Day 10

10 days in a row with 61 miles over that span.  

Today I upped the intensity a bit and had a bit of a workout.  7 miles in 53:03 for a 7:34 average pace.

I ran the first 2 miles easy, starting at 6.8 mph (8:49 pace) and bumping up by .1 mph every .25 miles running that last 1/4 of the 2nd mile at 7.5 mph (8:00 pace).  At the 2 mile mark I bumped it to 8 mph (7:30 pace).   At the 2.25 I bumped it to 8.5 mph (7:03 pace) at which point the workout officially began.  

2.5  8.6mph  6:59 
2.75 8.7mph  6:54
3      8.8mph  6:49 
3.25  8.9mph  6:44
3.5   9mph      6:40
4.5   9.1mph    6:36
4.75 9.2mph    6:31
5 - 5.5  9.3mph   6:27

Heart rate started in the low 150s and worked up to 165 by the end.  Never was breathing hard but got into a good rhythm.  I felt like I could have kept going for a while but was pushed enough that I was happy when it was done.  I feel like 6:30 pace on the roads would have been a lot tougher in my current condition but who knows.  The uptempo work got my cadence to around 180 and up to mid 180s by the time I hit 6:27 pace.  The faster turnover felt good and my form felt efficient.  All in all, about 20 minutes of the higher intensity work which should be enough to start easing my body back into performance mode without causing too much lingering fatigue.  

finished up with 1.5 easy miles to complete the 7.  

Similar to what I've experienced in the past, my legs actually feel better right now than they have been.  Oddly enough, sometimes a hard effort seems to reduce or eliminate tightness/soreness in my ITB and hips.  Not sure if it's endorphin related or maybe getting the right muscles to fire releases something?  No clue but I can't complain.  

I'll plan on going easier tomorrow as I head into the weekend.  Looking at the forecast it doesn't look like I'll be outside this weekend but you never know.  I might brave the cold one day if the roads are clear.  Otherwise, I'll at least try to get another 10+ miler in on the treadmill.