Back on the River Trail tonight, repeating the exact same 15-miler I ran last Tuesday. No smooth run tonight, no runner's high. I had to work this one from start to finish. But I kept the legs turning over when they didn't necessarily want to turn over, and kept the pace high (for me; I am aware this would be a recovery run pace for several people on this blog). The last 13 miles were all at sub-9, the last 1.5 or so were at sub-8. And I finished nine minutes faster than last week's run. This is the kind of run that's going to help me get to Boston, I think, meaning I needed a few like this before I went to Memphis. Needed practice on keeping the pace high when the legs didn't feel their best, and that's what tonight was. Once I got through the two-mile warmup phase, there was never a point where I slacked off and let the pace drag. I kept trying to go faster, and as far as I can tell from the splits on the Garmin, it worked. | 