Mon: 5 miles @ 7:37, easy run except for a small stretch being chased by a dog
Tue: 8.6 miles @ 7:39, nice Christmas morning run
Wed: 25 min. pool run followed by 30 min. of core work.
Thu: 7.2 miles @ 7:24, fartlek run, some sections at a 6:00 pace
Fri: off
Sat: ~5 miles, including an indoor mile race
Sun: 16.1 miles @ 7:38, tough long run along the Boston course, especially after indoor race Saturday.
Total: 41.9 miles
The highlight was the indoor mile I raced on Saturday, courtesy of some encouragement from Flash. Just to give you a little background, the mile was my first love in high school and early on I had grandiose dreams of running the mile for Stanford. I didn't ever reach those lofty heights, but a 4:27 in high school wasn't too shabby. I haven't run a competitive mile since then, so this was going to be an interesting race on so many levels. I'm not exactly in the greatest shape either, having averaged maybe 20-25 miles in the last month. I had no idea what I could run, so I entered a seed time 5:00 flat. This put me as the 1st seed in section 6... I didn't like having the 1st seed, but I felt pretty relaxed at the start. Wow, its so strange being in a track race again. I knew I couldn't just settle into a pace and cruise, especially with the tight corners indoors. I would also have to dose my efforts. Generally in short races, you need to be in striking distance at the 3/4 point (lap 6 out 8), otherwise you have no chance. However, if you expend all your energy just getting into position, you'll have nothing left for the final kick. Clearly too much to keep track.... this was going to be interesting.
The gun went off and I put in just enough effort to keep my position through the 1st turn. I probably positioned myself too close to the inside and found myself boxed in by beginning of the 2nd lap. Soon, I was getting passed on the outside and knew I had to make a move to preserve my position. Fortunately, I was getting some good race direction from the Flash, who kept encouraging me to maintain my position. I remember passing through the halfway point at around 2:34 and in 6-7th place. Breathing was starting to get labored, but my legs felt reasonably good. I made a decisive move at lap 5, swinging into lane 2 so I could get myself into 4th or 5th place. I knew it wasn't the most efficient move, but I just couldn't afford to get boxed in. By the end of lap 6, I was in 5th place but really starting to feel it. I put in a burst to get back in contact with 3rd place and then tried to drop the hammer on the bell lap. I passed the third place runner and was gaining on the top two guys but just ran out of track. I had probably made my move to late. Here are the results. There were some serious elite runners in the mix in section 1! I still can't believe I broke 5:00 and I think with a little better race tactics, I can see myself getting down to the high 4:40s. This was a real cool experience and I've forgotten how much race strategy goes into track racing. I think I'll revisit this race a couple more times this winter just to add some spice to the training.Off to NYC for the New Year's festivities!
