Ran with the kids in the morning. Then drove to the Provo River Trail by Geneva Road. Warmed up, then started the 5 mile tempo run - 2.5 out, and 2.5 back. Mostly flat, a slight net drop on the first mile, and the same net climb on the last. The form felt different during the warm-up, so I knew it was possible that I would run faster than normal. The goal was to run aggressive marathon pace. I decided to try to hold 1:24 per quarter pace to see how it felt, and back off to 1:25 if it felt too aggressive. Total time - 27:57.7. Splits - 5:36 - 11:11 (5:35) - turnaround 13:59 (2:48) - 3 miles 16:48 (2:49) - 22:23 (5:35), and last mile in 5:34. Again, cheated on the last mile pushing it enough to get a negative split. Felt in control of the pace. When I was focused, I could relax and run 1:24 quarters. When I lost the focus a bit I would hit 1:25. Then I would wake up and hit a couple of 1:23s to compensate, but then it started to feel too aggressive, although still sustainable with proper focus. The stride felt wider and more relaxed. I felt like I was getting more bang in the stride length for the buck of effort. At the same time, I felt like I had just gotten off a bike and was trying to run. It seemed like my muscles were trying to learn a new trick and were not catching on right away. But they will eventually, and even in this state I was running faster with the same effort as before. Finally some tangible fruit from the spinal correction work in the last couple of weeks. I have hopes that it will continue to grow. Ran to Benjamin's soccer practice and back in the evening. | 