My legs were a little stiff, not from the 7 hour run last Friday, but from the 150's I did 2 days ago. I was running faster than usual and my legs were not accustomed to the quicker turnover rhythm. The stiffness was nothing heavy, so it did not hinder me.
I ran the first mile in 6:32. I started the first 400m of the mile really slow, was in dead last, but slowly started to gain speed and by the last lap I was moving pretty good. I ran the 2nd mile the same way and tagged it in 6:38. I was pleased with those times because I rarely run anything under 7:00 pace in training. The rest of the workout went as expected, my endurance is good so I had no problem keeping the intensity at 85%. I ran the 800m in 3:15, which is slower than I would have liked, 3:05 would have been better, but I recovered after that and ran the 400 in 85 and the 200 in 37 (unsure of times on the 1200m/600m).
Before we started the 200m Matt said we were going back up the ladder after, so I gritted my teeth and prepared for a lot more running. When I was walking back to the start I realized he was joking since we had already run 3 1/2 miles, but I was impressed that I still had something left in the tank - I believe I could have gone back up the ladder running the same paces.
I am taking today and tomorrow off, time to let my legs freshen up. I am thinking about running my 2nd 5k of the year, this one is at Crystal Lake Park. I ran 21:00 on the 4th of July on a short and flat course. The Crystal Lake course has a couple of hills and seems a little long, so if I go under 21:00 my speed endurance will have improved. Based on the track workout I think I can run 20:45-21:00, but who knows.
One thing different this year is I rarely go all out on any run. I ramp it up slowly to about 90% and then cruise. I just don't have it in my heart to expend 100%, at least most of the time. One reason I can think of is when I do go 100% it takes a lot out of my legs, and they are usually sore for a couple of days. By going 90% I avoid the soreness and the taxing of the body, which leads to fresher long term running, and maybe avoiding injury.
Today I was reading one of my fave running blogs and was discouraged by how poorly he is feeling about his dnf at the recent Leadville 100. Because of the altitude it is one of the tougher 100's, and has only a 50% finisher rate. It was his first dnf, and he was pulled at mile 62 because of a missed cutoff time. It took him by surprise, he didn't feel he was running all that slow. He was taking part in the Grand Slam, which is Vermont, Western States, Leadville, and Wasatch. He finished the first 2, but got cut at Leadville, and decided to skip out on Wasatch. I can see how a task as arduous as the Grand Slam could lead to sadness if one comes up short. Even if one has the proper attitude and goal, it would still hurt to get knocked out due to how much effort went into it.
