Th/Fr/Sat/Sun

Thursday: 7.5 miles @ 8:25 avg. This was a nice run in a warm weather (82 degrees). I was pleasantly surprised that my legs were not in bad shape after the very difficult tempo run on Wednesday. The pace was indeed fast in the first two miles and I decided to slow down a bit because my right calf was a bit sore. I am reaching a point at which running at 8:15-8:30 is just really easy. It’s difficult to slow down when am running fine but am doing a job so far.

Friday: Off. I took Friday off because my right calf has been bothering me quite a bit since Wednesday night. I really wanted to run but decided against it in the afternoon. I figured that taking one day off was the most intelligent decision at this stage of my training. Yes, taking one day off will not affect my form but could result in many days off (due to an injury) if am not feeling good.

Saturday (QW2): 15.2 miles total. 2x10 mins tempo (2 mins recovery), 9 miles, 20 mins tempo. My right calf is not 100%, I still have moderate pain so I decided to go slow in the warm up (12 minutes) and then do the first set of tempos. I felt fine in the warm up and did a very good job in the first 2x10 mins. tempos. The wind was very strong (gusting up to 30 miles per hour) and that certainly slowed me down a bit. The next 8 miles were easy. Again, the 8:15-8:30 min/mile pace felt very easy. I didn’t have any major problem completing the first 11.25 miles. The biggest challenge came at the end: a 20 minute tempo with 11.25 miles already in my legs. Four weeks ago, I did a similar work out and the last tempo was not good. I had a very good 20 min. tempo today. I ran in the upper limit for a tempo run (7:05 min/mile) not because I couldn’t go faster but because I consciously decided to be conservative and don’t force my right calf. I ended this run feeling very strong. I am happy! In addition to putting together a strong 15 miler, I ran almost 11 miles of the Kalamazoo half marathon course. I wanted to get a sense of how easy or difficult it is. I think it is not easy. The first 4 miles are very easy but the rest is tricky. It has many hills and that could be costly at the end. At least I know what to expect next Saturday. My legs are stronger and ready for the hills. I have a race plan in mind but will describe it in detail later…

Sunday: 6 miles very easy. Easy recovery day, 6 miles in the upper 8's and low 9's. I felt good and wanted to go faster but didn't do it.

Total miles this week: 54.5