A nice memorial day weekend it has been. Two meals off the grill and the third of baby back ribs is currently cooking, decent weather, which at this point really means no rain and highs above 50 and two good runs.

Saturday I joined the group for 10 miles. This group has really exploded, from 20 or so when I first started in October to 45 on Saturday. We migrated out of the parking lot on a loop that would lead back towards my neighborhood of Ballard and within a block of my house. Started with 45 and lost people along the way to different routes or different speeds until it was just me and Pete for the last few miles. Pete is much like me in the fact that he has shorter races (5k - half marathon) that indicate he can easily run a sub 3 hour marathon but just hasn't been able to put it together on race day. In fact his PRs solidly beat mine but still just barely missing. I wish him the best as I know how frustrating this can be. The marathon is tough to figure out.

The 10 mile run was just under 8 minute pace and but felt like I had only run 5 or 6 miles when I finished. A nice morning.

I took Sunday off and joined the group once again on monday for a hill repeat work out. There is always some type of interval workout on Monday mornings at 6:00 am that I never can get out of bed for but today due to the holiday the start time wash pushed back to 9:00. This afforded me the chance to grab breakfast with the family and still get a morning workout in. About 20 people. We warmed up with a mile on the track and then made our way over to the hill. A moderately steep, wide gravel path along 50th street. The incline was constant and just long enough for a workout. I almost never do any interval work with other people so kind of a new experience. We lined up and took off en masse at just short of a full sprint and increased the pace from there. Whew. 10 of these were going to hurt. 18 seconds on the first trip up but I poorly split the rest. I am betting they were all around 19-22 seconds with 2-3 minute recoveries as we walked back down and lined up. A real sprint workout.

Having 20 people ahead and behind me encouraged me to push much harder than I normally would. There were a few guys that were clearly better at this than me which was all the better. 10 trips seemed over in no time but definitely kicked my ass. Cooled down with a jog back to the track and another mile or so at a very easy pace. I should note some tightness under my left foot that is still lingering right now. Not pain but more like light cramping. I am guessing it is due to the hard workout combined with the lighter trainers. I'll have to lay off racing flats a it until my feet adjust.

I was able to knock ofwf work at 4:00 and have a leisurely run home. I was feeling slow even before the run started and didn't push the pace on the trip. I take the precaution of placing my wallet and phone in a ziploc bag and it has paid of more than not. Light showers for the second half of the run but that point I was plenty warm and the wind was at my back.

It's odd, these commuting runs really do feel like a commute and not just a normal run at any other time of the day. I wasn't even rushing home to some family plans, it just feels different. Unfortunately, there are only two options for a route home and one involves a very busy road so I always opt for the other. I think this will really get old but I have no choose unless I want to add 2-3 miles to the run.

My route does take me across the locks and today it was busy with boaters headed out to the sound for memorial day weekend. May off to some destination or perhaps just to cruise the many water ways in the area. So many pleasure boats, I was a bit jealous of the boats and some exciting plans for the weekend. I will be laying low with the family, getting yard work done and cleaning around the house. Nothing to exciting but there will definitely be some beers and some barbecue.

Back to the crossfit style workouts now that the race is done. Tonight it was 20 burpees and a run around the block, 5 rounds. The trip around the block is just north of 400 meters I think.

I always forget how hard it is to do these workouts when I have skipped a couple months. First round was easy, the rest of the rounds hurt. As expected every round was slower than the last. The burpees were pathetic by the end of it my form was totally broken. It does feel good to get this one in the books. I still promise myself to get creative with these workouts in the backyard, especially now that the summer is nearly upon us.

On a weather update Seattle still routinely struggles to get out of the 50s and we only have one lone day over 70 so far this year. I do yearn for more warmth but the truth is these temps are perfect for a little sweaty italian like me. And the sleeping in spectacular. I am still under two blankets and a comforter. Even on rainy days the sun is out for a good bit and I now often get out in the afternoons for a brief walk for coffee or lunch at work. Also, My new job is great In fact, I like working here better than anywhere else to date. I hope it remains that way.

Quick loop from house down to the Ballard locks and back. The wind was blowing from the south which meant in my face on the way down the hill and at my back on the way back up. Just how I like it. I tried out a new pair of lightweight racers, aside hyper speed. Bought them because they were half off and I had images of effortless 6 minute miles.

Untimed and unmeasured but the run felt great.

Heather is due in less than two weeks. The reality off this is finally setting and in the back of my mind I am always expecting my phone to ring with Heather in labor. Our routine life is about to have an enormous wrench thrown into so the summer should be very interesting from a training standpoint. I at least now know what I am in for and the insanity will end.

Last night I just couldn't get myself excited about this race. Even stopping by the start line to pick up my race packet didn't get me going. I had only run once this week, a miserable trip home from work into a relentless headwind that left me feeling flat and slow. I tried to get to bed early and stay optimistic about what could happen on race day.

The race started at 7:00 so I was up very early to eat my customary toast and butter with a cup of coffee before picking up a couple running buds and heading to the starting line. As I mentioned before, my goal was to break 60 minutes on the 15K course, around 6:30 pace. The race was small, just under 500 people and I had a feeling I'd be alone for most of the trip. There were a few guys that looked like they would kick my ass and two lithe athletic girls that jumped into the starting line just before the race started. 50 degrees, a very light drizzle and almost no wind. Nearly perfect conditions.

The race started in Gasworks Park on Lake Union with spectacular views of downtown and the space needle. 15 or so people strung out in front of me and within 2k I had passed several and things settled in. I quickly realized that the race would only have kilometer splits. No mile splits! Initially this aggravated me but I realized that 4:00 per K would give me exactly 60 minutes so as long as I stayed under 4 I'd be just fine. I actually liked the quick feedback that K markers gave me. It was so methodical and easy to gauge. I also only roughly knew my mile pace so it left me blissfully ignorant of how hard I was running. The first 5K went by around 19:40 and I was now holding steady 3:50 Ks which were banking time against my 60 minute goal.

We did a little out and back before taking the long loop around Lake Union I counted 9 people in front of me, I was 20 seconds behind the two girls and the guy behind me was way back. I worked on catching the girls as we began looping around the lake but after 10 minutes I realized it was pointless. They were slowly pulling away.

I felt great on this section. The Ks kept ticking by like clockwork and I almost felt as if I was holding back. I was utterly alone on the course but lost in my own thoughts and wind was no issue so the solitude didn't bother me. I rounded the south end of the lake with about 6 K to go and a sub 59 minute finish was looking more and more likely. At around 10K I started banking time for sub 59 but I had rough idea of the course and knew there was a decent climb in the last 5K. It was getting more difficult to hold the 3:50 K pace and despite my efforts the splits began inching closer to 4:00.

The climb up to the bridge over the canal was split into a few sections due to several twists and turns in the course. It eliminated any time in the bank for 59 minutes and with 3 K to go I knew I was on the edge of going under 59. This was perfect. Had I been 30 seconds away from breaking 59 I probably would have taken it relatively easy but this gave me a goal. I had to push hard over the last mile along a bike path and to the finish. My watch had me squeaking in just under the wire in 58:58. Awesome! Official time was 58:55.

Definitely a better effort than expected and this left me with a warm feeling the rest of the day. With age and reduced mileage I keep waiting for my running fitness to really drop of but it hasn't happened. This race was up there with my half marathon last fall and not far off my peaking running shape of several years back. In fact I am somewhat proud of the consistency over the past 6-8 years. It would of course be great to have an improving trend over that time but with the demands of life, possibility of injury and wax and wane off my enthusiasm for the sport, to keep hitting relatively solid times is reward in itself. What a difference from my feelings 24 hours ago.

Everyday I put off posting to the blog and then it just never happens. I won't bore anybody with the runs between the last time I posted and today. Lets just say that there hasn't been to many of them. I should be over-tapered for my 15K tomorrow morning. I've scaled back my original plans to break 58 minutes and settled on breaking 1 hour. This means I'll have to maintain sub 6:30 pace. It should definitely be doable but with how slow I felt on my run home from work yesterday, I don't know.

On a good note, the weather has finally taken a turn for the better this week. We had 3 days in a row of full sun. I haven't seen that since October. And I think we broke 70 for the first time this year. The weather really is spectacular for running this time of year.

Under 3 weeks until Heather is due with baby #2. I imagine my mileage will take a huge hit over the summer. I'll just have to run at work as much as possible.

The "Seattle's Best 15K" is only a couple weeks away and I feel under prepared. I have at least been putting in a 10+ miler on the weekends and probably have more hard efforts in the past couple weeks than I am remembering. There just has been no structured speedwork or even tempo runs during the week. Things have been more random. Hard uphill sprints on long hills, tempo pushes at the end of long runs. Stuff like that.

A highlight was a running commute home from my new job. It is a little over 6 miles, if I take the runner friendly route and only takes me 20 minute longer than the bus ride. It was pouring on me at the start but nearly sunny when I got home. This will definitely turn into a more routine thing once I get into the swing of things at my job.

This past Saturday I ran 12.5 miles with the group and finished the last 4 miles at 6:25 pace which included a 1+ mile uphill section. I was trying to finish in under 26 minutes and nailed it with a 25:30. So although my training hasn't been spectacular this does indicate that I should put up at least a halfway decent time.