Less than 5 weeks to the US Outdoor Track Champs: Last week's training

Summer seems to be finally peaking it's head out in Portland, making it a lot easier to get out the door for some of the more daunting workouts ahead of me leading up to the 10km at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at the end of June in Eugene. I've also been fortunate to have training partners for a few workouts lately. Tuesday consisted of 10 x 500 meters with short rest, and I was helped along by local Derek Scott (8:31 Steeple, 3:39 1500) through most of the reps. I haven't done this particular workout with help since college, and it made a big difference to be able to tune out for a few reps. Derek brought me through in 74 seconds for the final rep, which is as fast as I've ever closed that workout, leaving the average at 78.6. I'm just a few big track workouts away from being where I want to be in terms of fitness before the US Champs. These efforts will have to be carefully spread out, however, and I'll have plenty of lighter workouts in between. Friday was an example of this with another 4-mile tempo with 100 meter surges at 15 seconds each lap. Obviously the pace changes make the tempo more difficult, but it also makes the workout go by faster as there is something to focus on and look forward to (or dread) about every minute of running. It also puts me into a different mindset with recovery pace being 72 seconds per quarter as opposed to the overall goal pace. The overall time of the workout ends up being similar, but the experience is very different. The goal is two fold: First, continue becoming more comfortable at sub 4:00 minute mile pace. Second, preparing the body for pace changes in a championship race, which is almost always the case. It's one thing to be in shape for a 27:40 10km, but it's something completely different to be ready for hard surges or a hard finish at the same distance. Like the other competitors, I'm doing my best to balance overall fitness with race readiness over the final month.

I found out this week that Aaron Braun will be joining me in Portland for the final 10-14 days leading up to the USA Champs. He'll be coming down from altitude to get some final rust-busting sea-level training before the 10km. While we will be competitors come race-day, we both have an interest in having a fast pace set in order to hit the IAAF 'A' standard as neither of us have hit the mark this year. Hopefully the trip will be a time to focus and plan. We will likely be helping eachother keep the pace hot midway through the race, and the last couple of miles will be every man for himself. We'll battle, shake hands, and likely grab a beer. With only 3 spots open for the World Team in Beijing, it is probably that at least one of us will be very disappointed, but that's the nature of the sport.

Thanks again for reading. Feel free to check out last week's training below, and follow me here on Twitter for more updates.

Week 25	AM	PM	Strength/Drills	Mileage
Monday	11.5	5.5	40 minutes	17
Tuesday	5.5	10 x 500 meters w/40 seconds rest, avg. = 78.6		16
Wednesday	14	off		14
Thursday	11	5	1 hour	16
Friday	5.5	4 mi tempo with 15 second 100 meter surges each 400 meters. Total time = 18:45, 6 x 200 @ 28-29 seconds		12
Saturday	12	off	40 minutes	17
Sunday	10 + drills and strides	6.5		17
TOTAL				109