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May 5, 2008
Update!
Before I jump into the race, I have a few weeks and workouts to highlight. But before I even go there, I feel the need to apologize for not updating in almost a month. I have been busy teaching and administrating (what kind of word is that?), and, of course, running . . . and running a lot (keep in mind that my definition of "a lot" is anything 60 miles/week and above). Anyway, the craziness of my semester is starting to calm down - leaving me with more time write (and breathe, which I find necessary and good in life).
Historically, I have been a 40-50 miles/week kind of "runner." For the past 18 months, under the magical guidance of H., we have steadily built my mileage to a high of 78. The last 8 weeks have gone something like this: 65, 60, 60, 65, 73, 78, 70 and then this week, a huge fall back week, 58. If someone would have told me several years ago that I would spend 3 weeks in a row making friends with the 70s, I would have laughed. But now I understand just how necessary that kind of mileage - run all in singles and in 6 days/week in my case - is. My legs are stronger than ever and my endurance is gradually increasing.
Last weekend, I knocked out a 20 mile run in 2:17 and the day before that, we did a pretty tough workout (accompanied by 20-30 mph wind gusts). H., his friend, Mike, and I ran a 7.5 mile warm-up, and then we did 5 x 1 mile with 1:00 rest on the track. Our splits were 6:04, 6:00, 5:58, 5:59, 6:01. After that workout - and after last Wednesday's 800s - H. predicted that I would run yesterday's half in 1:20:55. I didn't believe him. My fastest half was 1:23:17, and the lower these times get, the harder it gets to lop off seconds, let alone minutes!
Last Wednesday, we did a pre-race "tune-up": 6 x 800 with 30 seconds rest. We split 2:55, 3:00, 2:53, 2:56 and then H. told me to "go" and I dropped a 2:38 and a 2:44. I think I knew then, too, that I was ready to race.
I will write up a separate race report so that this post does not get annoyingly long!
Posted by bridget at May 5, 2008 8:15 AM