GIVING MYSELF CREDIT

I think I’m probably in better shape than I’m giving myself credit for. This occurred to me after finishing Saturday’s 25K trail race. Within 5 miles I knew that my legs had no zip in them – not a good thing when you’re running a hilly trail race. I lost focus on the second loop and ended up running a 2-minute (:55/:57) positive split, finishing in 1:51:43. Afterwards, I was a little surprised to see that I only about 2-minutes off of my time from 2007, the year I set my marathon PR. There are a few differences between the two years. First, the course isn’t exactly the same. I’d rate 2007 a little harder due to having an extra big hill on the north side of the course. Also, I ran a nice (:56/53:30) negative split in 2007. The one thing going for me this year is that I ran this at the end of a 77 mile week, hence the lack of zip. Here are the results if anyone is interested.

Basically, last week included some strides, 4 x 10-minutes at tempo with 2-minute rest, and a 21 mile day on Saturday. I also included two 2-a-days for a total of 9 runs.

After weeks of 47, 48, 64, 72, and 77, I’ve decided to cut my mileage back this week. That coincides nicely with Saturday’s Get in Gear 10K. Hopefully my legs will bounce back and I’ll be able to run a quicker pace than at Human Race. Low-39s would be nice.

Here’s another interview to check out.

Quote of the Day;

"My training philosophy is to put the mileage in and run as many workouts as I have the mental energy for. I haven’t always been a high mileage guy, but I’ve found my body allows me to handle it, so I do it.” - Chris Erichsen