High quality run

I enjoy most of my runs, but once in a while one comes along that really stands out.

You can measure the value of a run many ways, but when measured technically - for quality and effort - Monday's ranks in my top 10 all-time. I define quality as the ability to run efficiently and achieve a specific training goal. Effort is defined as how hard it is to achieve the training goal. If the effort seems easy, and the goal was met or surpassed, the quality of the run is very high.

Monday's run was 8 miles. I felt leg-fresh and energetic right away. After a faster-than-normal warmup mile, I did each of the last 7 at progressively faster paces, finishing with a 7:55 mile. I never felt like I was forcing the pace or over exerting. Oftentimes it takes me 3 miles to fall into a smooth rhythm , but this time my stride felt rhythmic from start to finish.

How did this happen? I don't know for sure. I suspect an alteration to my regular running routine might be a contributing factor. Because of the holidays, I moved my long run to the middle of the week last week. That meant I had almost 4 days of rest before Monday's run (one of those days included a 5-mile speed session). Maybe a bigger factor was last week's total mileage: just 21. It was a low mileage week because the week before had been high mileage.

The miles will pile up this week again, culminating with a 20-miler that I will run either on New Year's Day or on Saturday. If the weather is decent, I look forward to adding a high quality long run to my log.