8 with Kenyan Way + Swimming

Just a GREAT run this morning. The conditions were absolutely PERFECT! I haven't run anything longer than 3 or 4 miles since the marathon so this morning, my first morning with Kenyan Way I was anxious to see if I still had a little somethin' somethin' in the old legs. And sure 'nuf I did.

The pace coach set for me for my long runs is a lot faster than I was running before the marathon. I did a lot of long runs at 14:15-14:30 last Novemeber and December leading up to the marathon. Coach has me targeting 13:00-13:15 for my long runs. That was based on my last short(er) race which was the Turkey Trot 10K back at the end of November. I have been running these little 2 and 3 milers under 13 so I was feeling pretty confident and excited about nailing a long run.

Coach is big on the negative split thing and I completely agree with his philosophy (like that really matters). So, this is a goal on EVERY run. Run the last mile faster than the first and run the last half faster than the first half. So, that sounds kind of kooky until you understand that it's as much about slowing down and warming up early in the run as it is about picking it up and finishing strong toward the end. As coach put it, we should start out easy and as we warm up, we just naturally get faster with the same effort. I really experienced this today as the splits show.

Mile 1 - 13:29
Mile 2 - 13:25
Mile 3 - 13:12
Mile 4 - 13:08
Mile 5 - 13:03
Mile 6 - 12:55
Mile 7 - 12:48
last .57- 12:32 pace
Total miles - 7.57
Avg pace - 13:06

Crazy thing was, I really didn't feel like I was picking it up and pushing it until there at the end and even that felt conversational. Man, each mile just got a little faster and a little faster and I just felt GREAT at the end.

After a fun breakfast with some KW peeps, I headed out for the 2nd highlight of the morning, swim training with TOTR. I got to try out some new goggles and earplugs I got last night. The googles are VERY comfortable and make a lot of difference in the water. Coaches had a great workout planned for us.

Warmup
25 yd free
25 yd superman drill
25 yd free
25 yd fist drill
20 sec rest and repeat

Core - Pyramind w/ 20 sec rest between each
25 yd
50 yd
75 yd
100 yd
150 yd
100 yd
75 yd
50 yd
25 yd

Warmdown
100 yd free

I did an extra 50 working on a couple things with coach Alex.

The next highlight was visiting with Mom who just out of the blue offered to send me over for a pedicure. I think it was her way of showing that she was proud of me exercising and losing weight and eating right. She said, "Oh, yes. That will be so good for your feet with all the running you do." I couldn't have turned her down even if I wanted.

The rest of the day was fun. Jan was real content to just sit around the house and relax today which freed me up to run around. I went to Laser Tag with the church's Junior High youth. Then we went to Cole's Crossing and played some football, 7th grad vs. 8th grade. I'm happy to report 7th grade DOMINATED. Then I went over to the cycle shop to get my tires checked out (they were in GREAT shape) and to pick up a Bento Box. Ran into Felix who I didn't even know worked there. We chatted up on biking and triathlon. We talked about the marathon and Felix's PRECISION pacing as the 6:00 pace group leader. What a PERFECT job his group did hitting within 2 minutes of 6:00 without going over. Stopped by HEB for some hummus, pico, and pita bread to snack on for the game tomorrow. And now I'm home. Busy day and I must say, my body's aching a bit. But it's a good aching. I really feel like I'm getting stronger.

Hope everyone had a fine a day as I did.

Peace out!!!