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Spencer Creek/Pine Grove TEMPO

January 18, 2013 (Afternoon)

Exercise Type: Run

Weather: mid-30s? 40?

Comments:
Good day at work, then home to stretch/foam roll and prep for the tempo. Felt generally good energy but a little sore and stiff from the week, a bit from the 8x100s. The back was a bit sore in the AM but fine at work.

Drove all the way out to SW Eugene to Brad Hudson's old tempo course, which I ran back in August of 2009 with one of his female athletes (15mi tempo 5:55->5:45s?). Figured I needed a place for a continuous tempo where I could focus without bikes, people, cross streets, etc. Plus it's a nice, rolling course. Lastly, it's marked really well.

http://goo.gl/maps/rE6bQ

Got there, then drove down the road a mile to check on the markings (still there!), so I drove back, parked in a little random drive, did a mile.5 warm-up, some strides, and off. Took two gels: Clif vanilla and GU peanut butter.

The idea was do do 6s down to 5:50s, just super-smooth, working mechanics:

- Lumbar extension ("Killian Butt")
- Forward engagement
- Good push off the R
- Get both feet (but namely the L) beneath me w/good turnover

Lots to sort through!

So off I went. First mile felt good a bit fast in the first half (2:50?) so I slowed down a bit. Second mile I got too comfy. After that, the course climbs up to the turn at Pine Grove at the 3rd mile. Still slow. Damn. As I crested to PG and turned north, the course descends pretty good. I noticed the pavement was new. Uh-oh. Marks were probably gone. I didn't seem to be moving to fast, so I decided I'd run 'til I hit 6:00, then turn. The downhill lasted a good 2min, then about 3min of flat, til I crossed a small bridge, and looped back at 6:04.

The way back was a little rough. The gel I took at mile 3 (vanilla) went down easy but probably didn't kick in yet. The climb was tough at that speed. I felt really slow. Finally cresting, I turned back to the 5K home stretch and a bit of downhill. Hit the 5th mile in 6:20! F!!! Kidding me?? Ugh! It almost made me wanna stop, but I just got my stride together and focused on efficiency.

I had a beepy watch every 2:47 to remind me to focus on "Killian Butt" - lumbar extension. It was hard; I would go flat-back really easy. But in that 5ht->6th mile I found a groove: good back arch, forward trunk and good pelvic/hip push, especially on the right. I began to get more positive.

Hit the six mile with a nice split of 5:40. Wow! Ok, "I guess it's ON!". Didn't push it, just focused on mechanics. The last two flat miles were solid. Forgot my gel at 6 so I took it at 6.5. The GU PB was like eating...PB! Awful! They're tasty but to "chew" at 5:4x is brutal!

Focused on efficiency-"wise" to the finish. Was very pleased with the finish. Here's the splits:

5:50f
5:59f
6:00u
6:06d* (1.1 miles = 5:33)
6:21u* (1.1 miles = 5:46)
5:40d
5:46f
5"39f

f = flat
u = uphill
d = downhill
* = 1.1 mile section.

Post tempo I did no run for cooldown, just some walking and stretching. Hopped in the car to figure out where the real 4-mile mark was, and found out I ran an entire tenth of a mile too far. Doing the math, the tempo was a lot more favorable. :)

Post-run analysis (as of 6PM):

- L lower calf sore. Ugh. Still some braking/out front. BUT...the toes (L foot) feel a ton better, which means I at least did a better job of getting the foot beneath
- Back feels FINE! Maybe a teeny sore.
- A BIT of R hip/pelvic soreness, which tells me I was inconsistent with my R leg push-off.

I definitely think there's some value to having one mid-week run (or "easy ish" long road run) where I grind steady 6:30s and "have to" have good form, without being super-taxed...

Post-post-run: helped BGD "PAAAAP" his TAINT!