Friday, March 13, 2009

I'm out on the edge of forever, ready to run

[My apologies from the cheesy song that this post title came from...I'm a little ashamed haha]

So the past week or two have been ridiculously fabulous in terms of workouts. Last Wednesday we were supposed to do a mile at half marathon pace and a mile at 10K pace...well, my "half marathon" pace mile was 6:45, and my "10K" pace was 6:11...on the bike path...in the dark...and it was absolutely fabulous. Then there was Sunday's epic long run in the rain, Monday's workout wasn't as great but that was due to some stomach issues...my legs and everything else felt fine, and so I gutted it out through 12 x 1 minute "5k pack" aka ...6:00-6:10 pace, 1 min easy. THEN on Thursday, we were supposed to be doing 2 miles at half marathon pace...which theoretically should be ~7:20 pace for me (not that I could actually run that for a half marathon, but whatever). I ran with Claire, and we ran 6:44 for the first mile, 6:32 for the second...and I DIDN'T EVEN FEEL TIRED. Not in the least bit. Yesterday I ran 7.5 miles faster than planned, and while today my legs felt like complete shit, I still went for a run.

The bottom line is this: I think I might be in the best shape I've been in in my life. I know for a fact I'm in better shape than I was at this time last season, and I'm plowing through workouts at paces I never could have imagined before in my life. It's exciting and scary all at the same time...because its like I'm on the edge of some times that I know could be amazing, and at this point I think I have the potential to do some awesome things this outdoor season...and I just don't want to be disappointed. But all I know is, I'm feeling great, and I'm running 50 miles a week, and its fabulous. How do you quantify "the best shape of your life"? I never thought I'd be in better shape during track than XC, but I've been running a lot of mileage this track season and just feeling so much more into it that I have in the past...last year, I just hated track and running and was so apathetic about everything, and this year its just like, I'm into it 100%. And it just dawns on me randomly in the middle of workouts and runs just how GOOD I feel...which is something I can't say I've ever experienced before. For all I know, this could be the last chance I have to run the way I am - with a team, and meets, and whatever - and I WILL make it count.

Hence, why I will be doing a tempo run tomorrow no matter how much beer I drink tonight...and tomorrow, I will debut in the distance of 0.10K from Brothers to Brats. Could there be anything more awesome??

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