Running lately has been speedier than usual. I've mainly been doing middle distances - 5-10 mile runs and focusing on speed. This switch in focus has largely been due to my road racing buddies starting to gear up for some longer races (marathons or so). But even my trail running/ultra cohorts seem to be turning up the speed.
I got in a few good outdoor road (and one very fast indoor track) workouts last week. Those runs were capped off by a quick river trails loop run on Sunday. The first couple of miles were solid. The second couple required a bit more fortitude. By the third set I was starting to feel good again. And for the fourth (+.7) set of miles, we knocked out the fastest distances of the day. Breathing was key, as was fantastic 60F weather.
Saturday I did the last 'long run' with my ultra friend who I'm pacing in the Heartland 100. We did a 9.5 mile run on the levee. We had been doing runs in preparation for this race (as well as the Hawk 100 a few weeks ago) at a really, really slow pace. Basically, the idea is to go at a pace you can hold (or sort of hold) for 100 miles. On Saturday, however, we both had forgotten or eschewed our GPS watches. So we set off at a pace that was a little quicker than normal. I'm pretty good at telling pace when I run - usually within 10-15 sec/mi. I mentioned this fact to Paul (my ultra-running friend). But since we both felt good, we continued on at the pace.
On the way back, Paul suddenly picked up speed. When I mentioned this he replied that he had changed his form and the pace felt good. Around mile 7 he increased again. We were moving around 8 min/mile - way too fast for ultra training. I yelled out the time and Paul took off at a speed that literally left me in his tracks. I was running somewhere below 7 min and was watching him get smaller as he pulled away.
After another half mile or so he stopped to stretch and I caught up. He said that it had beenso long since he had really put on speed that it felt great, for once, to do it. His last short run before the 100 miler will be on Tuesday. He didn't seem too concerned about recovery, so I'm not either.
As his pacer for the upcoming race, I had planned to run the last 25 miles with him. Logistically, however, that got moved up to 36.5 miles last week. Initially I wasn't pleased about the development. But after some time to let it absorb, I'm much more sanguine. I didn't sign up for any ultras this year, and this will, at least,be a chance to do an ultra distance without having to worry about competition. I'll only have to worry about getting Paul paced through the last 36.5 miles. It should be fun.
I'll have a report on that next weekend.
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