Back at it

Aside from the quick mile toward the end of my run Tuesday, I hadn't pushed it since nationals, and probably hadn't run under 6:00. I headed up to BCC to do just that Wednesday and figure out exactly where I am in terms of my speed. I ran a few miles at different efforts and let the watch tell me afterward how fast each was.
Running easily, so that I could handle the bulk of a conversation, ended up being 5:52. Moderate, a pace I felt I could handle for an undetermined, but long, amount of time ended up being 5:35. Cranking it, which I defined as running hard but at a pace I could sustain a while, was 5:19, and running hard was 5:08. I was very happy with how the first three turned out, but I would have been happier to be closer to 5:00 for the hard mile. I was wearing trainers, so obviously that affected my turnover, but my legs felt pretty darned heavy. I should start quarters again soon and get my legs moving again, maybe some hills.

I had planned to meet up with a gang Thursday morning at 7 to run, so I was a bit flustered to wake up at 8... That meant running in the dark again that evening, which I did with a double Independence. The temperature had hit the mid 40s, so I was feeling pretty comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt. After the usual traffic snarls as I got away from the Hill, I got rolling- 18:34 at three miles, and when I got to Hains Point, I took a couple of splits based on the MCM markers- 5:47 on the west side, 5:52 on the east, not too bad. I finished up 11.5 miles in 1:10 on the dot- 6:05 average, not bad for a few traffic stops, though I hit 14th street on the way back.  I was a little surprised at how fast I went.

Friday morning I balked at getting up to run, but ultimately succeeded and did a reverse Westmoreland. I started out a little fast- 13:00 for the first two miles, but then cooling off and averaging 6:48 for the 8.1.

I got a bit of good news when Bob Shooer confirmed Martha's Run for April 14, rather than the 7th. Having an extra week between that and Cherry Blossom will be huge, especially now that Marco is running it, too. He'll be bringing years of running on Pittsburgh's hills with him, and that's a course more than any where hill running acumen will make a big difference. If anything will take my form to a new level, it will be that course. McLean and northern Arlington are hilly, they're not "Lebo-rough hilly," though.

I'm closing in on 75 miles this week, and feeling good for most of it. Keeping my Sunday run slow will be a big test of discipline, and will be harder than running it fast, frankly.