Last 2 weeks of training

Here's a brief summary of the last 2 weeks of training.

8 - 14 Mar

Mon: 7M easy
Tues: 6M easy
Wed: 7M including 4 x 1K (3:10, 3:10, 3:07, & 3:08)
Thur: 6M easy
Fri: 5M easy with 5 strides
Sat: 4M easy
Sun: CPC Loop Den Haag Half-Marathon in 1:13:17 (5k - 17:26, 10k - 34:54 (17:28), 15k - 52:24 (17:30))

Weekly Total: 49 miles

This was a very low mileage week as I tried to taper and freshen up the legs for the CPC Loop Den Haag Half-Marathon.  There's no doubt the legs needed it because I had put in 486 miles over the previous 5 weeks (avg. of 97 mi/wk).  I ran a new personal best in the half-marathon (1:13:17) by 22 seconds in very windy conditions.  Was aiming for a sub-1:13, but I'll use the wind as an excuse. ;-)  Regardless, I'm very pleased with a new PR, overall race performance and my fitness leading to Rotterdam.  You can check out my video clips here.

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15 - 21 Mar

Mon: 12.2M easy
Tues: AM - 6M easy; PM - 5M easy
Wed: 8.2M easy
Thur: AM - 6M easy; PM - 6M easy with 5 strides
Fri: 12.6M including 3 x 3K (10:02, 9:59, 9:58)
Sat: 11M easy
Sun: 24.7M (16M easy followed by 10K race (36:03) at MP, then 2.5M cooldown)

Weekly Total: 91.7 miles

Following the half-marathon on Sunday I did easy running from Mon-Thur to recover from the race. The calves and quad were a little sore early in the week, but they were ready for Friday's workout,  3 x 3K.  I did this same 3K workout three weeks ago; surprisingly, I was 5-6 seconds per km faster on this day.
On Sunday, I did a key long run with marathon pace. I ran 16 miles from my house in the Netherlands to a 10K race just over the border in Germany. My plan and timing was perfect because I arrived at the race with just enough time to pin on my bib-number and do a few strides.  I ran the race as planned, running marathon pace and aiming for km splits of around 3:38.  I ran the 10K in 36:03 (3:36/km or 5:48 pace) and finished in 4th place overall.