It was one of those fantastic Spring mornings to be out for a long run. A little on the chilly side to start; high 40’s or 50. The sun is starting to rise before 8AM now when the run starts so we’re getting that boost in temperature. It was a gorgeous, sunny morning with a blue sky up above.
The run itself was straight out and back on a paved, tree-lined trail. There are great views of the river down below and off to one side. I went 8 miles. The plan was for the first four to be easy and the last four to be a pickup. Try and drop 10 seconds off each mile all the way back.
It mostly worked out that way. The break from 4 to 5 was pretty drastic. We sped up a minute in that mile. After that we were closer to the ten second drops.
That is a leg-busting workout let me tell you. Constantly adding speed each mile just starts to burn. That last mile was the fastest of the day. Training the brain to work through that pain and march forward is a great race prep. And seeing those miles reel off and getting progressively faster as I went is a great feeling.
My legs might be ragged now but it’s a good tiredness. I’m worn out but really pleased with the effort and the speed I finished at.
Thoughts by Dave 