Hills for breakfast, hold the gnats

52F, cloudy w/ occasional drop of rain. Recovery run. 

Leg recovery index (scale= 1-5): Soreness 1, Perceived muscle strength 2, Monkeys per leg 4.

What a pretty morning.  There is just a hint of red coming in to some of the trees now.   

55F, fog and a variety of precipitation, from misty drizzle to downpour.  Easy pace run. 20 minutes strength work.

This was one of those days when the forecast for a single zip code just doesn't cut it. Our town is spread across two microclimates, one at about 400 ft elevation and the other up to 950 ft (and higher, if you count places I don't run to).  So I'm sure downtown got their nice 10% rain as predicted, whereas I got a reminder about wearing layers in non-summer months.  I got a soaking, but I did ok with it, thanks to going back home for gloves as soon as the foggy mist turned to misty drizzle.  (You know how Eskimos have dozens of names for snow? Well...) 

Legs feel much better today in terms of energy, but there is lingering soreness and a couple of Monkeys still clinging on.  They don't care about rain.  

53F, breezy, light showers.  3.5 mi easy pace, 2 mi MP, remainder moderate pace. 

I had a depressing thought today.  (Right on schedule, marathon in less than 3 weeks.)   Let's just say that for any runner there are different effort levels that correspond to their paces.  "Very, very difficult" for 5K, "Fairly hard" for 10K pace, etc.  And let's say that marathon pace could be called "hard but sustainable."  

Now what if those effort levels are the same for a really fast runner as they are for a slower one?  (The ad with Ryan Hall's face is glaring at me this very moment.)  In other words, what if the effort I use maintaining a 9:15 pace is the same as Ryan's effort at, what, 5:10?  Or the same as a 2:50 marathoner (I'll call him George) churning out 6:30 pace miles.   

So, are we all running as fast as we can maintain for 26.2 miles or as fast as we can for the length of time we will spend running?  What if it's the former?  That would mean I have to work as hard as Ryan, or as George, but for 40% to 90% longer time!  I was trying to wrap my brain around this when Whitney Houston came on my iTunes singing "One Moment In Time."  I've laid the plan / Now lay the chance / here in my hand. Shut up Whitney. You have no idea. 

I don't know how I can verify this depressing theory, or more to the point, how I can nullify it.   I can't get inside Ryan's or Gloria's head and feel how hard they are working when they run "marathon pace."  And of course, I'm not talking about just some random pace that gets you across the finish line before they close the course. I'm talking about PRs and BQ's and such.  The best I can do is to tell myself that they are working harder than I am, because time matters and they don't have to keep it up for over 4 hours.  But there is something illogical about that, from a physics point of view.  26.2 miles, X mass....   Shut up, brain; sing on, Whitney. 

54F, raining in 1st couple of miles, light fog.  Easy pace run with hill fartleks (thanks, Dale, for the term). 

I'm calling this "an early fall," and I love it!!!!! 

Low 50sF, rainy in 1st 10 miles.  Objectives: endurance, stamina (in Bold type for readers who just want to see the nitty gritty.)  

After about a mile and a half of warming up around my neighborhood, I went over to the Leg Builder Hill to see what kind of damage I could do to my quads.  ;)  Two miles of moderate to steep downhill at a pace between half-m and 10K (8:38, 8:15) left my legs literally shaking.  I don't usually run fast like that without at least 2 miles warm-up and the first mile felt really stiff. Wake up, Sno!

Next I ran a few miles at a moderate pace to make the legs stop quaking in fear.  Ran to the club meet-up.   It is always a real pleasure to see whoever shows up and chat for a bit, but then I had to head out with only my invisible friends for company, as usual.  I ran another half mile re-warm-up (much needed after stopping for 10 minutes), and then ran 3 X 2 miles at MP effort, pace about 10 seconds off until the last rep. 

I enjoyed a few miles of "happy pace" (ie whatever I want, no Garmin Gazing) before tackling the LB Hill again, starting at mile 17.25.  Two miles up, on very tired legs.  [Moaning and whimpering omitted.]  Walked a bit on steepest parts.  The energy was there, but I kept feeling all breathless, with Legs Ala Lactic Acid.  Then I'd walk a bit and feel fresh and zippy, only to meet defeat again 2 minutes later. 

That's all for the nitty-gritty. The rest of the day will be more like knitty-giddy (me, tea, Addi "turbo" needles, silk/merino worsted weight, and a couch).  There might also be a nap. Ah...   :)