Feeling strong

There comes a time in training when runs seem to just happen, paces are attained without the typical struggle of the beginning runs, and upcoming hard runs are no longer intimidating. I feel I am getting closer to that point.

My runs this week went really well. Monday's 9 miler w/ 8X800m @ 6:26 took me by surprise in that it did not hurt nor led to any puking-like feelings, despite the heat. I even ran faster than I planned to (average 6:20-6:26). Wednesday's tempo, 10 miles with 6X7:44, ended up as a 10 miler with 6X 7:32, and I even had to mentally talk myself out of going faster...The weather was much cooler on Wednesday than last week, but humidity was high so the weather can't be the only reason the run went well.

I am feeling really strong these days. I have been training for 7 weeks now, running an average of 40 miles/week (as opposed to 30 for Boston 2009), swimming and biking a ton, lifting weights and strength training, and my body and mind are responding very well. I have absolutely zero pain. I look forward to all my runs (probably because I run 4 days/week only) and all my workouts. When I trained for Boston I used to feel extremely tired, particularly after the long runs. Not so much anymore. I no longer need to take a nap after a long run, although I do enjoy weekend short naps with my son when I can. It is amazing how the human body can adapt to a higher training load. Of course, I am helping my body by eating well, taking ice baths, getting home massages (thanks, Chris) and sleeping enough (OK, 80% of the time), but I am giving my body most of the credit. It may be that I will be able to run an ultra pretty soon, and maybe build up to an 100 miler in a few years. You never know. For now, I am enjoying this great feeling of strength, and trying to stay focused on the task ahead, Baystate Marathon 2009. Feels great to be running well!