Weather - 52 degrees, sunny, windy. Gave a solid effort today, it feels good to be putting in some quality work. I can now understand the value of 4 months of base training. If I had slacked in the winter I would not have been able to achieve this weeks load so early in the season - 5k race on Saturday, double interval workout on Monday, today a tough hill workout, and a long run planned for Friday. I ran 2 warm-up miles to the arboretum, stretched, then ran 14 hills - 150 meters up, cruise the top of the hill, then an all-out sprint 150 meters downhill. I had never tried downhill sprinting before, but I realized that I could perhaps increase my leg turnover with some practice - I was running about 5:15-20 pace, I finally got an image of what the pros feel like. I alternated each uphill with race pace and bounding, the bounding was slightly easier on the lungs than the race pace, but it was harder on the quads. After each downhill sprint I would jog about 300 meters for recovery. After running the hills I ran along the Race Street bike path, it took me a half mile to recover from the hill sprints. I then ran approximately 6:40 pace for 1.5 miles, followed by a cool down mile at 8:00 pace.
Afterward I did 3 sets of strength exercises in Carle Park, stretching, and 20 minute walk home. It felt great to run in shorts and no jacket, and to feel the sun's warmth on my face. I am going to get soft and spoiled.... #117 z.m. - #31
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