Spanish Castle Magic

Today was one heck of a day for me. Mentally and physically. Work has been stressful for me. I really need to learn when to just say no.

That said, the last few days have been rigorous and draining. Monday was only 6 miles but with a beach day on Sunday, I definitely felt the combination of heat and dehydration during my run.



Workout
6 miles today. The schedule has me at 6 miles around 7:00/mi pace and I think I was able to keep that. I felt pretty good most of the time, with the exception of my legs. They felt very tight and stiff. I felt like my quads forgot how to fire correctly. I'm not unhappy with this run, especially after as hard as I pushed it on Saturday and the 15 mile ride on Sunday. I was happy with that 6:40 middle mile. Some-days it's the little victories!



Workout
Rob had me doing 2x workouts today and Tuesday's always start with speed. It's that good feeling, legs and lungs burning, and apparently my skin too after how hot it was! I think it was 80+ humidity at 5:45am...awesome. I did 4x1000 and to be honest, it didn't hurt that bad. Legs were very comfortable and that 5:30 and 5:32 were very comfortable. Rob wanted me to shoot for 5:50...whoops.

Rob and I had a really good talk after my workout. I told him that I felt like at 4x1,000 wasn't as taxing as I was hoping. He smiled and simply chuckled and said "just wait Simmons". Oh, great. In all honesty, there are few people who I'll show up and bring my A game for 100% of the time. As many of you know, Rob can make anyone who's having a complete crap day, have a great day in less then 5 seconds. He's a great friend and a better coach.

That said, he told me that if I can keep myself together and simply meet the necessary numbers; I'll definitely meet my goals and probably better them. He said that this month shouldn't "hurt" and I should feel really good going into August. I'm amped for August and ready to put down the miles. I miss the 2/days and the long long runs. I hope I'll be bale ot get back to running with Brandon, Ken, and my local crew. I simply have been too  busy.

Workout #2
This workout was meant to be short and move out the lactic acid. It was supposed to be active recovery but everything felt really good and I simply put down 4 miles at 6:55 pace. It's been really nice not seeing the 7:00 mark most of the time. This would change on Wednesday as you can see....




Workout
12 miles of pure HELL Hills, get it? enough joking 2mi w/u 8 miles of hills and 2 c/d. My legs felt like lead for that first mile and I literally could not stop yawning as I rolled down the first decline and into the old neighborhood.  I wasn't trying to push the uphills, I was simply trying to work on keeping my arms in and moving them more when I hit the hills. I kept thinking about Rob saying "be efficient. keep you arms in".  This definitely kept me more comfortable and I was able to put power to pavement. I haven't done many hills lately, if any since Chattanooga. Look for me to hit this course more, I enjoyed it and it provided a good challenge. Check the elevation, is this really Kzoo?




This was a rough run. I finally figured out why my legs have felt like junk. I haven't been rolling. My legs were so ungodly stiff I felt like Forrest Gump. The heat didn't help either, again with the 80 degree temps at 5am. I had my trusty 22oz handheld and I tapped it out at mile 10. Had I not had it, I'd be hurting pretty bad. I was very under slept and I could definitely feel those 1,000's in the hammies. Sneering back at me. I had a banana and nutella for breakfast, which was barely any calories for me and I was using Gu Chomps (Peach Tea) which are amazing! I took food at 3,6,9. The only reason is that I had a meeting until 10 and I would not have a chance to eat. THAT SUCKED. I really needed food this morning. It was hard to recover. Luckily I didn't have to cross train or do active recovery tonight. So I've been trying to relax and hang.


This song was in my head and on in my car on the way to and from workouts and work today. Dig that vibe ya'll!




I'm nodding off just sitting here typing. Until next time..