Monday, April 02, 2007

Looking ahead

Well, I'm at work and there's nothing to do, so I might as well obsess over running for a little while until something comes out of scan for me to check.

The next race is the first of two very realistic chances to beat two PRs from back when I was "fast." The 15K PR is the most vulnerable because I have only run the distance once, in the Vencor Stakes 15K in 1999. Like my PR half marathon from the same year, I did it on high school track training--long runs of maybe 7-8 miles, intervals mainly consisting of 400s, and training runs of 4-5 miles. It seems a foregone conclusion that I should be able to run faster now with more distance-specific training, but that is not always the case, and I know it will take time to get back to that level of fitness.

Back then I ran it in 1:17:42, about 8:20 miles. That will be my main goal, simply to beat that time. I think if I have a good day and get a good start, I can do it. It's a fairly flat course (similar to those of the Training Series 5K and 10K), and I'm much more used to running long distances than I was eight years ago. I think the easiest way for me to break the race down mentally will be into three 5Ks. If I can concentrate on finishing each 5K component in 25:30, that will get me 1:16:30, which is pretty closely in line with most of my recent race times. I believe this race has 5K markers, so this should be pretty straightforward, even if I experience a Garmin malfunction. I know this race will at least have a clock at the starting line, so I'll know where I am in relation to the race clock. Also, I always seem to be much better at a distance the second time I race it in a season. Although 10 miles is not the same as 15K, it's close enough to feel like a dress rehearsal. I'll reevaluate closer to race day, but for now, that's what I'm shooting for.

The rest of the weekend was nice and peaceful, with much good food. Mark and I rented Casino Royale and also the first five episodes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from the 80s, which I remember watching after school when I was little. Nostalgia city! It was awesome to see those again. The new Bond movie was also good; it had some impressive stunts and chase scenes. The blond Bond is a-okay with me, but Sean Connery is still the best. I got out for about 4.5 easy miles on Sunday, which felt great. We also made it back to Bloomington without any speeding tickets!

1 comment:

Al Durham said...

Beating PR's! Always fun and it makes all the hard training pay off.