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Tuesday, November 28, 2006
A Fast Three
Run Time: 27:39
Total Miles to Date: 131.1
Thoughts on the Run:
Today was a fast three. I originally planned to run in the morning but had some obligations at the office, so I ended up heading in and moving my run to the afternoon.
It was perfect weather for running. I came home just as the sun was beginning to set. I had hoped to step outside in the light but there always seem to be small tasks to do first, and so I found myself stepping outside in twilight.
The temperature was perfect. It is my absolute favorite temperature to run at - 66 degrees. Less than sixty and I start to get cold, more than 70 and it's hot - this was perfect. It was very cloudy and overcast, so my GPS flaked out a bit (it is funny to see how it had me hopping all over the street) so I don't have good splits. It thinks I did 3.25 but I know from the course it was just 3.0.
I started out up the hill and decided I would not hold back. It's been several days since I ran my half marathon and I've been itching to get out and exercise. I know this is going to be a shocker week because I went so long on my "taper" (it is ironic that I had such a horrible cough right up to the half marathon, but then after that run I actually got better and am 100% now ... go figure) that I did not put in many miles in November - we're at 40 for the month, with only a week or so left, when October was an 80-mile month. I'll be adding 26 miles this week.
I headed up our hill from the cul-de-sac and just settled into a steady pace. It took my breath away but I didn't care. Where three miles used to seem "long" to me in the past, this is just a small out-and-back now. Even the long hill beside the clubhouse didn't phase me ... I just kept a methodic stride and pounded right up. When I crested the hill, I didn't stop to catch my breath but took advantage of gravity and ran fast down the hill. Another uphill, no problem. Then it was a long downhill (running down Goliath, as I call it) ... I decided I would earn my victory over Goliath by running down it fast and hard, then keeping a steady non-stop pace back up.
I did just that. In fact, my pace was so strong coming back up that I lost track of what I was doing - instead of an agonizing crawl to the top, constantly checking the distance, I was daydreaming and was at the top in no time. It also helps to run in the dark because you can't see how far you're going.
Down, up, then a long downhill back to the house. I used this to open up in a semi-sprint. The splits on my watch had me doing 8:50 for the first mile, 9:22 for the second mile, then 7:48 for this last mile ... then another 1:39 for the phantom 0.25 miler of GPS error. I don't doubt that I did a sub-8 on the last mile because it was all downhill and I was pushing hard.
I reached the end and stopped with a smile. A glance at the watch showed 27:39 ... that is a 9:13 split (the phantom 1/4 mile would make it 8:31, a goal of mine but definitely not what this run was). I felt phenomenal.
The run was almost like a meditation. I decided several runs ago that I would ditch the MP3 and just focus on the environment, the people around me, and my own thoughts. I've enjoyed every run and had better runs since then and have no desire to load the MP3 back up. Not even on the longer runs ... I enjoy the "getting away" so much.
After the run, I walked a bit to cool down and then performed 20 minutes of yoga to stretch out.
It was a great start to a great 26-mile week.
5 miles tomorrow morning - I look forward to it.
Jeremy
posted by Jeremy Likness | 7:38 PM
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