Trials of Miles

… and so it begins. Okay, training for the marathon doesn’t formally start for a week or two but I was laying some solid groundwork today. The forecast was for more snow so my coach had given me a treadmill workout, 4 x 7 ½’ with 75” rest at 5:50 mile pace. That said, given it didn’t snow as much as forecasted and that we enjoyed a relatively warm (5C) afternoon I decided to take to the roads.

Although I thought he was on a mileage week, Rumon volunteered to keep me company and we headed off for Beacon Hill Park (an old, relatively flat, mile horse track in the middle of a park, now converted to a scenic roadway called Circle Drive).

I was supposed to run at half marathon pace but without the constant feedback from a track, I was skeptical of my ability as I always start too quickly (time, AHR, MAX, resting HR at the end of my recovery):

5:31.8 162 167 111
5:44.2 159 166 110
5:42.0 158 164 108
5:43.3 159 166 111
5:43.5 158 165 -

I was surprised at the ease of the first mile but not that I had begun too quickly. Jim had joined Rumon & me just before I took off on the first repeat and I could hear them heckling. Perhaps I should stick to running 200s?

I kept urging myself to slow down but sure enough, as I approached the start/finish line I’d inevitably run too quickly. My only comfort was the effortlessness with which the workout passed. I felt very comfortable and in control, never once straining. I tried to remind myself to relax the shoulders and drop my elbows… light feet.

I was supposed to meet my coach this afternoon to discuss planning but we had to postpone it until tomorrow. I think there is going to be a small change in direction coming down the pike… I’m curious.

Training: 1:13:43 on semi-slick roads, 5xmile at Beacon Hill Park on 7’, AHR 144