3-9

S. 11am- 3mi up to Fresh Pond, 2 loops (13:03, 13:12) 5mi in 26:15 (5:15), 3mi down.. 11mi felt pretty good (7) went off of feel, didnt really know how fast I was going, hammy still tight but dont think it is slowing me down much.  4pm- swim 30'

M. 62:38 easy 9mi   legs sore, hammy not too bad (6)

T. 64' easy, decent clip but not pushing.. 10mi felt decent! (7)

W. 3mi up, 6x800 (2:18.6 average) with ~1:48 rest, 3mi down.. 10mi   fitness has taken a hit but got moving well by the end (7)  Having Peter for 600 of each rep helped a good amount.

T. 67' easy 10mi dehydrated but felt okay (6)

F. 62' easy/moderate, 6 strides.. 10mi decent (7) still feeling hammy a bit

S. 3mi up, 2k (5:52) 6' rest, 1k (2:48), 3' rest, 1k (2:45) 6' rest, 2k (5:54), 3mi down.. 11mi   decent workout (7), hammy a little sore. Times could be off by a second or two because I had to time myself with my phone because I forgot my watch!

Total. 72mi on 7 runs plus 30' swim. Decent week overall, still trying to qualify for US Outdoor Steeple. Not sure what I am going to do for races, not that many options. Hammy is much better than it was 2 weeks ago but I am still afraid that hurdling could be a problem since it isnt 100%.

26-2
S. 60' easy .. 9mi   hot, tired, and felt hammy (5.5)

M. am- pool run 40', swim 20' felt hammy pool running   pm- bike 25' steady, light strength

T. off.

W. 30' bike with 5x(2' fast, 3' easy), strength, 25' swim

T. 3pm- 35' easy with couple pickups.. 5mi felt better but not great (6.5) Saw Chiro, worked on back and hamy  6:30pm- 35 Bike', 25'  Swim.  Happy about getting 95' of exercise today. Might try to incorporate more cross-training regularly.

F. am- 45' moderate, last mile in 5:18.. 7+mi similar to yesterday (6.5)
    pm- 25' swim

S. 1pm- 66:31 easy.. 10mi still feeling hammy but felt smooth (7) step in right direction
    6pm- 30+' bike, light strength

Total. 31mi on 4 runs, 120' Biking, 70' Swimming, 40' pool run. 308' of exercise.. looking to shoot for 80'/day (550'+/week).
Taking it one day at a time.

19-25

S. 70' or so easy with a couple pickups 10mi (6)

M. 3mi up, 8x400 with 1:40 rest (64.0 average), 3mi down.. 9mi hammy made the workout tougher than should of been but was def better than past week (7)

T. 50' easy.. 7mi  (6)

W. 35' easy around Phily.. 5mi  (6)

T. Penn Relays. 3mi up, 3k Steeple 8:56.06 2nd, 2mi down.. 7mi   felt pretty good during the race and finished well (7.5), bashed knee on barrier with 300m to go  Video

F. 60' easy  9mi  knee sore but not a bad run (6.5)  knee swollen

S. 20' bike with 1' on, 1' off, light strength, 20' swim

Total. 46mi on 6 runs with a day off. So the past 2.5 weeks has somewhat sucked but could be a lot worse in terms of being 'injured'. Going to do whatever it takes to get the hammy healthy. No Stanford.

The Race: As I expected, Watson took the lead almost right away. I relaxed behind him knowing the pace was manageable and allowing him to cut some of the strong wind. We hit the mile around 4:45 (splits are always hard to judge with the steeple) so I knew we were on decent pace but probably not going to go 8:45 tonight. I felt good, I told myself I barely feel this fatigued in the middle of 4mi tempo runs. 2 laps to go, I was getting tired but I could tell by Watson's breathing that he was tiring also. I told myself to stay strong and you will have something in the tank for the last lap. On the 2nd to last water jump, I knew I had a good finish in me. I almost went right then but decided to hold off since the wind was strong on the homestrech. I took the lead just after the bell sounded with a hard move (cant see it in the video). With about 275m to go I was going hard into the barrier and bashed my knee on my trail leg, it hurt pretty bad but I pressed on, I lost some of the gap I opened up. The last water jump was coming up and Watson was right on my heels. I decided to hurdle the water jump to try to gain a step but it really didnt help (or hurt) me. With 100m to go I stated to sprint hard, feeling pretty good. Watson came up beside me and I tried to dig deeper but it wasnt there. He got me by .2 or so.

All considering, I think it was a good race. I am happy about how comfortable I felt during the race. If I can get my hammy 100% I think I should be able to drop the US Outdoor Championship qualifying time of 8:45 no problem.

My knee hurt pretty bad trying to cool down. Pretty swollen today (Friday) but wasnt too bad on my 60' run.

Results

Video

5-11

S. 3.5mi up, 8xHeartbreak (80.9 average) with jog down rest ~2:05, mile to BC Res, 8x200 with about 1:10 rest, 2.5mi down.. 12mi   R hamstring still bothering me but felt strong (7), tailwind

M. 61' easy.. 9mi felt okay other than tight hamstring (6)

      XT - Strength exercises

T. am- 35' easy with mile bf.. 5mi (5.5) pm- 54' total, first couple miles easy, last 5 moderate at about 5:40 pace with 5:21 last mile then mile+ inside with hurdles at 5:05 pace, mi down.. 9mi decent (6.5)

W. 3mi up, 2x(600,600,800) with 1:30 rest and 2:40 between sets 600s ~1:40.7, 800s ~2:18.6, 2mi down.. 8mi

T. off. hamstring a little worse, not awful but taking the daf off is better idea than pushing it.

F. 53' easy, some easy strides.. 8mi hamstring better but still feeling it (6)

S. Northeastern. 3mi up, 3k Steeple 9:20 1st, 2mi down.. 7mi felt decent, hurdling was good (7), feet went numb...it was 40 degrees, at least the rain held off, not too windy, hamstring only little tight during race but felt it a lot on cool down

Total. 59mi on 7 runs with a day off. Need to get hamstring 100%. Not ecstatic with race, but wasnt bad, didnt want to go to penn without some good practice.