Morris Williams Miles

Time: 81:00
Distance: 12 mi.

Target: 4 x 1 mile starting around 5:00 and dropping, 3:00 rest
Workout: 5:02.6, 4:53.2, 4:50.0, 4:51.5

Luckily my flight out of Austin wasn't until late morning, so I had time to meet the Texas team for another workout. Coach Hayes had the guys doing mile repeats over at the Morris Williams golf course, which was in the realm of what I wanted to do this week and definitely better than doing something on my own. He mapped out a hilly mile loop on the course and I was surprised how good I felt in general hitting all of these intervals. I ran with Jake, Victor, Kyle who ran six miles and Jacob who did four.

Warming up my right hamstring was very tight again and I felt it right away in the workout. I would've liked to get after it and see if I could run the last two (which the guys hit in 4:47, 4:43) but my stride was starting to get off as my leg and hip got pretty tight. A flatter loop would've been more ideal for this, but I like the idea of running hilly miles.

Amherst College Mile Repeats

Time: 75:00 (approximate)
Distance: 11.5 mi.

Target: 5 x mile starting at 5:20-25, descending with 4:00 rest, more intervals?
Workout: 5:21.7, 5:20.2, 5:19.9, 5:25.0, 5:14.2; rest between 4:00 and 5:00

Afternoon workout with the ARHS guys. This workout is a staple, going back to before my time in high school. The guys set out for five by one mile loop on the Amherst College trails and I figured that this wouldn't be a decent back-to-it workout, maybe with more miles or some 300s on the track added on. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but some combination of the lingering cold and workout stomach pretty early made me lethargic and I was only good to hang in (and help push) the guys for their target paces. It was also humid and the afternoon. It looks like they've got a pretty good top 3-4 for sure, but will need someone to step up for the 4-7 spots.

Left this not feeling great about where I'm at, but I just need to get rested and get better.

IF Long Intervals

Time: 82:00
Distance: 13 mi.

Target: alternating 1 miles and 2 miles, 3 x 1 mile and 2 x 2 mile; 1 miles in 5:00 w/2:00 rest, 2 miles in 10:30 w/3:00 rest
Workout: 5:06, 10:20, 4:59, 10:22, 4:58

Morning workout on this loop around IF. I felt fairly good, though the humidity started to get to me in the second half of the workout. I was able to stay focused throughout the workout, but I haven't run that hard in a few weeks. My legs felt good, but I will definitely be sore tomorrow. This is the last hard effort before the OKC Half a week from Sunday.

The loop appears to actually be about 40 meters long, according to the GMap Pedometer at least, which would mean that each mile was ~8 seconds long. That would be dandy.

Zilker Miles

Time: 75:45
Distance: 12.5 mi.

Target: 4-5 x 1 mile in ~4:45, 3:00 jogging rest
Workout: 4:44.3, 4:46.6, 4:41.7, 4:42.4, 4:44.0 (avg: 4:43.8)

A fairly good solo workout. I used the 1 mile loop from the Rogue site (though none of the markings on the road seem to correspond to this loop) which was fairly good for repeats. I alternated between heading out on Columbus (which I started on, and I think is easier) and heading out on Andrew Zilker. Once I got through three, I was pretty sure that I would be able to make it through five at about that pace without going to the well, so that's what I decided on. I did have to put socks on after the third, though, as I started to get a blister on my left foot.

The loop is easier from the clockwise direction because the only uphill section is short and steep and then the whole second half is gradually downhill. The counter-clockwise direction starts with a half mile gradual uphill and then you have to pound the steep downhill before heading up again before the finish.

The profile of the loop from the clockwise direction

Looking up the hill on Columbus

At the moment I'm glad that I put this off until today, as I felt much better when I woke up this morning than I did the last few days... I'll see how I feel by Sunday, though.

Update: It looks like Google just added Street View on Google Maps for Austin, which will allow me to post more random pictures of the places I'm running.