3x1km; 4x500

Sunday: rest day, much needed.

Monday: elliptical, 45 min. Originally Jim was going to have me do speed work, but after my unspectacular 15k on Saturday he pulled back my schedule this week, for which I am grateful. I mean, I wish I could do what he'd originally put down, but my body is tired and I can feel the goodness of the rest. Yesterday I felt really good doing the elliptical and could tell it was what I needed.

Today: I literally stopped to smell the roses this morning. My red roses are blooming and were covered with raindrops and were so lovely, so I stopped to look at them and photograph them before I got in the car to go to the track. I was procrastinating a bit because I woke up feeling very tired; I need a bit more sleep when working out hard and I haven't done a good job at making sure I get it. But I was actually looking forward to my track workout because I got to do it on a real track. Josh, my boss, is a member of the Black Sheep running club and gets their e-mails about their workouts. Since the tracks are all closed, they have trouble finding workout locations too. Someone in their club has a connection up here at the U, though, and managed to get the track opened at 6 am this morning and got the bars over the first 3 lanes unlocked. Woohoo! Josh told me about this yesterday and I was really glad to know I could work out at the track. It just helps a lot with pacing, and it's nice to be outside when the weather is good like it was this morning. If I could order up weather for a track workout or a race, this morning would be it. Overcast and 13.9C (57F) with a slight breeze. Doesn't get any better than that!!!

I did my warm-up in lanes 3-4 because the runners were doing their speed work. By the time I finished my 1600m and did some stretching, they were doing their cool-down and I had lane 1 to myself :). YES! Amazing how the things we take for granted, like having a track to work out on, become so much more valuable when they are limited quantities.

My legs didn't feel very fast today, and it took a while for my system to get going. Not sure why that was, but the good thing was that once I got going it went well. I was slow on my first km at 2:53.4, 2:56.5 for 5:49.9. Ugh! But I reminded myself that I am grateful to be able to train, and that my legs feel strong and that there is no weird soreness. With that I started my second 1km, and tried to focus on feeling strong and having good technique. My left piriformis and/or glutes was really kind of irritated, though it did get better throughout the workout. I have got to do some strength training! Jim sent me some exercises and now there is really no excuse. Anyway, my 2nd 1km was better at 2:51.8, 2:55.1 for 5:46.9. And my third was even better at 2:51.2, 2:54.8 for 5:46.0. Still not really GOOD, but I was out there getting it done, and I was getting a good workout. The 500s were good though :). My first one was 2:47.4, second 2:47.8, third 2:45.5, and the fourth 2:44.5. HA! I knew there was some speed in those legs somewhere. It's not nearly as good as it used to be, but at least those 500s gave me a glimpse of what I used to do. It's encouraging anyway. At least I'm moving the right way.

Garmin data here.