July 14 - 20

So I put the wrong dates on my last blog entry. They are fixed now. I hope that I did not lose a lot of readers because they thought I had not updated my blog in a while.

Monday (workout - 12km total)
A pretty good workout to kick off the week. My legs felt tight today, but I guess I can get through a workout with tight legs - it is dull legs that I struggle through. Started out with a 1200 (in 4:07) trying to help Bethany with her 2k tempo, then had a nice break before starting 4x400 in faster than race pace (63/62/61/62). My first 400, even though it was slower than the others, was my best of the lot. I went out too fast on the other three and positively split from 200 to 400. It is nice to feel the legs move fast, though. Finished up with 4x200m at stride effort, not timing any of them. I felt nice and strong on these. My days have felt really boring, but I have been running with more confidence since my 1500.

Tuesday (13km)
55 minutes with Chris. My legs felt a little tired today, but better than I might have expected after yesterday's workout. We went through Gibbons down to the west branch of the Thames (on the Terry Fox Parkway), turned around and came back. John Ferguson's group was running through Gibbons when we went past the first time, so I got to enjoy saying hello to some familiar faces.

Wednesday (workout - 12km total)
A nice light workout to lead up to my race on Friday. Did 4x300m downhill with a jog recovery, then 4x a 430m loop as a partner relay. I was aiming for tempo effort on the first two, but got into a race with Eric Barry and Ben Procter in the last two. I pulled even with Eric in my last loop, and Chris narrowly outkicked Ben at the end of his loop. The young guys put some fear into us!

Thursday (8km)
An easy 38 minutes with Chris. It was really hot. I did not want to tax myself very much today, with the race looming. I had leg spasms through the day, which is a bit disconcerting. I hope they resolve themselves overnight.

Friday (race - 15km total)
A really hot day, but I felt well-prepared and eager to run a fast time. I jogged down to the start from my apartment, then added on to make sure I was thoroughly warmed up - about 6k running. I got in some good strides. They felt comfortable, but I felt as though I was missing some zip. Even though my left lower leg was giving me problems during the day, I elected to wear my lighter, less supportive shoes in the hopes that I would run a faster time. I was aiming for sub-16 today, but I said that I would be happy with anything under 16:15.
I went out hard, but was sitting in about tenth when we made the turn down the hill, and hit 1k in 3:07. After the water station, I moved up on some more guys, going from 7th at 1k to 5th by 1.5. Looking at the guys in front of me, I knew that Chris Smith and I were going to pick them off. They were starting to struggle. My splits were getting slower, too: 2k in 6:23. I passed Chris at 2.25k and told him we were going to catch the others. I was in third at the turnaround, and got up on the guy in second's shoulder at about 2.8k. He tried to surge on me, but put less than a step on me, and I slowly increased my pace so that I had passed him for good by 3.2k. My 3k was in 9:42 (again, slower). I felt rough heading up the hill out of the park, and Chris caught up to me at the bottom of the Talbot St. hill (about 600 to go). He said that we were clear, but he had nothing left, so I should go ahead. I told him that I was pooched, too, and we should just work on our time. He suggested that we split the prize money, and I said sure. He checked that we were clear just before we crested the hill, and I increased my pace on the finishing straight. I really did not want to be over 16:30, but I was: 16:31. About 15 seconds slower than I realistically thought I would have run today. Chris was another 9 seconds back of me. After giving $25 of my prize to Chris, I got to keep $125 to myself. In the money! Sweet!
I did a 4k cooldown after my massage. The massage therapist really did not work me very hard. I wish I had someone else, but at least she was attractive.

Saturday (14km)
A really slow 63-minute 'junk run'. I had a lot of waste in my legs to clear out. I went from my apartment to the bike path, then up to just beyond Ross Park and turned around to come back. It was bloody hot.

Sunday (18km)
In the race on Saturday, I heard a young boy cheering for Tim about 400m into the race. I shook it off, not thinking it was for me, but he cheered "Go Tim!" again with 400m remaining, and I was the only Tim around. I wonder who it was cheering for me? Who is this mystery fan?
Today I went for 18k, much of that with Chris. It was humid, but much less hot than it was yesterday. It was 78 minutes total running, out on Sarnia and through the subdivisions through Brescia and home.

Total - 92km. A decent week mileage-wise. I was disappointed with my time on Friday, but I'm pleased with second.