Run: 8.1 miles in 1:00:05 min. @ 8:10 a.m.

Pace: 7:25 min/per mile
Weather: Cloudy, 59°F, 83% Humidity
Course: Park Avenue, Alexander, East Avenue through the heart of Main Street, River City, over the Ford Street Bridge, through Highland Park, down Highland to Monroe Avenue and on til morning...

A few week’s ago I took my daughter to one of the local specialty running stores to purchase a pair of cross-country flats. While there, we were helped by a gentleman I know to be a fairly good runner, one whom I’ve traded places for in many races. Our conversation turned to upcoming races, at which point he shared that he was training for an ultra, much like I am. His goal is much more ambitious, being longer (41 miles) and farther (uh… in another country!). I had inquire as to what type of running he was doing and he told me that he had not been doing any speed training, focusing instead only on mileage… lots of mileage. This change in approach had helped him build up his stamina (especially back-to-back long runs on trails), but that one side-effect was that he was now unprepared for the rigors of shorter distance (5k, 10k) races.

As I continue my own training, I think I should begin to lengthen my target pace away from my previous training pace of between 7:00-7:30 tempo runs to a longer 8:00-8:45 min. long slow distance pace. The reality is that given the technical nature of the train course on which I will be running, and the run-walk-run strategy to be employed on hills, it is unrealistic to plan on maintaining the same race pace I would on a relatively flat(ter) 15k course.

Of course, having "said" that, I went out this morning, was seduced by what felt like much cooler weather than the previous day and ticked out a 7:25 mile pace oevr just a smidgen over eight miles... despite having "sunny vibes" around this morning's run, I still need to S-S-L-L-O-W down.

Breathe in, breathe out... YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!