The 16 mile Long Run...

I have a theory when it comes to long runs. This is just based on personal experience, and I have no idea if anyone else agrees or not. To me, it seems like the 16 mile long run is the most your body can do on it's own. It is a pretty grueling distance, but entirely different than the 20 mile long run; the longest I will do in training. The 16 mile run requires all the same preparation as the 20 miler, same methods of hydration and on-the-go fueling, but it feels so different. That extra 4 miles, which is an extra 25%, feels like way more than that. My theory is once you get over mile 16, it becomes more mental than physical. Your body is in much more pain and wants to stop. No amount of gels or swigs of gatorade make you feel any better. The only thing that feels good to your body at that point is stopping.

Today was my 16 mile long run. The weather was nice and cool with barely any breeze. I felt good, not great. I ran a pretty hard tempo run this Wednesday (8 miles at 7:35/mi), which I was still feeling the effects of. Nevertheless I was able to trot along around a 9:00/mi pace for all 16 miles. With next week being a taper week, it will be two weeks until my next long run; of 18 miles. I know that the first 16 will be difficult, but the real challenge will be those last 2. I'm looking forward to it.

I think my 10 in 2010 idea will provide an extra boost on all long runs now. I am ahead of pace to hit 1,000 total miles at this point in the year, with just over 252 total miles ran. I'm motivated to hit my overall goal, and excited about my progress.

Crunchy granola

I don't think of myself as being the "crunchy granola" type (though my brief stint of long hair in college may say otherwise...). Maybe that changed somewhat today. After doing a lot of reading/research about it, I decided I need to start strengthening my feet with some barefoot running. I bought a pair of the Vibram Five Fingers shoes today. They basically look like water shoes, and only protect your feet from sharp rocks, glass, etc. They don't provide any support. I'm not sure if my eventual goal is to use only these, but for the next few weeks I will begin walking/light running in them. I expect to have very sore legs as they adjust to walking/running the correct way. We'll see. If you are interested in hearing more about why I want to work on barefoot running (strengthen the feet, less chance of injury, etc), let me know and I can send you some articles to read.

This has been a great week for running. The weather has been perfect. I did my long run of 14 miles Tuesday night after work. I felt good only two days after the 5k, and kept an 8:30/mile pace. I then ran 6 miles Friday on the bike path and then 4.5 miles of trail running today. I will likely do another easy run tomorrow - just because it is supposed to be nice again. That will put this week's mileage up around 30, which is a good place to be.

My yearly total is climbing more and more. I'm almost up to 250 miles, so I have raised $25 of my own money, plus the contributions of others. It's been very exciting. I hope to raise even more money as I hit some of my race goals!

Could I be...fast?

First race of the season today. It was the O'Hartford 5k. The weather was cool and windy, but the rain held off. It was great to be in the race atmosphere again. Since I have only done two speed workouts this year, I didn't have a specific goal - though I thought 22:30 would be nice (7:15/mi pace).

After weaving through a few people for the first minute or so, I was running my comfortable pace. I hit the first mile marker in just under 7:00. Despite the course-description-described small hill up ahead (which was more of a half mile steady incline), I felt good. I kept up the pace, maybe even increasing some. I hit the second mile marker at about 13:45. I had run the second mile a couple seconds faster than the first, and I still felt good. The third mile showed no less hills, though I was able to increase my pace yet again. I crossed the finish line in a decent sprint; though the pictures will show a 15 year old (you can see in the results) blowing by me. Regardless, I looked down at my watch - a personal best of 21:11, or 6:49/mi.

I was tired, but not completely drained. Last year, when I first broke 7:00/mi for a 5k, it took everything I had. I could barely speak, let alone move after crossing the finish line. The temperature was warmer, there was no wind, far less hills...so today I couldn't help but wonder...what could I have run today? More importantly, what can I run in the future. My first 5k was in 2008, and I ran it in over 27:00. My races typically improve over the course of the year, and this year I ran my fastest time ever, with barely any speed training?

I don't mean for this to sound like bragging, because it's certainly not. There were 76 people there today far faster than I am, and many far faster than I'll ever be. I am, however, intrigued and now motivated to push myself harder. If I train a little harder, continue eating well, and keep up with the core/balance exercises, is there any way I could run a 5k in under 20:00? I had never thought that would be possible for me - but now I am wondering. I still enjoy training for longer races, but I think I can mix in the right amount of speed training.

Today was a great way to start the race season. Spirits were high, the post race food and drink were fantastic, and I was able to set a PR. I ran a relatively comfortable pace...I just didn't expect that pace to be a PR...