Getting back to Boston

 Still very sore after the hard 12 in the rain yesterday. Kept it low and slow today, although picked up to a 9:27 average by the end. It was colder and windier than yesterday, but bright sunshine. A guy was out running accompanied by his young son on a bicycle. The pair of them seemed to be going a little faster than I was; I met them three times in my first two laps before they went home. I just kept going. Now some stretching and football, not necessarily in that order.

One of those nights where it's too darn cold to run slow; windchill in the low 20s and falling. So I didn't. Started quick, progressed, last mile at MP or even a little quicker. Felt kinda good, actually. Worked hard on my breathing, basically making sure I EXHALED fully. Seems like when I focus on exhaling, the inhalation works better. Which makes sense; out with more bad air, room for more good air. Better get my running in while I can; looks like more wintry crap coming later in the week. Might even try to get some intervals in, with the 5K coming up on the 13th of February.

I have a theory I'm going to test over the next six months. I believe that somewhere inside this 49-year-old body, some of the speed I had as a 15-year-old is still locked up. I've unlocked some of it; that's why I'll be in Hopkinton in 2011. But I think there's more in the vault. How I propose to bring it out is to pile up a lot of miles at paces faster than what I've been normally reaching in training. Not intervals or VO2 max or tempo paces, just pushing the ordinary GA runs a little harder. For Memphis, my "base" pace -- or my recovery run pace -- was around 9:45. If I can get that down to say 9:15 before I start my next marathon cycle, that's a stronger platform to try to get down to 3:20 or below for St. George or Chicago or Boston.

So tonight I set out on another step of that plan. Started the run at 9:28 pace, then 9:11 for two miles, t hen 9:05, then 8:49, then 8:36, than the last 0.93 at 7:44 -- almost my GMP for St. George. Total time 1:02 for nearly seven miles, an 8:58 average. I think Tim Noakes calls this resetting the central governor. Get strong enough that 9:15 becomes easy, then see if the upper boundary changes from 8:05 to 7:37 -- or better.

Also better get some miles in before the ice and snow hits. I think I need to go to Lowes and get some sheet metal screws to make my own ice training shoes. I may need them this weekend -- to get to work as well as to train. Pam is going to a class this weekend in Little Rock, so I'll be batchin' it. More training time, I guess.

Tried to go easy tonight, just making sure I get some miles in before the icy stuff hits tomorrow. Wound up with 6.13 at 9:19 average. Not trying to push the pace at all; gravity accelerated me on the homeward 0.7, otherwise just tried to maintain.

Went to buy some hex sheet metal screws tonight to convert an old pair of shoes into ice shoes, which I may need tomorrow and apparently will need Friday and Saturday. Looking at those screws, it's hard to imagine that the head part will afford me much grip, but that's what I'm told. I guess we may find out Friday afternoon or so.

Pam headed for LR tonight to attend a meeting tomorrow and Friday. They're going to get the same junk down there as we do here, apparently, only less of it. She's got the 4WD, I don't. But I wouldn't have gotten to drive the 4WD even if she'd stayed up here, so I don't guess it matters.

Raining and 32 on my departure. Raining and 30 on my return. Bottom of my windshirt frozen on my return. Oh yeah, and windchill in the teens to boot. Got in my 5.53 anyway. Might not get to run for several more days. Might not have electricity for several days either. Northwest Arkansas is going to turn into a glacier tonight.

Call this one Slow in the Snow. Half-inch of ice last night, then the snow started around 8 a.m. And it's still coming. At least three inches so far, and enough wind to sting when it blows snowflakes into your grill. But I had the screw-equipped shoes to try out, so out I went. Shoes did fine, although I'm not sure a couple of screws aren't drilled just a tad too far into the soles. No slipping. But I needed a cap to keep the snow from stinging my eyes; it wasn't a blizzard, but I got a taste of what fast-blowing snow is like. And running in that stuff is like running barefoot up a sand dune. You feel like you sink in two inches on every stride, and a lot of them you DO sink in two inches. Anyway, struggled out 5.26 at 10:45 average pace, but the hams and quads will feel like I've gone much farther/faster.

Back out on the icy streets this evening, from the guy shoveling his driveway who asked if there was nothing good on TV (there wasn't) to the polar bear attack at mile 2.5, to the screws coming dangerously close to perforating my feet thanks to putting them in overly worn soles. In spite of all that, though, it was a good run. Legs felt good, was able to pick up the pace late in the run, although the overall pace, counting bear assault, was 10:18 per mile. Today put me over 40 miles for the week and 100 miles for the month, not bad for missing 12 days due to weather and illness. Would have missed three more days with weather if not for the screw shoes, but I've already switched the screws over to the Asics with much thicker soles. I don't think I'll have to worry about perforated feet for the remainder of this little Ice Age.

Course went out the back, down my mini-Heartbreak hill, up to Shiloh, then back on Pump Station to Silent Grove. Starting pace was 10:23, then 10:10, then 11:43 as the bear arrived on the scene, 10:24, 9:40 with a little downhill, and 9:23 on dead flat past the sewage plant. Assuming I lost 1:15 for the bear, which seems reasonable, overall pace would have been right around 10:00, which is not bad on icy streets.