Fast

What is it about running fast that makes it feel so good? Why is it that covering 5 miles at a normal, easy pace is nothing like covering those same 5 miles at a fast pace?

This morning I set out at 5 am for a hilly 5-miler. Thursdays I like to hit the hills and speed things up a little bit; bang out a good, hard workout with enough time to recover for the weekend long run. This morning, probably because I had a schedule rest day yesterday, I felt great. “Don’t push, just run” I repeated to myself as I cruised along the dark bike path, up, over and down the hills. My legs felt fresh and smooth. It was easy; easier than previous short runs.

The best part was letting myself run at a fast pace. Fast, when you don’t have to work for it, is an amazing feeling. I feel like I anything is possible and better yet, like I could run on and on forever.

After 3.5 years of running, I’ve come to terms with the fact that I am just not built for speed. Endurance is my where my running strength lies. I can dial in to a 10:30 to 11:00 minute pace and just go and go, for hours. However, I also have to keep reminding myself that although I may not have been genetically blessed with speedy legs doesn’t mean that I can’t get faster. This morning’s near-effortless hilly run at a 9:30 pace feels as good, if not better than completing a 20-miler at 10:30 pace the previous weekend.

I’m looking forward to seeing what I can accomplish at the marathon, the distance that demands both speed and endurance.

Weather watch for April 24:
(Because I need something to focus my obsession on for the next few days)
Showers (40% chance), high of 71, low of 57 – I’m actually encouraged by that, better than sunny with a high of 85!! (:Knocking every piece of wood in the vicinity:)

Daily Dozen:
5.04 miles – hilly route
Walking and stretching XT @ lunch hour

I Love Fall

I know Fall technically started last week but the weather didn't get the notice until today.

Last week, I was still coming home from my morning runs and thinking how deceptively humid it was outside. I would read 65 degrees on the thermometer but once I started running I would realize that little needle had no concept of humidity.

This morning I headed out into a chill, 50 degrees and wonderfully crisp. Somehow the chill in the air made the morning seem brighter and clearer even thought the sun was still an hour and a half from rising.

I couldn't help but have a good run. I headed out for my hilly route and attacked each hill. Sometimes the attacks were focused efforts - eyes on the top, arms pumping back and forth like pistons, legs pounding up the hill relentlessly. Other times, I would relax in to hill, strong and tough but still gliding effortlessly. I would get to the top of the hill and breeze over it, sometimes not even realizing it was over. Still, other hills I attacked ferociously, just digging in with maxing effort, eating it up and spitting it out raw!

It felt good. It was over too quickly. I wanted more but still felt satisfied.

Mmmm - I love Fall.

Go to your Happy Pace

“Just run at your happy pace. Find your happy pace. Don’t worry about pushing the pace or slowing down, just run. Just run.”

That is what I was telling myself on my run this morning…and it felt great. I am so in love with running right now, it is amazing. I almost don’t want to go on and on about how wonderful running has been for me because I don’t want to jinx anything (but it beats having to go on and on about injuries and recovering from injuries).

My alarm went off this morning at 4:35 and I was tired. It took me longer than usual to shake the sleep away while I was getting ready; I kept stalling, reluctant to walk out the door. I guess I was afraid I would have a bad run but I wouldn’t say the feeling was that defined. I was just hesitant for some reason.

However, I did eventually leave and walked the few blocks to the bike path. It was cooler than it has been recently, around 50 degrees according to the thermometer (I was actually shivering this morning…yay! Fall is here; hopefully to stay). The cool temps woke me up and something changed. Once I took my first steps running, I was no longer hesitant. My attitude and outlook was optimistic. My running felt great – strong and smooth. As I headed toward my hilly route, I just let myself go.

Run at your happy pace, whatever that is.

I ran strong and fast, zooming down the bike path, working without pushing. I didn’t scare off the pace. I didn’t force myself to slow down or tell myself to hold back. I found a perfect balance – pumping up the hills, coasting down the other side and reveling in the flat sections. There wasn’t a moment of hesitation or doubt anywhere in the run.

I wanted to keep going, running on and on in to the coming morning but then I was at the end and it was time to start the rest of the day. It was a dream run and like a dream I’m having trouble coming up with an explanation. It just all felt – right – this morning.

Daily Dozen:
6.79 miles @ my happy pace (which it turns out is a 10:09 average)

Born to Run

This morning I ran a hilly out-and-back, round-trip 5 miles at a fast pace (being sure to charge up the hills - no slacking off). It was a great run. My legs felt light and easy. I was focused and determined to tackle the hills with strength and power.

I was exhausted by the end of it but in a good way - in that heart pounding, grasping for air, muscles burning kind of way. In short, I felt proud.

After taking a few weeks off from running after the Vermont City marathon, and slowly adding miles to my weekly total, my running has been exhilarating and strong. I'm enjoying my runs in ways I never have before - thrilled to be outside and running

I recently finished reading the book, Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. I feel very inspired by the book and it has shown in my running. The book is about a tribe of Mexican Indians called the Tarahumara who are known for their running endurance. Reading about this cultures love of running made me realize that not only should I enjoy how I feel after a run but also I should be having fun while running. This isn't something I've strived for, as contradictory as that sounds.

I hit the bike paths each more thinking, OK, Becki 5 miles to go today, if I get it done, I can be proud to have started the day in such a positive way. The reward was the result not the run.

Reading Born To Run made me realize how misguided that thinking could be - why run if you don't enjoy the act of running, the author seemed be asking me. Why don't you have smile on your face while you cruise the paths of Arlington? Why is it that the smile only appears once you've stopped running?

The author had additional reasons to write about the Tarahumara but this is the thing that struck a chord for me - enjoy the run. I like how simple that is. Just enjoy the run – back straight, eyes scanning the horizon, hips forward, arms pumping like pistons, feet barely skimming the ground, kicking toward my butt as my knees circle forward all with a smile on my face. Enjoy the run. I've taken this sentiment to heart the past few runs and it seems to suit me well.

This morning's run was so much fun that I was disappointed to see it end, I wanted to keep running. That’s how I should feel at the end of all my runs – happy, exhausted and craving more.

Today's Daily Dozen:
5 hilly miles @ tempo

Still Reveling in Yesterday’s Run

I’m finally feeling like my old self this week, in terms of running. I’m running pain-free and my legs no longer feel like they have anchors tied to them. One of the ideas on recovering from races is that a runner should take expect to “take off” a day for each mile raced and in this case, almost an entire month after a marathon. Generally, this doesn’t mean no running of any kind for 26 days but rather, no speedwork or hard running of any kind. For this marathon, it proved absolutely true.

Yesterday morning, just as the sun was coming up, finally felt like I was ready to get to running and I set out for a hilly four mile run. I wanted to get in some quality running and really attack the hills, give ‘em no mercy. Boy, it felt great! I pounded up each hill, big or small, which made me feel like I was gliding along the flat sections.

I love how the hills get my heart pounding; “push push push” I repeat internally as my legs start to tire but I’m so close to the top. I can see it. Eyes on the prize. Just a little further. Just a little harder. Come on, you can do it! Get to the top.

And then I’m there. I’ve made it to the top of the hill. My breathing is heavy, my heart is pumping in overdrive, my legs are achy and I close my eyes for a moment and let out a sigh of relief. “Whew! I did it!,” I say to myself as I slow my pace.

The best hills are ones that flatten out on the top and don’t dump me immediately in to a downhill. I have time to bring my running back to a steady, sane pace – legs, heart, breathing all settling back down. There is a sense of relief and accomplishment that helps me relax in to recovery.

Only to do it again on the next hill – attack, relax, repeat.

Yesterday’s hill run was one of those runs I was disappointed to end. I wanted those four miles to keep going. I needed just one more hill and then I’d be ready to quit but knowing full well that one more hill would only make me crave another and then another. It was a great run.

Daily Dozen:
Slept in – Rest Day!
Possible some light bike work @ lunch hour

Hills for a change

As I bundled up this morning, hoping I had on enough layers to keep out the cold air and chilling wind, I decided I wanted a challenge this morning. It was to be my first run of the New Year and I decided to take a lollipop loop route (basically a loop with an out and back so it looks like a lollipop when it is mapped out) that hits most of the big, long hills in my area.

I love running hills and I think it is one of my strengths when it comes to running. At last year’s inaugural Marine Corp. Historic Half in Fredericksburg, MD, I ran my fastest half-marathon time on a route that reduced many people to walkers by the end. There were two or three notable inclines and a handful of smaller, rolling sections of the course and from much of the feedback I saw on the race’s website and from the Runner’s World forums, most people weren’t thrilled about the hilly course.

I thought the course was great and very sincerely hope the race committee does not change it. There is no better feeling than finally coming to the top of a hill after battling your way up, legs screaming, breathing heavy. Suddenly, you can feel your heart beating and for a second you think it might just beat its way right out of your throat and run off down the sidewalk without you but it doesn’t. Slowly, your legs are renewed and your lungs and heart rate slow as you slide back in to a groove. It is invigorating and powerful.

Also, it is one of the best ways to combine running with strength training.

I took off in to the chilly and dark morning and letting my legs carry me up and down the hills of the bike path as it leads to Rosslyn and the Potomac River beyond. My pace was slower, over 11:00 miles, but that doesn’t matter when you are facing a hill, only the effort to get to the top can conquer a hill, not a faster pace.

After turning around just outside Rosslyn, I jumped off the bike trail and ran along Wilson Boulevard. Normally, I hate running on city streets, stopping at stop lights, dodging people, suspicious of every car, eyeing every driver to make sure they don’t have intentions of running me down as I cross a street. However, these frustrations don’t exist in the early morning and I quietly slip by closed stores, dark office buildings and the rare pedestrian or worker whose presence emphasizes the earliness and solitude of my morning run.

Today’s Daily Dozen:
5.29 mile run (28 min. run/1 minute walk x 2 intervals), some aggravation in my right hamstring during and soreness in my quads afterwards