On the right path

November 21, 2006

I've been home for nearly a week now and feeling closer to normal. If you don't travel nearly every week it's probably hard to imagine having difficulty adjusting to the routine of being home. Sleeping 7 nights in a row in my own bed is a gift.

I've also had the chance to run on the lakefront path for a week. When you can run the same course, or at least on the same path, several days in a row you can begin to play with pace and distance. And that's just what I've done.

I've been using the Garmin on nearly every run lately. It's helped me stay honest with my pace. Now that I'm not really training for anything specific I've got a lot more flexibility. I can run more often, take more training risks, and have much more fun.

Part of that risk is running 4 days in a row. I did a "pyramid", starting with the one mile on the treadmill, 3 miles at a 12 minute pace, 4 miles at a 12 minute pace, and then 3 miles [using a R10/W1 interval] at a sub-11 minute pace. For me, a sub-11 minute pace qualifies as a tempo run. It's a push.

Then, a day off.

I'm eager to get out today and see how it goes. My plan is to go a little farther but use a R4/W2 interval. I haven't run more than 60 minutes since I hurt my knee. I think today will be the day.

John