monday recovery 6 8/07

530pm @ 96 degrees (102 Heat index), 5 mile TLT loop.

Did an easy 6 around the lake to get the legs back on track from vacation. I wanted to run 7:45's but got off to a quicker start and just stayed at it. It was great to be back home and on familiar turf. I realise how important my running buddies are when i'm not around. I was able to chat with G, Rudy and Duane at the start, saw a slim-looking Mario cruising on the trail, ran into my nephew Orin and ran with him for a while, saw Henry Harless busting along, Waved to fellow gazelle Kimberly on the way back and finished up by talking with Ruthie E from the rogues back at Runtex. Missed Pablo in the parking lot but saw his truck parked.
My legs felt fairly heavy at the beginning so i curtailed the original plan to do 7 and dropped it to 5. After running over the Congress Bridge, I settled in and realised I was running faster than I had planned, oh well. I backtracked for about a 1/2 mile with Orin so added about a mile total to the distance.
Mile 1 : 7.20
Mile 2-3 : 12.21- ran an extra mile or so with Orin
Mile 4 : 7.18
Mile 5 : 6.40
Mile 6 : 6.44

didn't do strides although i should have.

Feelings: Well, I was a bit surprised that my recovery run was at this speed. Either the week off has left me with fresh legs or I was on some artifical plane that i will be rudely bumped from today at Wilke. Hard to tell. It didn't feel easy, but it also didn't feel particularily hard. I am a little concerned that if i keep consciously telling myself to slow down on recovery days, that i'll lose the sensation of going fast and will shy away from pain during race days. Last year i felt so ambivalent about competing that I am really trying to nurture the flame again. When i was competitive a few years back, i ran scared for most of the races because of the DC. There were specific runners who were gunning for me and that was really stressful. However, that feeling did evoke good performances as well. I think the key this year is to be confident in my preparation and to run the DC as competitively as possible, while also training for Dallas as my key marathon. Adding the stress of DC races will stoke the fire, and the long term plan for Dallas will keep me balanced. Getting 2 high quality days a week will also be key.
We'll see.