Weather - 26 degrees, clouds, windy. Ran to the Urbana HS track and did 6 x 100M accelerations. The final two I let loose, it felt good kicking into the wind - legs strong and fresh, body poised and energetic. The gradual decline in mileage this week has allowed my body not only to recover, but to accumulate excess energy and vigor. Hopefully that will continue to build for tomorrow's race. I think it interesting that I am looking forward with excitement to a small local 5K. It is most likely because I have not run a 5K in 7 months, and it will be enjoyable to run hard in a structured setting. My plan is to run comfortably hard the first 1.5 miles, and then to subject myself to discomfort during the second half - it is the 2nd half of races that I enjoy the most because I can see how far the spirit can push the body. If I have anything left I hope to charge the final 800 meters, although I know from experience that sometimes there is nothing left to give at that stage of a race, and maintaining the pace is all that can be achieved. I have no idea how to predict tomorrow's time. Because most of my winter training was at an easy pace of over 8 minutes per mile, I think it unlikely that I can run below 7 minutes per mile at this early stage of the season. The weather is going to be about 20 degrees and windy, so that adds to the difficulty, although after 16 weeks of running in nasty weather it should not bother me. A likely time estimate would be at 7:10-7:20 pace, which will put me in the 22:00 range. Maybe I can surprise myself and run 21:xx, but it would take an effort which I have not proven I can achieve. #112 z.m. - #26
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