Running With Jack

When I got home from work last night it was still a pleasant 29C/85F, a gentle breeze was blowing and the humidity had diminished significantly. I decided that it was a good night to get in a tempo run.

After warming up I headed out over my flat 14K/8.7M route, completing the first kilometer in 5:27 (8:46/M). Feeling good I picked up the pace and quickly fell into a groove, a pace of around 5:10/K (8:19/M), which is around my half-marathon race pace. As I entered the rim of the forest at around the 4K point, I was feeling really good and just kept pouring it on. I passed the 10K point in 50:27, an average pace of 5:03/K (8:07/M).

As I came out of the forest soon after this I hit a pretty strong headwind and slowed down a bit. But I was still feeling strong so quickly picked up the pace again finishing the 14K/8.7M with an average pace of 5:03/K (8:07/M), just 10 seconds under my 10K race pace!

Needless to say, it was a great run and a great feeling! I guess the back-to-back run on Friday and Saturday was too easy, I need to start running farther ;-)

Actually I ate well and slept long and deep this weekend due to cooler temperatures. I think this really helped with the recovery.

Marathon on the Horizon!

In 5 ½ weeks is my next long race, a forest marathon on September 10. I have three more long runs planned over the next few weeks and will launch my tapering with a half-marathon race on August 27th.

The route of the “forest” marathon is 95% through the forest and surrounding fields around Pirmasens, in the Rhineland-Pfalz region of Germany (about 70 minutes from our house). As you can see from the accompanying profile there are a few hill climbs, so this will not necessarily be a quest to break my marathon speed record. I look at it as more of a reward for my hard training, a chance to celebrate my passion for running.

But first I still have some (self-imposed) tough training ahead of me - my next 50K is coming up in 12 1/2 weeks!