Return to Hard Running

I took Monday off, but hit the ground running hard on Tuesday. Once again, it was freezing outside (actually about 30 degrees below freezing) so I donned a jacket and two additional layers. After an easy first mile, I took to some hills and immediately my pace began to drop. I ended up keeping the pace hard (1. to stay warm and, 2. because I feel fresh everyday) for the remainder of the run. I finished the 7 in 44:30.

On Wednesday, I ran an easy 7.5 with Scott in 57:30. Again, it was frigid.

Thursday dawned warmer, but it was still in the low teens (if not single digits) when I hit the road around 7am. I ran a solo 9 miles, but found myself, again, hammering the pace and running hills, mostly in an effort to stay warm. I glanced down at my watch about 3 miles in and realized I was running much faster than I thought (5:45s). I kept the pace going for another few miles then shut it down when I hit 8 (and cooled down the last mile). If my piss-poor math skills are correct, I covered the middle 7 miles in 42:00.

I took Friday off.

On Saturday, I drove out to Sycamore Landing Road for another long run on the rolling roads of Poolesville. My intentions weren't to run fast, rather, just get in a long run, but I must have been feeling good, because I quickly got into the swing of things. I was clicking along pretty good and enjoying the rather warm temperatures (high 30s) and the sun. Around mile 9, I ditched my gloves. Around mile 11, I hit the hills, which once again took my breath away. I ran my slowest mile (6:40), before turning around and starting back towards my car. Luckily(?), a quartet of road bikers were coming up behind me so I decided to try to hold them off on the uphills on my way back, which again proved heartbreaking, but a good workout nonetheless - I ran my last 2 miles before shutting it down in 5:39 and 5:36. 15 in 1:33. This was a great loop/run and I'll be sure to run it again sometime.

On Sunday, I ran an easy 8.5 with PMurphy from The Line. My legs were tired from the 15 on Saturday, but it was good to hit the soft trails, some of which were absent of snow. I did 4 x strides on Beach at the end. It's about time I started doing workouts, I think. 

I got in 47 for the week (5 runs), 22 of which was run at 6:15 pace or faster.