Notes
Temp 67 Winds Calm. Humid (93%) Dew Point 65 degrees. Heavy Fog.
Play day is over, time to get back to work. Sixty minutes at Easy Effort. Heavy fog this morning and did not feel safe running on the roads. Straight to track for laps and straight back. (Probably would have been a good plan on a clear day.) Short gentle strides. Old shoes have new life with inserts. Felt strong. Pace even progressed in miles 5 & 6. Hills on way home felt like speed bumps. For what it was, this one was solid. Shoulders get the weights tonight.
Lots of analysis and planning during run. Have four 5Ks under my belt now with reasonable aerobic base to aggressively try to run them. For me, best plan for hilly courses appears to be even / near even splits. Just have to be fit enough and strong enough to attack hills without blowing myself up or losing too many seconds confusing an "even effort" climb with a "weak effort" climb.
Even and negative splits for a flat course may be for the elites. Without being downright stupid, positive splits may not be that bad a plan, they're just going to hurt more. As long as I have decent speed, OK to go out a little fast, be fit enough to take it as deep as possible into the race (2.0 - 2.5 miles best case), then gut it out and whatever pace the cardio system can maintain. Be fast by not slowing down as much. Kick, schmick, the hobby joggers should be dead and buried before the 3rd mile split. The good ones will beat me anyways, and if they "out-kick" me, its them that probably left some seconds on the course.
Have just built to 50 mile week base. Now pack it down solid. Safe to start refining the edges with Speed Work. Be patient, stay healthy. Do the stuff necessary to be faster longer into the race.