Aug. 19, 2009

Distance: 9.1 miles
Time: 1:14:58
Average: 8:15
Run type: Tempo/speed
Location: English Landing Park
Weather: 75, overcast.
Aches: Left heel a little sore to start.
Injuries: None
Observations: 1) Rain clouds all around and lightning off to the south for a few minutes. Only a few rain drops, though. 2) Despite all the rain recently, the trail was dry, and there were a lot of people on it. 3) Real nice day for a run. No blazing sun, slight breeze, temperature at 75 to start and 70 at the end.
Thoughts: I thought I'd get rained out of this run, and took my fitness center ID card along in case that happened. The rain held off, though, and it turned out to be a high quality workout. I was prodded into a fast pace because I thought I had to try to get in as many miles as I could before the rain came. I realized in the second mile that I felt exceptionally good - probably due to the accommodating weather - and I had no trouble maintaining the pace. In fact, each mile was progressively faster, starting with a 9:23 start and finishing with a 7:40. I came away with a good gauge of my fitness level, and the knowledge that had I been in taper before ripping off a run like that I probably would have averaged under 8. As it is, I've run 40 miles in the last 5 days, so it's time to pull back a bit.