thanks for your comments. i intend running an 8 mile route this saturday and have run a mix of runs this week: 5k easy, 5k race against a previous run - used GARMIN virtual partner, another 5k easy and a negative split 3 miles running each mile faster than the previous one. i suppopse by adding the 8 mile easy, i can do 'workouts' without impacting the overall training effect. well, i hope so anyway.