3 days after running 31.5 miles my body had some energy and no muscle soreness or fatigue, so I decided to go to the track and join 2nd Wind for some up-tempo running. This year I have concentrated on running long, to the exclusion of high heart rate sessions. No 5k's, I can't recall running a 10k, 2 7.5 mile trail races, 1 half marathon, a 28 mile fun run in snow, a 50k on hills and tough trails, and 40 miles in heavy heat. 2nd Wind was doing 4 x 1600. After spending more than half a day running Sunday, 4 miles seemed pretty small, but I still decided to take it easy and not overdo things. I was not trying to reach a time goal for any of the miles, and I have gotten pretty good at not copying another person's track pace. I just follow my breath and work off of it, wanting to breathe harder than normal, yet still calm and in control. My legs had some pop, and I ended up running my usual style which is nice and easy the first 2 laps, then gradually pick up the pace until the end. Paul was calling out the times when I finished each mile, my times were - 6:39, 6:42, 6:35, and 6:30. This is better than I expected because I was giving only 80% effort. This means my body is close to where it was last year while training for 5k's, the only difference being that I can now crank out 6-7 hour runs without much problem. I had to change my September racing plans because my wife is going to be out of town on the 12th, so I won't be running the 50 miler in Hell, MI. Instead I will be running the 50 mile North Country Trail Run in Manistee, MI, the following week. I registered today, made hotel reservations, and rented a car. I am set to roll for my first 50 mile race. I feel I am good shape, I have been slowly building up my endurance all year, and now my speed is starting to return. My main goal leading up to the race will be to keep my knee as healthy as possible. There was only slight stiffness after the 31.5 miler Sunday, and it cleared up in 1 day. Even the knee seems to be getting stronger (for now) - hurray :)
| 