Every Run is a Great Run!

Nice run mostly with Kim today. Easy pace for the most part with 8 x 1-minute accelarations sprinkled in at 5:45-6:15 pace range. Felt really good today.

AP/HR: 8:22/142

Coach H WoW: "It does no harm to maintain a relatively high volume year-round. As long as you take one or two breaks each year and reduce the overall workload of your training when appropriate, you won't wear yourself down."

Nice run down to the lake and back. Weather was a little dreary at first but got better and better as the run progressed and I notice not so coincidentally my pace got faster and faster as the weather and run progressed.

With a mile to go I noticed I was right at 8 min pace so in honor of Terry, who I know hates to be over 8 min pace, I sped up just enough to get the AP under 8.

AP/HR: 7:58/152

Coach H blurb: "Another benefit of maintaining moderately high running mileage more or less year-round is that it reduces injury risk."

Warmup 10 min XT (S/E) then ran hills. Felt pretty good again, I'm glad the hills are starting to feel a little bit easier. I've found I'm a pretty lousy uphill runner but it's good to know with practice I can get better.  The sun couldn't manage to make an appearance today but I guess I can't expect everyday to be perfect weather. So far Feb has been pretty darn nice weather for Feb in Utah.

Also did 6 x 10s hill sprints toward the end of the run.

AP/HR: 7:59/152

Hudson blurb: "I believe it's extremely important never to allow any single aspect of your running to fall too far behind the others in your training, because they are all so deeply interdependent."

Warmed up with 20 min XT (S/B/E) then outside for a dreary weather run. Turned out being a quite enjoyable run despite the clouds.

Although I've been giving a lot of lip service to Brad Hudson running ideas lately, I gotta admit the stuff I've learned (and still learning) from my Chi Running book has been great in helping me learn how to relax, listen to the body, improve form, and find a flow, particularly during easy runs, that gets me into that "zone" where the running just feels natural and effortless, at least for a while. While I don't buy everything the author has to say, I have to admit once you get past all the new age-ish, Eastern thinking mumbo-jumbo, there are a few jewels of wisdom to be found.

Decided to run mile 5 faster than the others, I purposely ignored the watch, just tried to focus on being relaxed, good form and find a pace that feels like it might be right for the 5 mile race on Saturday (Dam 2 Dam). I'm hoping that pace will be below 6:30. Today's "test" mile pace: 6:29. Of course I would have liked to see that pace be lower, and feel a little easier, but that's what felt right today. So I think Saturday I'll go out just under 6:30 pace and see what happens. That should put me around a 32:00-32:30 finish.

AP/HR: 7:56/152

Hudson stuff: "The most important ramification of the principle of specificity for competitive runners is that race-specific fitness requires race-pace training."

Tough race for me. I forgot this course is a little slower than it looks on paper since much of it is on dirt/gravel road and you typically get some wind in the middle miles. And today we got LOTS of wind in the middle miles (mostly 3 & 4), plus these miles have some rolling hills. So between the wind and uphill I died during these miles and could only salvage the barely sub-34.

Should mention with all my complaining on the wind it didn't seem to bother Kim at all. She blew away her goal pace of sub-43 and ran a 41:35. Turns out we both got 2nd place in AD so that was kinda nice. After I died I tried to at least hold on enough to break the 45-49 course record which I new was 34-something. Good news is I was able to break the old record, but at that point the guy in my AD who beat me today had just set the new record.

Mile 1 - 6:25: This mile is net downhill and wind is a tailwind on dirt/gravel road.This is probably the right pace overall but at the .5 mile point I was at 6:00 pace - too fast - I think it cost me later when I hit the wind.

Mile 2 - 6:34: Still feeling OK but nasty headwind begins at the end of the mile. I had been tagging along just behind #2 woman runner but she has more mojo when the wind begins and I lose her as we start mile 3. Dirt and gravel ends and pavement begins.

Mile 3 - 7:02: I die somewhere in the this mile. The headwind and uphill hammers me. I do manage to pass a guy who is dying worse. All pavement for this mile. Hilly.

Mile 4 - 7:05: Another dying mile. I pass another guy who died but I also get passed by 1 or 2 guys who look like 40+ runners. Bummer. Pavement and headwind and hilliness finally end at the end of this mile.

Mile 5 - 6:43: Manage to recover a little. Wind is now a cross-wind but running on dirt/gravel section of Dam#2. Just trying to hang on waiting and wondering if the finish will ever get here.

It was great to have Tani and Tia and Mother/Father-in-law cheering at the finish. After the end I caught my breath then ran Kim in her last .5 miles or so. She sure did great, she's in better shape than I thought.