I blame the burger

Today's run (treadmill): 2.3 miles

I'm a little more than a week away from my next race. It's a 5K, a distance I've raced a number of times over the last couple of years. I've come to prefer 10K's for their combination of speed and distance but the Marcie Mazzola Memorial Run is special to me because it was my very first race as "The Emerging Runner." That year the race was 4 miles in length and it has since been shortened to a 5K to increase participation. I know the course fairly well having run it a couple of times. I have great respect for the big hill that runners encounter just minutes after the start. I haven't been training for speed or hills but my base runs at Bethpage have brought up my level of conditioning. Perhaps some speed work is in order for this weekend.

You were no help

I used the treadmill today even though the great storm predicted to pass through this morning turned out to be more April Fools than April showers. Yesterday's elliptical session was uncharacteristically difficult, due perhaps to my blood donation on Wednesday. I thought I was back to full strength and even had a burger at lunch with an old friend yesterday to top off my iron level (sure - that's why!) so I thought I'd have a fairly easy time today. I can't complain specifically about the way I felt, only that the effort felt hard even at the beginning when I was pacing around 6 MPH. The effort didn't get easier but not noticeably more difficult as I blipped up the speed throughout my workout. I ended up with a respectable (albeit short) run and afterward felt like I'd expended some good effort. Besides the speed work I'm aiming to get back to the 8+ base runs I've been doing on the weekends. I'm hoping that those April showers keep holding off until next week.