AM - 16.5 mi. Started at East High track and ran up Emigration Canyon. Easy (7:05 pace) on the way up, then came back down quicker (5:27 pace). Wanted to get my legs used to a little more downhill pounding. Was actually surprised I was running sub 5:30 pace b/c it felt a lot easier. That's a good thing! I think my downhill running form is getting a lot smoother. Today marks the end of a streak for me. I count my weekly mileage starting on Monday and ending on Sunday... for the previous 27 weeks (starting November 15th), I haven't run less than 100 miles (GRAPH). The average for those 27 weeks was 124 miles / week. (This week I'm at 95 and I'm not running again today... and I'll cut back quite a bit more in the next 12 days). This is pretty incredible if you knew my injury history from 2003-2008... I don't think I was ever able to run triple digits for more than 3-4 weeks w/out something going wrong. So no matter what happens at UVM, I've already accomplished what I set out to do... I got myself back in the game. After falling below expectations in college, and then not even running a single race from summer 2008 until 4 months ago (and running maybe 45 mpw during that time), I've gotten myself back to a competitive level, I'm totally healthy, and I love running more than I ever have (but I'm not obsessed with it like I used to be). I have a much better balance in my life these days (and Andrea gets 99% of the credit for that!). My next 5-10 years will be my best years of running... I truly believe that. |