Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Feeling Strong!



I ran just over 7.5 miles this morning from the area we live called South Hill down into the Puyallup Valley and back up the Hill. I averaged an 8:12 pace. While not near my standard training pace for shorter races such as 5K, 10K, or a Half Marathon this pace exceeded my expectation for the day. As the aches and pains from this weekends 34 mile jaunt dissolved away during the first 3-4 miles I started concentrating on form and actually picked up the pace.

I'm looking forward to having two weeks before my next event (Pigtails Run). I'm going to work on some tempo runs and some interval training to see if I can make up some time on this run. My PR for a 50K is 5 hours. Conditions at the Pigtails Run should be conducive to a fairly fast time. The "trail" is really a gravel service road that circles a water reservoir. It's not flat by any means and does have some challenging hills but for the most part it is all runnable.

It's amazing how quickly the human body adapts with conditioning. My legs feel so much better now than they did just two weeks ago after the Tiger Mt. 50K.. It gives me confidence for future runs and validates my training plan as I work toward my first 100 mile Ultra. I'll admit thinking I might just be a loony bin candidate for considering my upcoming double in April after I finished at Capital Peak. Today's run showed me that my conditioning is working and that I will be ready to crank out 76.2 miles in one weekend in April.

Run Strong!

Eric

12 comments:

Backofpack said...

I'm sure you'll be able to crank out 76.2 miles, I just hope you aren't too "cranky" after!

I'm going to pretend that your fast recovery after this race means a fast recovery for me after Orcas. (I'm really hoping it wasn't the ice bath, because I just don't know if I can do that.) Anyway, I'm sure I'm right about my recovery, afterall, I was right about the gall bladder!

Wes said...

It's amazing how good you feel after a recovery run, and I use that term for me :-) It's nice to know that proper conditioning can prepare you for great things. Filed away for rapid retrieval.

Anonymous said...

76.2, whew!

run strong!

Darrell said...

Won't that 76.2 be a nice little training run for WS?

Cranky, huh? Is Michelle giving away your secret identity?

Ryan said...

Great picture! You're certainly making some serious strides towards WS100. Enjoy the short fast runs!

Thomas said...

And there's me thinking 76.2 miles would be a decent mileage for a whole week.

Olga said...

Loved the picture:)
What is that talk about 76.2M? Oh, yes, the double...sure, no problem!

Sarah said...

At the rate you're going, Eugene will seem like a nice recovery run. : )

Jon said...

A 50 miler and marathon in less than 24 hours of each other? You. Are. An. Animal. :-)

How are you handling logistics (transportation) and lodging? It's a 4 hour drive from Olympia to Eugene, right?

Unknown said...

I think you will begin to see the improvement in recovery after every event and I know you will begin getting way too fast for me and Steve. The double will give you even more confindence and it will be a lot of fun and don't worry I'll drive since I'm not running is far as you are.

Anonymous said...

I had to laugh at a half-marathon being called a "shorter race." It's all in the perspective, isn't it? :) I'm glad to hear that your conditioning is on track. I wonder how you ultra runners can manage so many miles without injury. Obviously, you're keeping yourself in good shape. . . something I need to work on!

Anonymous said...

Your April weekend double sounds outstanding. It really is all about recovery isn't it? How fast can you restore your body to a functional state? I'm finding it's about 75% physical fitness and 25% nutrition/hydration/rest that brings about fast recovery. I can't wait to read along!