Earlier in the week I had figured on running today, but after yesterday bike workout, I wasn't sure how it would pan out for today. Regardless, if I did anything, it would be relatively easy miles, because I would really like to do somewhere in the 17-20 range on Saturday. I've struggled over the past few months in getting in solid long runs, and the last long run I did was Stu's 30k, almost 6 weeks ago now. So with a long run on Saturday, and with it counting as a quality run, Friday would be a running rest day and I didn't want to do anything too strenuous today.
That didn't mean I wasn't itching to do something, though. As I was getting dressed, I briefly toyed with the idea of a 8-10 mile threshold run - but I reminded myself that it was that kind of attitude that got me in trouble with my IT band a few years ago. So for right now, after an interval session on Tuesday, that'd be it for the speedwork this week. Instead, I'd do an easy 6, bringing my total for the week up to about 18 so far, and if I did 17-20 on Saturday, I'd be between 35-40 miles for the week - which I'd be happy about. If I felt good, I'd tack on another mile for 7.
As I got to the 3.5 mile mark, I realized I was feeling pretty good - the HR was staying in check, legs felt pretty energized, weather was nice and cool, so I thought 'eh, lets make it 8'. So as I passed the turn point of the loop to make it a 7 mile run (right around the 4.5 mile mark), I thought 'ok, now I'm kinda committed for another 3.5'. Unfortunately, it took me another mile or so to mentally piece together this loop, and realize that I was actually headed for closer to 9-10. Oops!
However, I still felt pretty good, so I took it as an opportunity to toy around with some form stuff. I had some moments and stretches where I felt like things fell into place - feet planted in the right place, minimal muscle usage, adequate forward lean, proper cadence, and engaged lower core. But as with all technical stuff, that's a lot to keep going for an extended period of time in the beginning, so I mostly focused on foot placement, with forward lean and cadence coming in second. I started realizing that if I pay attention to cadence too much, I put more energy and muscle exertion into keeping up 180 instead of a more natural (right now) feeling 175 or so - so it dawned on me that perhaps I'm not quite ready for 180 yet. Besides, 175 is pretty damn close, and even Chi Running stuff says that taller people may be closer to 170-172 for their natural cadence as opposed to 180.
At the end, it clocked in just a tad under 9 miles, and a HR of 149 - which is just about perfect. Once I got home, just as a precautionary measure for prep on Saturday, I did the ice bath thing for about 15 minutes.
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