GUILTY

No, this post has nothing to do with the Michael Jackson trial.

I slept in today but was still able to get in an easy 5 miles over lunch. It was one of those runs where I felt really strong and my form felt really good. Throughout the run I was thinking about my strategy for this weekend’s race. Since I went out too hard in 2002, I think I’m going to be more conservative this time around. Even if I go out in 6:05-6:10s, for the first half, I think I can still run 6:00 pace for the second half. That’d get me around 37:30-37:45.

I joined my team for a 10-11 mile evening hill workout, starting at Macalester College again. As I drove to the run it was raining pretty hard. Luckily, by the time we started, it tapered off. While the 40 degree temps and winds weren’t ideal, at least we weren’t soaking wet.

I started off really easy as I chatted with a gal in the back of the pack. After 15 minutes I picked it up, but I never really pushed the pace. 40 minutes into the run Jenna turned off to add-on some miles, but I followed the group back and stopped after an hour, which I’m calling 8 miles.

On the way home I felt guilty for not following Jenna and getting in a few more miles at an honest pace. It’s a balancing act of “mini-taper” vs. “training through.” Granted, Grandma’s is my main goal, so I should probably be training through. However, running a fast time this weekend can also provide a big confidence boost leading up to Grandma’s.