Two great workouts

Last night was 8 miles, 5 at anticipated marathon pace. The weather was perfect - early autumn weather here in VT.

Each month from July through October, I'm dropping my MP by 5 seconds. In July, my MP runs were targeted to 8:00 pace, and this month is 7:55. But, I've been running "September" pace recently and I did again last night. I averaged 7:49 for 5 MP miles. This time, my pace was inconsistent, but I wasn't concerned. It was windy and the course was rolling, so I wasn't going to be consistent from mile to mile. But, overall, I felt strong and happy with the workout.

This morning was lower body lifting - 5x5s. I started with squats. I warmed up with reps at 45, 95, and 135 pounds. For my first set, I used 155 pounds. It felt way too easy. For the next two sets, I used 165. This still felt too easy. For my last two sets, I used 175 pounds, which is the highest weight I'd ever squatted. I did one set at 175 two weeks ago, but I had never attempted a higher weight. After I was done with the 5 sets, I decided to try one rep at 205. It was easier than I thought it would be. So, I went to two "big wheels" on each side of the bar - 225 pounds. This one was hard, but I nailed one more rep.

Clearly, I've been lifting too light on squats. This was also my first time ever squatting more than my bodyweight. I still suck as a lifter, but this is good progress.

After that, I did deadlifts at 205 pounds, Bulgarian Split Squats with 2x35# DBs and step-ups with the same DBs. I was about to start some core work when I remembered I had an 8:00 meeting, and I had to leave the gym. I'll do the core work later.

Tonight, I'll run an easy 5-6 miles. Hopefully, this morning's weight workout won't trash me for my 5K on Saturday.