May 18

FIT:
Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaar! (PR)
Still got it! It was the temps slowing me down. At 53 degrees, I ran a 7:17/mi Walmart run in 54:23. I ran something similar (54:41) on March 21st. It was about 45 degrees that day (thank you, running log!). I ran after dinner, really wanting to squeeze in a run, having not run yesterday because my upper glutes were still a bit sore from the previous day - either because of the 1:14 400, or because of the 4.5 miles of concrete, and I wanted to save up for the wonderfully cool weather today to do a test run to check my progress. A good choice, it seems! Going after dinner made me a bit queasy afterwards, when back at 2D, the smell of breaded seitan in onion sauce (so delicious) made me nauseous because I had just run fast with a belly full of it. Normally, I'd love the smell, but just not in this case.

During the run, my ankle felt great. Now I remember why cold day runs are so much faster. I have to run fast from the start to warm up my body. I wore the black Starter tech shirt and short burgundy 5-pocket shorts. On the iPod, I listened to the MCC race report, which was really motivating. I think I run especially hard when I'm listening to races. The effect is wonderful. On the way out, I just pushed, trying hard to keep sub-4 marker times, which wasn't too hard. I was just concerned about whether I could keep it up on the way back, or if I'd have to stop and make it a Cruise Interval run instead (which would've been acceptable given the pace, but sad). In the end, I figured better to just slow down but keep going than to stop. And I'm so glad I did. Just slowing down a bit gives your body a chance to get your o2 levels back and the lactic acid levels back down, and then you're set to speed up again. I was light-headed on the way back from oxygen debt, I think. It's been a while since that happened. It's nice to be able to run that hard again. Man, I'm in the mood for some track work right now. I heart speed. The way back, I'd think... okay, 18 more minutes, 14 more minutes, 10 more minutes, and then the final few minutes were pain. When I got to the steps of 2D, I kneeled down and thanked God. It was all him.

Splits> 8:04 t (absolutely flying from the start - usually I'm more than a minute slower!), 3:37 p (another flying time), 3:40 h, 3:55 b (19:17), 4:26 x, 2:41 w (26:25), 2:41 x, 4:29 b, 4:02 h, 3:48 p, 3:53 t (slower but still decent on the way back), 9:04 2.

Yayah, yayah, yayah!

Cumulative mileage: 296.3 + 6.2 shop + 6.3 vp to x + 14.2 ab to g + 7.5 ez wm + 4.2 h + 4.5 ld night run + 7.5 = 346.7 It's been a while since I last calculated... with no more ulty and my new moderate-consistent plan, I should be upping the 2.475 mi/day 20-week average soon. I think a nice goal may be 1000 miles. It's a nice number. Oh, it's only 2.73 mi/day, so that's easily attainable... we'll see how much I can raise it by. I wish it could be a nice number. Hmm... 2009? I have 228 days left. To average 5.5 mi/day, I'd need to run... lots to make up for the first 137 days of the year. So maybe not 2009 this year. I think it's attainable for next year, though, if I follow the moderate-consistent plan from the start.