4 is better than 2

Day off!  It was nice to take a day of no running. 

Ran with Taha this morning, we ran very well this morning, it was a great morning to run.  The snow had stopped and it was not too cold.  I was a little lethargic when we started, but I felt like I was moving well at the end of the run.

Met Taha at the park for a set of 12x2 min reps with 1 min recovery.  We ran better than last week for the same set.  Taha pressed the pace in the middle of the set which made it difficult, but overall I feel like it was an excellent effort today.  My legs do not feel as beat up as they did last week after the set.  

Thought I would be much more fatigued than I actually was.  It was a nice run and my legs felt pretty good.  Ran from the club through Walker Lane.

Warmed up for 20 minutes and then ran 8x1 min with a min recovery.  I felt horrible from the start, legs are really fatigued.  I felt better by the end of the run, but I need to rest and recover a little before Saturday's 10k.

Well, something better get better between today and tomorrow, I felt completely out of synch today, just sluggish.  I had been fighting a bit of a cold, maybe I still have some effects.  I was thinking of running farther today, but I felt so bad that I just called it at 4.  I hope to at least run strong tomorrow in the 10k, I have no time expectations set, just to feel good and run a smart race.

The course today was exactly what I thought it would be, tough early on.  My race strategy was to run conservatively in the first half and run hard in the second.  I ran the first three miles of the course before the race started to so I could see how difficult the climbs would be. When the race started I went out very slow, too slow. I was at 6:35 at the mile.  If I don't have a faster pace at the start, I have a hard time picking it up later.  Usually I will go out a little aggressive for about a half mile then back off.  I did not fair much better in the second mile even though there was considerable downhill - 6:15.  By the end of the second mile I had lost contact with the group I was running with, that concerned me a little bit, but I thought I could stay close on the climb going into the third mile.  I settled into a slow pace up the climb and gradually lost a little more ground to the group in front, I came through the third mile in 20:34 - I did not get the split, but I knew that was not an acceptable effort.  Upon cresting the hill I got to work,  I came through mile four in 5:20.  About 4.5 miles in I caught Ted and then set my sights on Cody and Taha. I caught Cody and dropped Taha on the climb out of mile 5.  I wanted to catch Nate Long, but I struggled on the climb and could not close the gap any further.  Mile five split 5:38.  I ran in with someone whom I do not know, and Cody finished directly behind me, it was nice to finally meet him.  Overall I cannot complain too much, I gave a solid effort, but I think if I had gone out in the first mile a bit more aggressively I could have finished  a bit faster.  I have not raced a lot in the last year and I have become a little soft.  I look forward to the 10 miler and hopefully a little faster effort.  Great Job to all the bloggers who were there, and to everyone else who braved the cold and course.