5/5 Pace Run

Today was the start of our pace run series. I think these are the best workouts to get us ready for race day. This morning was brutal. The nice part of the rain is the temps are a lot cooler the normal. The bad part is the humidity is a lot higher than normal. It was just plain think out there today. My hip/glute hurt from the start of the run, but I was hoping it would go away after I warmed up. My run started out bad when I stepped in a big puddle under the Congress bridge. My whole right foot was soaked. I had settled in with Carrie, Thon, and a couple of others as we ran up Riverside, but my trusty stomach boiled over and I had to drop off near the two mile mark. Unfortunately for me, there were two homeless folks sleeping in the bathroom so I had to turn around and keep going. I was finally able to get some relief at the softball fields across from the Longhorn Dam. By that point I was in the back of the pack and feeling like just bagging the day. I kept going and caught Brad and Vasil by the softball fields just past the power plant. I passed them and when my watch clicked to 5 miles I tried to pick it up. I didn't pick it up a whole lot from mile 3 and 4 where I was trying to catch up with everyone, but got it near 8:00 pace. I ended up averaging 8:08 for the "fast" 5 miles which meant it was way off the 7:40 I need for Boston. I did try and keep my HR below 155 which is a few beats above my anaerobic threshold, but that only translated to my 8:08 pace. There is definitely room for improvement between now and race day. I am so glad we have 3 months to go!

I did the full stretch routine at home along with some ab work. I also used the foam roller on my hip/glute and it helped a bit.

Stats - 10.44 miles/1:26:03/8:14 pace
AHR - 145
MHR - 160