The Daily Log 11/28/08

Distance: 6.21 miles
Time: 1:02:21
Pace: 10:02/mile
Weight: 197lbs
Terrain: Rolling Hills
Temperature: Cold and calm
Gear: Long-sleeved Gobbler Grind tech shirt, Reebok stocking cap, Adidas long training pants over Adidas running shorts, Nike Air Zoom Vomero Shoes
Hydration: None
Fuel: None
Medical: Mild right shin
Recovery: Stretches, Aleve, ice, Biofreeze
Shoe Mile Count: 124.92 miles
Days until Marathon: 51

Well, I felt fresh, what can I say?

I usually will do a test to see how my legs are feeling. I put on my running shoes, go into the back yard and run a few yards a couple of times. If there's no pain, I take that as a sign that I am good to go. While hardly scientific, it's been surprisingly accurate. If I'm sore on that tiny jog, I know that running anywhere that day is probably unwise. The times I've ignored the test, I've paid for it.

Anyway, I "passed", and decided I'd head out. It was another surprisingly mild day for late November, and I didn't even need my fleece, something that pleased me as I'd been looking for an excuse to proudly sport my Gobbler shirt on a run. Once again, the test proved accurate. My right shin was its usual self, but the best it has felt since Sunday, and overall I definitely felt stronger and less fatigued than on the last couple of short runs.

My pace was slower than I was aiming for by about 30 seconds, which was a little frustrating. It's not, obviously, that I'm not capable of running faster - this was the same course I ran at 8:01 pace a couple of weeks ago - it's that I seem unable to ever nail my pace goal. I'm either too fast or too slow. Don't get me wrong - 10:02 pace is, in all honesty, just about perfect for a regular training run for someone of my speed. It's just that I'd like to be able to say to myself, "OK, today I will run 9:30", and then get within 5-10 seconds of doing just that. I'm not sure how the elite athletes do it; I suppose it's like anything else. Experience experience experience.

I think this is my favorite of all the routes that I run. This has to be the 7th or 8th time I've done it, and I still love it. The neighborhoods are beautiful, the hills are challenging, and the distance is enough to provide a test without totally burning you out. I'm sure it won't be the last time I run it.