Every Race is an Adventure!

Went to the THS track with Larry and Kent. They were running 1/4 mile speed work. I tried one 1/4 mile @ 6:55/mi. It felt good to go that fast again, but I could tell I wasn't prepared for that kind of speed work at this point. I opted to do a couple of mile repeats with 1/4 mile rest in between instead. Splits were 8:01 and 8:04, which is great for me at this point.

Total: 4.5 miles @ 9:55/mi. 

Walked 3.1 miles @ 16:33/mi with Karen. 

6.25 miles @ 9:30/mi. First two with Wayne then met Kevin and Larry. Larry's hip wouldn't allow him to run so he turned back.

First time up the water tank hills for me this year. I've felt like the fitness in my legs has been ahead of my aerobic conditioning. Today I pushed them both to the limit.

A last second return trip to the bathroom left me trying to catch up with the others (Larry, Jolene, Kent, Kevin, Lyle) going up 1600 N.  As I was pushing along I realized I was going to be exhausted before I even started up the hills. Larry's hip was letting him run today, but he was a little behind the others. I was relieved to slow a little and run with him for a bit before he sent me ahead after the others. They were about 1/2 way up the first hill when I started at the bottom. Jolene walked some of the first big hill so I caught her near the top and ran a bit with her. I then pushed on but had no hope of catching the others. My calves felt like they were going to explode going up the steep hill 3 so I walked a bit, at twice the pace I was running. I managed to run the rest of the way through the top of hill 5.

I took it easy on the way down. As weak as my left ankle still is, I was nervous going up the hills in the first place. I was especially careful on the way down. Still, my legs felt dead as we approached what is traditionally the "fast half mile" near the end down 1600 N. I managed 8:32/mi pace. I'm still about 2 minutes per mile slower than where I used to be, and would like to be again, but progress has been steady...knock on wood.

Later in the morning I walked 2.75 miles @ 16:12/mi with Karen. 

6.2 miles @ 9:36/mi with Wayne.

Our annual neighborhood 5K was today. It was this race that got me back into running after 20+ years. I look forward to it every year. In recent years my role has been to challenge whichever youngin' is out to win it that year. I've never won, but have been near the front most years.

With my long time off and slow recovery, I knew things would be different this year. My fastest year was sub-20:00. Recent years have been around 21-ish. This year my goal was to be somewhere around 25, as close to 8 minute pace as I could manage, and finish in the top 10.

As we started down the first hill I watched as Brandon, Breanna, Lecy, and Brad pulled away. I briefly longed to be with them, but I knew the challenge for me today would be a personal one. As usual, there were a few other youngsters ahead of me down the hill, but I knew they weren't experienced runners and would probably fade. I passed Clark and Nathan pretty soon, but they ran well. It took me about 1.5 miles to get past Justin. I could see Brad quite a ways up ahead running strong and knew I wasn't in good enough shape to catch him. I just tried to maintain form and pace and run strong the whole way, which I feel like I did. As I entered Northridge Park for the final stretch I saw Breanna sitting on the grass. I quickly asked if she was okay. She told me with a smile that she had just vomited but was okay, so I continued on. She got up and finished not too far behind me.

The course is really 3 miles instead of 3.1, but the course has been used for so many years (before GPS) that we just keep it the same. I finished in 24:34, in 4th place. Brandon Davies won it easily in 18:32, followed by Lecy and Brad. Breanna was well ahead of me until she lost her breakfast. My splits were 7:41 (downhill), 8:32 (flat), 8:23 (uphill then flat finish). Avg. pace 8:12/mi.

I feel this was a good performance for me given where I am in my recovery. The best part was how good and strong I felt before, during, and after the race. I had no significant pain or injury. I haven't felt like that for a long time. I was going to try to get some more miles in today, but decided to enjoy feeling good and not press my luck.

I read the article "A Lesson in Feel-Good Training" on active.com this week. I have kind of trained this way for years (I think I remember Tom calling me zen runner). I try to listen to my body and push to the limits my body can handle. For me it feels good to push hard, so pushing hard isn't my problem. My problem is usually pushing too hard.

A recent example was Monday at the track. I ran one 1/4 mile at about 7 minute pace. It mostly felt good to push hard and run fast again, but my right calf sent me a warning. It was a little tight and warned me that continuing at that pace was not a good idea. I asked my body how fast it thought it could safely go and it told me about 8 minute pace. I said okay and started a 1/2 mile repeat at that pace. Part way into it my body said it thought it could hold that pace for a mile, so I switched and did two 1 mile repeats at that effort.

My plan is to continue my recovery, increasing my speed and mileage as my body tells me it's okay. I have to say again how great it feels to be running again. What a blessing it is to be able to run.