Run Buffs Run!

Ran the Evergreen 10k today, which was quite a race. THe race took place at an elevation of 7,700 feet, but much of the couse was downhill.

I tried to retain myself from exploding off of the starting line, which I partially did, but it seems that some instincts can not be fully removed. I had to put the pedal to the floor. I clocked the first two miles in 10:06, a blistering pace of a 5:03 per mile. My 5k split was exactly 16:00, which is a personal best so far in my running "career". At this point I was currently in fifth, but at mile four, this grueling pace caught up with me. I let one runner pass, but remained confident that no one else was going to overtake me. In the last mile, a runner of my similar age was gaining. With 800 meters left he made his move. Sensing that he would soon pass me, I turned forward, eyed the finish, and turned on the afterburners. I don't know quite how fast I ran the last 800 meters, but rest assured it was sub 4:45 pace. I had held him off, finishing with a personal record time of 33:40. Only later did he tell me that he, being my same age, was top ten in the state in the 10,000 meter his senior year of high school. Knowing this, I figured that I did well, especially since I have only been training (at a decently high level) for the last two months. I beat my personal best for the 10k by almost by 5:00 and my personal best for the 5k by 24 seconds, not bad for a single days work. I knew that my training was increasing my speed, but only now do I realize the extent to which it has helped me grow as a runner. At this rate, I would like to break 30:00 in the next six months. If I could do that, there is no way that the CU varsity squad could turn me down.

Ran 8 miles today at slow pace. Legs are very sore and feel tired. Not a bad run, but it felt very forced.

Ran 8.0 miles today at 6:30/6:45 pace. In all, felt good, but legs are still a bit slow to respond. Not a bad run, though.

Ran 11.5 total miles today in the mountains (Rockies) at 7:00 am. I am currently on a fly fishing trip with friends, and the area we are staying in has excellent trails for running. The trails consist mostly of dirt/gravel that have been packed down by cars. They weave through nice scenery, bridging three or four small streams while remaining relatively flat. In the morning, the air is cool and the trees are damp from the previous nights mist. It seems as though you almost forget that you are even running while winding through this serene setting. Unfortunately, a small shin-splint seemed to slow me down towards the end of the run. For being so small, those things can hurt like hell. Besides that, however, this mornings run was great!

Did 3 miles of speed workouts today (12x400). Unfortunately, since I am in the mountains I have no access to a track, so I sprinted one minute, jogged for two minutes, and repeated this 12 times. I am guessing that it is about 6500 ft. up here, so today was a very challenging workout. Unfortunately, I was unable to run yesterday because of a shin splint. I still felt it today, but I could put up with it. Yesterday, I was ready to run, but when I began the pain was too sharp to persevere through it. It seems more of a nuisance than anything else. It really did not hurt that bad, but it was just enough to prohibit me from running. In a way, it was almost good, though, because today I felt like I could give the speed workout my full potential. I felt like I gave the sprints all that I had, leaving me feeling very tired at the end. In all, a good workout!