Last Saturday I ran the third of four 5Ks in the Athlete’s Closet Winter Series.  Coming off of a month of slower trail runs, time in Vegas and really no speedwork to speak of, it was not surprising that I finished Saturday’s 5K much slower than my January 5K time from the exact same course.

I started out a little too quickly (ok, a LOT too quickly!) and then faded pretty significantly towards the end of the race.  I felt OK the entire time (well, until I looked at my watch after mile 2 and saw 8:11!) but I just couldn’t make my legs go any faster.  My finish time of 24:00 was 13 seconds slower than January’s AC 5K but, surprisingly, was still good enough for 3rd woman overall and top in my age group.  I guess we’re all getting a little slower as winter drags on!

Despite my lackluster performance I left the race with renewed determination.  I want to beat my course best time of 23:47 during March’s Athlete’s Closet 5K and I know I can do it!  I drove home feeling excited by the prospect of resuming speedwork (crazy, right??!) and found myself looking forward to picking up the pace on training runs.  The final Athlete’s Closet 5K in on March 7th and I am going to be ready for it!!

I have four weeks to work on my speed.  I kicked things off Monday with 5 miles on the treadmill while watching Seven Years in Tibet.* Then things really got going on Tuesday with my first speed workout since before Thanksgiving: 6 x 800m intervals on the treadmill with 400m jog recovery in between.  3:42, 3:41, 3:37, 3:35, 3:32, 3:25… I CRUSHED this workout with a better average pace than I ever ran on the track last Fall.  After a nice cool down I climbed off the treadmill more determined than ever.

*Side note: I last saw Seven Years in Tibet when I was 13.  It was SO much better to watch now! Fascinating 1940s history plus young Brad Pitt.

I don’t have a specific training plan per se, but between now and March 7th I plan to do at least three more speedwork sessions (maybe a 400-800-1200-1200-800-400 ladder? Bring it on!) as well as a few tempo runs and some easy miles on the trails.  Today, however, will be as close as I get to a rest day – I’m taking Piper hiking after work! 😄

Miles since last post: 87.1
Days since last post:  18
Avg. Daily Miles since 7/18/13: 4.85
2015 MILES: 196.6

Past Races:
•  January ’15: SRA New Year’s Day 5K (1/1), Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/3), Pickle Run #1 (1/17)
•  December ’14: Jingle Elf 2 Mile (12/5), Brian’s Run 5 Miler (12/7), Athlete’s Closet Holiday 5K (12/14)
•  November ’14: Trinity Berwyn 5K (11/1)  [PR], Metal Run 5K (11/8), Seven Summits Turkey Trot (11/27)
•  October ’14: Martin’s Run 5K (10/5), Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/18), Bark in the Park 5K (10/25)
•  September ’14: Talk 5K Trail Run (9/13), Run A Muck Trail Race (9/20), Haverford Township Day 5K (9/27)
•  August ’14: Riddlewood 5K (8/3), Radnor Red Steeplechase (8/17), Pickle in the Streets 5K (8/28) [PR]
•  July ’14: Cam’s ‘Moonlight’ 5K (7/10), Swarthmore Independence Eve 8K (7/18)
•  June ’14: Radnor Conservancy 5K Trail Run (6/1), Media 5 Miler (6/20)
•  May ’14: Elwyn 5K (5/3), Run for Victory 5K (5/18) [PR], Rocky Run 5K Trail Run (5/30)
•  April ’14: Las Vegas Security 5K (4/3/, Rick’s Run 5K (4/19), St. Tim’s 5K (4/26)
•  March ’14: Athlete’s Closet March 5 Miler (3/1), Color Out Cancer 5K (3/30)
•  February ’14: Athlete’s Closet February 5K (2/1)
•  January ’14: Athlete’s Closet January 5K (1/4)
•  December ’13: Athlete’s Closet December 5K (12/14), New Year’s Eve YMCA 5K (12/31) [PR]
•  November ’13: Trinity Presbyterian 5K (11/2), Turkey Trot 5K (11/28)
•  October ’13: Fueled Up & Fired Up 5K (10/19), Oy Vey 5K (10/27) [PR]
•  September ’13: Run-a-Muck 5K (9/21)
•  The Challenge Begins: 100 Mile iPad Mini Challenge (7/23/13)