'Tis another week of long distance running training.
I've really only had three workouts between the Trials marathon and the USAXC race. I figure that's ok, since the 26.2 mile threshold probably gave me some good fitness.
Last Friday I went over to Lake Harriet to do a threshold run. The lake is about 3 miles around, so I planned to speed up each time around, going 16:00/15:30/15:00. This was a little too ambitious, as the previous four days averaging 21 miles a pop caught up to me. I went 16:00/15:37/15:37. I didn't overwork the run, I was just pooped and had to settle into 5:12s to keep up a manageable pace.
Tuesday I got up and it was 8 degrees with a -4 windchill. I slogged down to the lakes to gut out a fartlek, but decided to bail and come back in the evening with another workout at the Metrodome. I decided to do 8x640 (1 lap) with a 640 jog in between. my goal pace was about 2:08 800m pace. I managed to hit just a little under that. I felt pretty quick and smooth, even while slipping around a little on the shiny concourse floor. I've had good workouts at the dome, but sometimes I feel like I'm pushing my luck.
Blerrrrrrrrr
The creative juices aren't really flowing today. It doesn't happen very often anyway, so, just like a terrible workout, sometimes you have to know when to throw in the towel.
Or when to push on to embarrassing failure! O Fortuna!
So, we're driving down to St. Louis for the cross race tomorrow. This race is so weird. None of the "big" names are there this year. And nobody seems to be that interested in the race since there's no World Champs this year. The race is also in a location that has real February weather, so that scares a lot of people away too.
If I had to pick a winner, I'd pick the All-American boy, Bobby Mack. That's not even because he's a friend of mine. He's by far the strongest XC runner in the race. So, the odds are pretty good that we'll leave St. Louis in decent spirits.
Of myself? I don't know. My last few workouts have led me to believe that I'm in great shape. Recently I've done better translating good workouts into good races, so maybe I have a shot. They take 5 to Trinidad for NACAC, and some people probably will decline to run, so if I can sneak in somewhere in the top 10, I'd have a shot. But this is cross country. I could have an amazing day and get 5th. Or I could have an average day and get 40th. I don't know where I, or anyone else stands right now.
Big River Running Company will undoubtedly put together a good race. You can watch it on Runnerspace on Saturday afternoon.
