which was just not 100%) changed my mind, so I did 8k instead. I'll do the 10k on Thursday.

The kids behaved very well and had a great time, and though I was slow it was ok. My foot felt no worse during or after and I am pleased about that because I concentrated very hard on my form to avoid aggravating it.

Haven't uploaded yet but my time was 51:34 for 6:27/km with average HR a low 140. I just didn't have any oomph to push harder after work. But I was glad I went and we all enjoyed being outside. Now it's lots winder and raining and generally icky out so it's good to be done.

birthday bash walk! 18K!

Yesterday: supposed to cross-train, but rested. My foot was achy and so I decided rest would be better - ice and naprosyn helped a lot :).

***

Today: 18K! My birthday treat to myself. I slept in until 7 am (late for me!) and enjoyed a kid-free morning courtesy of my parents. Loren slept much later, and while he slept in, I read a book for an hour, then tidied up the house, and left for my walk around 9 am. Luxurious! Thanks, mom and dad!

The weather was absolutely glorious. Our first daffodil bloomed today, in honor of my birthday. Loved it! It was 40F (4C) at the start of my walk, and about 50F (10C) at the finish. Sooooooo beautiful - sunny, warm, amazing. Just a slight breeze, but I got pretty warm in my long-sleeved shirt and capris and gloves - took off the gloves at 3K, and rolled up my sleeves above my elbow at 10K. LOTS and LOTS of runners, rollerbladers, strollers, dog-walkers at Liberty Park, all with spring fever!

The 18K went well. My foot ached a bit from 14K-18K, but I iced it afterward and paid lots of attention to my technique and that paid off. It feels good now. My legs were pretty darn tired from 15K-18K but I kept a good pace and finished well.

Total time: 1:55:22 for 6:25/km with ave HR just 144. I'm getting more fit!

Garmin data here.

10K w/3x3' bursts

My hamstrings were a bit sore after Monday's 8K fartlek, and then yesterday's 4x1km made that a bit more pronounced, plus my glutes were a bit sore too. 500m into today's workout I thought it was gonna be rough…but I turned out to be wrong!

The weather was decent. Can't complain - we haven't had much snow, mostly rain, and that's just fine with me! I thought it was 46F (8C) but the Garmin weather says it was 12C…whatever. It was breezy/windy, and I had on tights and a long-sleeved shirt and gloves; ditched the gloves partway through and rolled up my sleeves and it felt pretty good.

Anyway, despite my legs being tired and not feeling 100%, I pulled off a season's best 1:02:23 for 6:14/km with ave HR 145. My bursts were 2:58, 2:58 (slight uphill), and 2:54 (slight downhill).

I'd say this week is going quite well. Tomorrow is x-training, and then Saturday I'm going to tackle 18K. My foot was a bit sore today but not too bad, and I'm icing it right now.

Garmin data here.

4x1km w/2' rest

Yesterday: 30 min elliptical, 30 min stationary bike (trying to rest my foot more). Started taking some Aleve (naprosyn) to try and help the foot recover a bit faster. I think it's helping.

***

Today: 4x1km with 2' rest. I drove to the track, and it was 35F (1.7C) and calm and clear. Unfortunately, it was just cold enough on the track surface to be icy…and it rained a bit last night. So the track was waaaaay too slippery for racewalking. Irritating! Next I drove to 800E and parked and just did my workout there.

It went well. I started off very slowly and then accelerated throughout my warm-up, throwing in some strides and focusing a lot on technique. 10:10 for 1600m, by my Garmin.

After my dynamic drills, I got started on the workout. It is not perfectly flat, but the best I can get --- I think it's slightly downhill-ish on the first km and slightly uphill-ish on the 2nd km. I did two out-and-backs for my 4km.

My km times were 5:42, 5:45, 5:39, 5:48. I guess I took the 3rd one a bit hard - my legs were pretty much screaming on the 4th one and it was slower. Oops! HR was up to ave 169 on the last 500 (max 171 on that same 500).

I actually felt good and strong though. These were faster than last week's, and I did more of them and had less recovery. Good job! :)

I am still sooooooo happy to be feeling better!

My foot has hardly bothered me at all today. It's doing a lot better, too. The combination of 1) technique vigilance, 2) new shoes, 3) naprosyn seems to be working.

Garmin data here.

8K fartlek

Sunday: Rest day!

***

Today: 8K fartlek
Weather: 44F (7C) with a slight breeze. A lovely morning for early March!
Warm-up: 1600m in 10:07 with strides on the last lap. Felt OK. Wearing my new pair of New Balance 1400 shoes and they felt good.
Workout: It went as well as I could have expected. I was hoping to go under 48 min, and I did - just barely! With just getting back into things this is about the best I could hope for, seeing as how I did 29:46 for my 5K fartlek last week. My splits were consistent today, my technique felt solid (though I have to keep checking everything constantly!), and I finished in 47:58 with ave HR 162, so I was working good and hard. The fast intervals varied from 2:48-2:54 and the medium effort 500s varied from 3:07-3:12. Good and solid.
Foot: feels a bit achy now, but better than on Saturday. I iced it briefly but have been standing a lot at work. Will ice it again later. I think the new shoes helped.

Garmin data here.

16.442K indoors

Yesterday: 45 min elliptical.

Today: WINDY. Very, very windy. 22mph (35kph) with gusts of 33mph (53kph), and light rain predicted (though it didn't rain much that I can tell). I hate wind. I'd rather be inside with that kind of wind. Too hard to RW effectively, and with the Olympic Oval as an option, well… inside it was. Stevie met me there, and he did 14K (I think…not sure his lap count was right). I also (happily) ran into my friends Erica and Sarah. They don't know each other (well, they do now haha) but they were there doing 12 miles and 14 miles, respectively. I had 16K (10 miles) on tap, so we decided we'd eat breakfast together after, which we did. Erica ran with me most of my workout, which was great - I love having company. Stevie is a bit faster and I just told him to go his own speed, which he did. 

I was to do 36.2 laps of 442m for the 16K. I somehow miscounted (despite my watch…hard to see the laps with my aging eyes - sad but true!) and did 37.2 laps. Oops. I never felt really awesome or strong today; I was a bit tired after 5 laps and it just stayed that way. However, my lap times were pretty consistent even as I tired. My HR was pretty low today - average of just 137 - but I think it's just the tired legs thing I've had all week. No pain or weird soreness, just have felt sluggish. I don't think anything is wrong at all though - just working through increasing distance, and I think all is well. Took a water + gel break at 8km, and then 2 more quick water/stretch breaks in the last 8km. 

My foot was warm and a bit inflamed, but not painful. I was just uber-aware of it and afterward iced it during breakfast (asked the waitress for a big glass of ice, put it in my newspaper bag as I'd grabbed the paper from my driveway and threw it in the car on my way over to the Oval, and iced away - felt SO great). It feels fine now. I just have to baby it a bit to get it back healthy after trashing it in that pair of shoes. I need to switch shoes as my current pair has about 400 miles on it (643km) and it's time… fortunately I bought a brand-new pair of NB1400s and I know that those are good for my feet as I used them for 50K training in 2012. I think I'll use those for my shorter stuff this week and if all is well will switch to them before my 18K next Saturday. 

My total time was 1:47:11 for the 16.442km, which works out to 6:31/km with ave HR 137. Note that one lap time is 43 sec long because I forgot to press stop on my watch, and a couple others I pushed 10-15 seconds late so one lap is long and the next a bit short. Otherwise it's accurate. 

Anyway, today was solid but not great, and I'm OK with that. One step at a time. It's the farthest I've walked since Jan 12, 2013 (when I did a sub-2hr 20K long walk…sigh……..), so I have something to celebrate there, through mixed emotions. Coming back is hard but good.

Garmin data here.