TITLE: Miles Fast and Long
AUTHOR: Eugene Wallingford
DATE: August 08, 2005  7:34 PM
DESC: My second 3-week training cycle has seen two 20-milers and speeds that were, for me, unheard of before hand.  Maybe I'll be ready for 8:00 miles at my marathon after all.
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BODY:
My latest training cycle for the
<A HREF="http://www.twincitiesmarathon.org/">
   Twin Cities Marathon</A>
has gone quite well.  I train in three-week
cycles, consisting of two weeks of increase
in mileage and effort followed by a "consolidation"
week.  The consolidation week gives my body
a chance to recover from the new stresses, to
rest a bit, and to prepare for new stresses
to come.  In my
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2005-07.html#e2005-07-27T12_52_31.htm">
   last running post</A>,
I wrote of the second hard week of my first
cycle, in which I ran a fast 18-miler, and the
slow, tired recovery week that followed.

I'm now into the third week of my second training
cycle.  In each of the first two weeks, I ran
solid 7x1200m work-outs.  But the long runs are
what I feel best about.

On July 31, I ran a 20-miler in
<A HREF="http://www.cs.uni.edu/~wallingf/blog/archives/monthly/2004-10.html#e2004-10-11T12_12_51.htm">
   Muncie, Indiana</A>,
the home of my
<A HREF="http://www.cs.bsu.edu/">
   alma mater</A>.
The
<A HREF="http://www.delgreenways.org/">
   Delaware Greenways</A>
rails-to-trails bike trail offered an ideal
route: flat, scenic, and toilet facilities.
I ran ten miles from downtown Muncie to the
neighboring town of Gaston and back.  The
first ten miles felt good, varying between
8:40 min/mile and 8:20 min/mile.  When I
reached Gaston, I felt strong enough to pick
up the pace.  What followed was, for me, an
amazing eight-mile stretch:

<BLOCKQUOTE>
8:07 - 8:07 - 8:03 - 8:02 - <BR/>
7:59 - 7:53 - 7:25 - 7:34
</BLOCKQUOTE>

Yes, I ran my 17th mile in 7:25.  And I followed
it with a 7:34 18th mile.  At the end of the
run, my feelings were a mixture of elation and
amazement.  Never before could I have done such
a training run.

Yesterday, I ran a 22-miler here at home.  The
route consisted of my 18.6-mile route from a few
weeks back, plus 1.8 miles to and from the trail
loop.  After running repeats only two days before,
I wasn't ready to start fast, and I expected to
go relatively slow and easy for the whole run --
just doing the miles to build stamina.

And did I start slow.  My first 8+-miles were at
an over-9:00 min/mile pace.  But then I ran the
middle 10K at an 8:43 min/mile pace, including an
8:15 mile near the end.  Feeing stronger than 
expected, I decided to try to pick it up for the
third 10K loop through the park.  The result was
a 7:54 min/mile pace, including miles of 7:46
(17th mile) and 7:22 (19th mile)!  On the return
home, I finished faster than I had started, for
a grand total of under 3 hours, 9 minutes.  Again,
my feelings were a mixture of elation and amazement.
Didn't I run a super-fast 20-miler last weekend?
And a 7x1200m workout on Friday?  Where is this
strength coming from.

Practice.  Many miles over many, many months.
Except for the tragically gifted, it doesn't
happen any other way.

I know, of course, that in the larger world of
running my times are nothing special.  But they
are special to me.

Today, I took a well-deserved nap at the office,
in the midst of beginning my new job duties.  Being
better <EM>is</EM> more fun, but it can also be
tiring!

This week, I recover with fewer miles (49, instead
of 54.5 and 55.5, respectively) and slower times.
But this week should prepare me for my longest
training run -- 24 miles -- and the two 60-mile
weeks that make up my third training cycle.  After
that, one last 20-miler before I taper home to
race day.
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