A test

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Don't Watch the Watch

Ok, I survived my 10miler. I think that I did more than survive I did pretty well. Not phenomenally well, not PR well, not even in good shape well but I ran smart and even.
I went out easy, ran with Jeff and hit our first 3 miles just at the 8min pace we wanted to. We let everyone run by us, not an easy task when you feel so good and you know you can keep up with the old running group for a few miles. But it paid off in the later hill miles not to be too tired. People that went too fast faded and were caught and that felt good. The miles rolled by the course is tought but scenic and my pace was even 8's all day long.
The magic of the 8's was that I didn't have a watch on. Even pace, no watch. I asked for splits from people at a couple spots but not every mile, and not in the last 4 at all.
I think that while I get back up to speed I'm leaving the watch off during races, I've got to run smart and not worry about running fast. You should try it.

The choice now is between the 1/2 marathon and the 8-miler, they're on the same day. I think it's going to be the 8miler and run there and run home making at least a 13 mile day of it, same as a half.

Once a runner...

Well,
I am back on the streets, the trails, the roads. I've taken up running again, I'm learning that it is possible to be a runner with a family, that there are enough hours in the day for it.

I think that as a runner who's done thousands of miles that they stay with you somehow when you take a break. I took most of the fall and winter off, barely getting in 1 run a week. Probably good for my legs and joints in the long haul but horrid for my speed. But when I go out now, I feel the legs remember what to do, the form is good, the speed is not but it will come I think. While the speed and endurance thing is hard to get used to I find that the routine is still familar, the run can be enjoyable still.

I've found new routes around the neighborhood that weren't there last year, a new trail and a new street. New routes are saving me and letting me get my legs back without constant comparison to old times and courses. I'm even considering a spring marathon. If I can string together some good weeks in March with 3 runs a week with long runs of at least double digits on one of them, and then do the same in April, stretching the long run to 16-20 miles, I think I'll go for it. It won't be fast, it won't be pretty but it could be doable.

The latest test of fitness comes this weekend, the Jones Town & Country 10-miler in Amherst. Can I string together 10miles in a row? Stay tuned?

I think that once you're a runner, you're always a runner.