It’s almost a guarantee that Monday’s workout will involve a mile at a pretty quick pace. I used to be sort of scared of this because I had the mentality that “I’m not a miler” and would always get housed by the other guys doing it. But after the past several weeks, I have grown to really look forward to staring at the 26th st sign knowing that I had less than 4 minutes and 20 seconds to get to 14th st (exactly one mile away). Today, I got there in about 4:11.1. After the miles I hit last week, I was ok with that especially because it felt smooth and relatively comfortable. The workout in its entirety:

1 mile warm up

10 x 100 striders

half mile easy (3 min)

3 x 450 hill repeats (1:20 ish)

3/4 mile easy

half mile at 2:15

half mile easy (3 min)

3 min hard

1 mile easy (6:00 pace)

1 mile good (4:11)

1 mile easy (6 min pace)

half mile all out (1:55)

half mile cool down

10 x 100

5 min power abs: minute of crunches, minute of leg lifts, minute of twisted reaches, minute of plank, half minute side planks…..This ab workout is very good for strengthening the lower abs. There are plenty of ab workouts that can be much longer and have many other exercises but I always find this one to hurt the most. Having abs are more than just a looking good muscle. Especially for running, they serve the same purpose as your arms do. When you see someone running with very little arm movement (especially when they are sprinting), their core and lower abs are more than likely very strong. Having strong abs helps prevent your torso from twisting back and forth. It a stabilization function muscle just like your arms (that’s why your left arm swings forward when your right knee is driving forward…for stability). Shorter distance runners lift weights in order to have more strength at faster speeds. Distance runners don’t necessarily need to do this because they don’t hit the same speeds, which is why having a strong core with lean arms is a perfect distance running combo. Strong abs = stable and more controlled body.

Legs feel loose and strong. Biked home. Need to put the lights on my bike since it now gets pitch black at around 4:45 pm.

With 4 miles this morning, 11 for the workout. 15 total. We Are One 365.

AR. NF. NR.

Nick