Since my race in San Fransisco, I have returned feeling a little discombobulated both physically and mentally.  I quickly got my head around the fact that the reasons for my poor final lap were quite obvious and fixable.  A lack of speedwork (anaerobic, lactiate threshold, or VO2 Max), high mileage volume (90+ the week of), back to back cross country trips (Boston - Austin - San Fran), and possibly the hint of a battling sickness were all culprits in the race's results.

With the switch of mentality going from worry to optimism, I then also needed to figure out how to adjust my training to now focus on those areas and prevent another resulting race like the one i've recently had.  After having the discussion with my coach, we layed out a plan and got right to it including postponing speed development a day to let the legs recover a little more until doing it directly before a hard VO2 Max workout on Tuesday and a lactate threshold workout on Friday.

Tuesday's workout went "well".  If you were to ask anyone else who was there, they would probably tell you it went great, but herein lies the runner's continuously disgruntled critisism of himself.  I did repeat K's, by myself, in very warm tempuratures and a slight wind, and I was having to hold myself back while still running 3-5 seconds faster than goal pace.  The pace felt easy, but the legs felt like goo ... and don't seem to have fully recovered since.  This is why I say it went "well" and not "great".

The past week has been miserable training, even my easy runs have felt strained and my legs have felt heavy, dead, and full of "gunk".  I followed Tuesday up with a mediocre 500m interval workout on Friday and a sub-par 1hr 40min long-run on Sunday (it was supposed to be 2 hrs.)  Now I know my sister's wedding debocle Friday and Saturday and the 95 degree (95% humidity) weather conditions contributed to the poor Sunday run, but I should still be able to stay moving on my feet for 2 hrs.

The only bright spot I have had in my training this past week came on Monday when I set out to do Repeat 200's in breakdown sets of 4 both at and then working down below goal race pace.  After getting through my first 4, I felt fantastic and, despite the warm tempuratures, decided to move ahead and do them straight through without breaking them up into sets of 4.  I completed the workout feeling good about my speed and even though I still did not feel completely relaxed and comfortable running at pace, it was a major step in the right direction and I left feeling good about where I am physically.

Tuesday was a little rough again with 2 easy runs that did not feel easy, but an icebath later and through my continuous struggle to catch up on sleep and rest after the trips to Boston and San Fransisco, my easy shakeout this morning seemed to go much smoother than they have been.  I tell you this because there is a very important lesson in it all, whether you are training for your first 5k, your last marathon, or a USA championship event.  Training goes in cycles and every day is not going to be a good day.  Listen to your body and do what it asks of you because you ask a lot of it.  Mine needed some rest.  It doesn't need me to call it quits for the season ... not even close.  A few easy days or one missed workout replaced by rest does not kill a season.  Pushing, when your body needs to chill, does.  All it needs is to catch up so you can hit it hard again and get to the next level. 

I fly to Minnesota today for tomorrow's USA 1 Mile Road Championships in Minneapolis.  I think that by removing myself from the muggy weather, having another easy shakeout run this afternoon in Minn., icing down the legs one more time tonight, and RELAXING, I will be ready to get after it and try to make it "2 for 2" on the Road Mile Circuit.