Ran my first time trial and my first 5k in quite some time on Saturday and was pleasantly surprised. The goal was to run a couple of races before my goal race and run sub 22, sub 21 and sub 20. Well, I started out with a 20:26 on a hilly course, so the fitness is a little better than I thought. Mile 1 was the hilliest and was 6:48, mile 2 was flat, gravel trail and was 6:30, and the last mile was a solid 6:35, even with some hills. Very happy with the result and confident I can regain my sub-20 form.
The rest of the week was just so-so. Finished with around 50 miles and my Sunday 2-hour run was .15 miles less than last week's. Probably the effects of Saturday's race. I am happy to report that I ran Old Excelsior Road and Sparrow Road hills again on Sunday. Doing this route consistently should help increase my endurance quickly. I will admit I was pretty gassed at the end of this run and my heart rate was over 160 for the last 30 minutes. So yea, I am going to need all of the next 23 months to get that back in time for Twin Cities 2020.
All in all very encouraging. This is week 5 and I am still strong mentally and look forward to most of my runs. The trick is to keep that fire burning when the plan calls for 60, 70, and 80 miles per week! It's going to require early mornings and a dedication that has been missing for a couple of years. But like I said last week, the idea is to keep it fun, challenging and new. The racing every month was a great idea and is going to be key in getting me over the next hump.
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