A Fast Week

Distance: 1 mile
Time: 7:50

Today's run capped off a week of splendid progress. Yesterday I set a 2010 2-mile PR with a 17:10, and today I set a 2010 mile PR with a 7:50. I'm nearly 3 months into my training and, after about a month of regression, I feel like things are beginning to move forward nicely. After yesterday's run I went to the gym with my wife and, in an effort to continue cross-training, swam 20 laps. I really feel that the upper body work I've been doing is helping me out a lot. On today's run I could feel my arms and chest almost propelling me forward.

I didn't want to run the same route as yesterday (possibly because I wasn't confidant I could beat my PR just yet). I wanted to do something different, so I went to check out Horsemen's Center, but it was being worked on for the Mud Run that is going to be held there next week (which my wife and I will be participating in!). So I decided next to go to Granite Hills, where I haven't run in a while. I next decided to run 1 mile instead of 2. I haven't timed my mile in a while, and since yesterday's 2 mile was such a vast improvement I became curious as to what my mile time might be. So I set off. The first quarter felt good, but I was being conservative with the pace. The second quarter I started to feel tired and so I was reluctant to increase my pace just yet. At the half-way point my time was 4:04. I became disappointed that I wouldn't beat my previous 2010 PR of 7:58 (set on June 19th). But on the third quarter I began to push the pace. I was determined to get a PR today. I rounded the corner and headed down the home stretch at just under 6:00. I gave it all I had down the final stretch, trying to muster a fast kick, but getting only a moderate one. When I crossed the finish line I was expecting something in the low 8s. But then I glanced at the timer and saw 7:50 and became excited. Each little chunk of time that I knock off gets me closer to my goals. The slowest mile I ever ran in high school was a 6:40 (in March of 1994). Today's 7:50 puts me only 1:10 away from that time! It's going to take months and months (maybe years) of training before I can hope to beat my overall PR of 5:28, but it doesn't feel, at this point, out of the range of possibilities.

As I mentioned above, next week my wife and I and my brother-in-law will be competing in a Mud Run here in Apple Valley. It will be a 5K essentially but with several obstacles along the course. Next week's runs then must be strategic. I plan on getting a 3-mile run in at some point next week, which will be my longest run since beginning training in May. But with the improvements I made this week, I think it's time for those longer runs...... finally.