Notes
Had a really really great distance run today, on a beautiful morning in the sunshine. It takes about an 8 mile run to run to the ocean from my apartment, which is a very convenient distance. And boy oh boy did the ocean look good today. I found a very happy place running along the beach and looking out at the waves. Prior to heading that direction I added 2 miles around a nearby neighborhood, knowing I wanted about 10ish and would much rather add at the beginning than at the end.
I felt absolutely stellar today. I haven't felt very fit since moving to New Haven. Well, that's not entirely true. I feel fit. I feel like I might be honing in on the fittest I've ever been, but the daily running experience sometimes leaves me questioning that. The combination of running alone, running in a new place, and just some overall fatigue from high mileage last week left me not worried, but slightly questioning the fitness I thought I had built this summer at home.
In hindsight, I think hitting 80 miles last week as well as beginning my first week as a grad student was just taxing to the system overall. Individually, both the classes and the running were great. I love the school, and the 80 miles actually came pretty easily. I think overall it was just a lot of bite off in the first week.
However, after a pretty easy 3 days of running I felt absolutely stellar today. The best I've felt running in 2 weeks. It turns out all I needed was a little recovery and all of a sudden I felt fit as a fiddle again.
Isn't it strange how as runners our perceptions of fitness can change over just a few days, even though we all know better than to let ourselves get wrapped up in the day to day feel instead of trusting the months and months and years of years of training that have led up to any point.
My plan is to have a bit of a down week this week (and hopefully nail a couple good workouts), then have one more big week next week, and then coast for the last 2 before my race. I'm looking forward to the mileage coming down just enough this week to give me the chance to sink my teeth into a few great workouts, and also looking forward to more quality in general as the quantity comes down appropriately over the next month.