The paper on the clinical study that I participated in over the winter is being written, and got a sneak peek into it (read most of the thesis written about the study). I was in the placebo group. No surprise I felt zero effect of the supplement. But even people who took the real supplement showed no improvement (neither worsening) of running performance or quality of life.

Mostly successful LT run today. I felt like crap when I was heading out in the evening at around 6:00pm; it was still 83 F and sunny, and my legs felt heavy. I ran the warmup miles at around 8 min/mile, and they didn't feel super easy. Despite all of this, I managed 6:15, 6:21, 6:27, 6:18 mile splits. I was tired, but not unreasonably. I finished with 1.5 miles of cooldown.

I finished my second week of training mostly successfully... My last run today was an epic meltdown. I was supposed to run 16 miles with 8 at marathon pace (6:43). Pfitzinger specifically wants you to run the last 8 at marathon pace. So I did. Sort of. After 6:41, 6:37, 6:44, 6:44, 6:48, I was unable to keep the pace, and finished with 6:59, 6:56, 6:53. Average is 6:48, which is not so bad, considering that I was tired, hot, and the first 16 miler in a long time, but I don't like the way it went down. OK, just one, run I'll take it.

After some solid weeks in Hungary, I'm back in the USA. Last week I turned my ankle on a trail in Hungary, and I didn't run for a week. It wasn't terribly hurt (I still hiked over 10 kilometers on two days each), but I didn't want to risk more injury, and then I was flying back. I'm actually up to 148 pounds. My (low) peak weight was 141. That's fine. It's hard to maintain weight with high mileage, but apparently good Hungarian food does it. I'm glad I will have something to lose from.

I ran on the TM today, and I might just do the same tomorrow. It's hard to get up early, and it's too hot during the day. Today I needed an LT run, and I'm sure I couldn't have done it outside in the heat. I managed 6:20 pace for 4 miles. Not bad for fat old man. :)

Futórózsa Félmaraton Race Report

Goal: 6:45 pace by GPS. Secondary goal: 7:00 pace by GPS.

After two weeks of serious base building (60 miles per week), which followed very low mileage, I ran this "half marathon" today, because it was a friendly race organized by a very old friend of mine, and it is also nice to introduce myself to the running community of the Southern Great Plain of Hungary. This was a race ran on hard pavement (50%) and dirt roads, and even some wooded trails, so it was expected to have some difficult terrain, but no real elevation. Temperatures were in the low 70s, but most of the course was in full sun and we had some wind. I didn't make up a time goal, because the distance was already admittedly longer than a half marathon, and the terrain made it difficult to make goals. The 6:45 pace goal was to be adjusted by terrain difficulty.

I arrived about an hour before the start, and I needed it for sure. Packet pick-up was in the morning, and I needed the warmup. There were about 140 runners, plus the relay, plus the shorter races. I picked up my packet, dropped it off in my car, warmed up, and I was ready to run. I felt a bit tired at warmup - clearly my legs felt the two 60-mile weeks. Alright. We'll see what we can do today.

The race started on time, and I jumped out a bit, especially because the first mile was slight downhill (only about 20 feet for the mile), and this was the only "significant" elevation change of the course. (And of course coming back up at the end.) Runners shuffled around for the first mile, and it was probably the end of the mile when I settled behind a red shirt runner, who passed me at 1/2 mile, but I caught up by the end of the mile. (The course was marked in kilometers, but since this was no exact distance, I will just go by my Garmin mile splits.)

Mile 1: 6:37

We were still going south on blacktop, and the full sun was not pleasant. Especially after we left town, and there was no shade, and some side wind. I kept pacing by the red shirt. We passed a few jackrabbit runners.

Mile 2: 6:45

Not long after the mile marker we took a turn to a dirt road between farmlands. We had a strong headwind, so I tried to tuck myself behind my "pacer". He used lower cadence, and he was tall, so his running style is more suitable for uneven dirt roads than mine. I had to exert myself to keep up. He also pushed a bit harder here. More unpleasantness was that the front runners kicked up the dirt, so I was swallowing dirt left and right. But we passed another runner here. This setup was obviously working for me. We turned south again (side wind).

Mile 3: 6:45

(Despite the dirt road and headwind portion.) Not much happened here. I paced off the red shirt on the dirt roads. Mostly side wind, turning into the wind again at the end.

Mile 4: 6:46

Tucked behind the red shirt, we ran a headwind portion. We arrived to an aid station (I think the second one - I skipped the first that was too early). I slowed to chug a cup of water (from a plastic cup - ouch), and I seriously thought I lost my pacer, but I was able to catch up again to him within 100 meters. In fact he was slowing! Some trees were blocking the wind almost entirely; what I didn't know is that very soon we are turning into the wind again. In any case, I decided to pass my pacer. I ran around him, I said "Thanks!" (He seemed to have been puzzled - I don't think he understood why I thanked him.)

Mile 5: 6:53

I started to push hard. I wanted to gap my former pacer. I knew I was probably in the top 10, so positions mattered. Except we hit some bad headwind, so I couldn't run too fast. I still gapped the red shirt guy, and I picked out another runner about 100-200 meters ahead. I thought if I could catch him, I had another pacer/windbreaker. We reached a paved section, and then we ran into the village of Tiszasziget. Mostly older villagers cheered us on.

Mile 6: 6:42

We took a left turn in the center of the village, and we were heading to the relay exchange zone. The guy up front had only about 30 meters on me. I heard the loudspeaker at the relay zone announcing names and numbers, so I knew the guy ahead was also an individual runner. Good thing. That meant I wasn't going to loose him in the exchange zone. I kept slowly reeling him in. I skipped the aid station at the exchange zone (the volunteers were busy and did not offer anything), and I caught my new pacer.

Mile 7: 6:34

We were still in Tiszasziget, but heading out. We were following some signs directing us to the (supposedly) lowest elevation point of Hungary. I think we had headwind, or partial headwind. We passed a very sweaty guy in a black singlet. Then later two more runners, but they may have been relay runners. The pavement ended, when we arrived to another aid station (at the low point), where I drank a full cup of water, as my pacer also stopped to drink. In fact he seemed pretty hesitant to get up to pace again. "Had enough of running in front?" I asked him (of course all conversations were in Hungarian). He said he had some breathing problems. We chatted briefly about our pace while running side by side on the dirt road.

Mile 8: 6:56

The guy was slow, so I had to leave him. I didn't kick too hard, but I just slowly pulled away. Since I had nobody ahead in sight, I knew that if I leave him, I would be alone. Still, I had to. In fact I gave him by several minutes by the end. I was passed by a very cheerful relay racer soon, which was somewhat nice, because at least I could run after somebody. Even though he was pulling away.

Mile 9: 6:35

We reached pavement before the mile marker. We ran by some fields and irrigation canals where people with tractors were pumping water from the canal. Soon we reached a town. I thought we were back to Szőreg, but in fact this was just Újszentiván.

Mile 10: 6:48

It was hard to stay focused being all by myself. I glanced back several times but I saw nobody. I took water at an aid station, and then ran alone on the bike trail next to houses. Almost at the end of this mile, we left the town and we were on a dirt road again.

Mile 11: 6:43

This was where I saw the only rose field. I'm sure there were many, but I didn't focus on them. (The theme of the race was supposed to be "rose fields".) We had strong headwind, and I saw nobody - neither ahead, nor behind. I was hurting. I arrived to an aid station, where I picked up a cup from a table. I chose some kind of orange colored sweet drink this time. I knew I only had about 2 miles left. Then I wanted to continue on the dirt road, when the volunteer said: "No, the other way." What other way? I could barely see the grown in jeep road/trail in the woods on the right. Wow.

Mile 12: 7:14

This was slow. Tall grasses in the woods, and the road underneath was very rugged. I gave my best, but I didn't want to risk all what I have done on a turned ankle. After a while we were out of the woods and reached the edge of Szőreg. By this time, I saw a runner ahead who was (probably) not the relay runner who passed me. I was guessing he was maybe 30 seconds ahead. Can I catch him? I was getting a bit closer.

Mile 13: 7:02

The last portion was only 0.6 miles. Even if I had a full mile, 30 seconds is a tall order. Barring a meltdown, my position was fixed. We had to climb up the 20 feet we lost at the beginning.

Last portion: 4:01 (6:41 pace)

Total time: 1:32:16 (6:47 pace)

This race was executed close to perfection. Certainly the best position I could get, and probably close to optimal time. The fact that I was slower than 6:45 is fine - harder terrain, some weather effects (sun, wind). This is not bad at all during base building. I'm looking forward to hitting 60 miles this week again (probably a rest day tomorrow though), and to the marathon training in July.

I got 5th place out of 138. There were only two age groups: over 40 and under 40, and I got 4th place in the under 40 age group (I missed the age group cut by a few months). The third place of the age group was the guy who I was approaching close to the finish. He beat me only by 25 seconds. And only the first three were awarded so I barely missed out on awards... anyway, one can't be too greedy. I deserve it for letting myself beat by an over 40 guy, LOL.

Sunday race is on. I have run 14 miles on Sunday, and 8 miles on Monday and Tuesday each. The plan is to continue with 8 miles a day until Saturday, when I just jog for 30 minutes and then race on Sunday. Again, given that I am in the base building phase, and I just upped my mileage suddenly, the best expectation is running this at marathon pace (6:43). I will try to keep my pace between 6:40 and 6:45 at the beginning, then adjust accordingly.

My weekly mileage goes like this (beginning May 3): 0, 0, 16, 16.1, 45.8, 60. Pretty aggressive buildup, but my body seems to be holding up well.

I found the "Northwest Passage" I blogged about last year. It does actually exist. In fact it wasn't all that hard to find. I don't know if I was aware last year that my GPS is capable of following a pre-programmed course. So I pre-programmed something by Google Maps that I wanted to follow, and even though not all roads on the maps matched up with roads in real life (we are talking about jeep roads here), it was sufficient information to find the Passage. In fact the Passage is a lot of fun to run, and I've done it several times now. The disadvantage is that I haven't made it to the Óvári kilátó in Balatonalmádi.

I'm running a race this Sunday, so doing less than 60 miles week is forgivable. Still, I have to front load the week. I've done 22 miles so far in two days, so 4 x 8 miles should work well, even less, if necessary. Rest (or very easy 4 miles) on Saturday should prepare me well (for the circumstances) for a good Sunday race. I still hope I can race at 6:45/mile.

While I haven't posted much, I do train, and after a few introductory weeks, I'm on my way to about 60 miles this week. I plan to maintain the volume until July 5 with no increase, mostly to play safe, but also due to possible time issues later in the year.

I'll run a half marathon in 10 days, and I'm definitely racing it, but due to the lack of any fast training runs, I will play it safe and go out at 6:45-ish pace (if I feel good). This will be a mixed road/trail race, but no elevation change. It's also a bit over 14 miles, so it's not really a half marathon. So I might expect a 1:35 time, if things go well.

I skipped almost a full months of running (3 1/2 weeks). Now getting back on planning, the tentative plan is to run the Indianapolis Monumental Marathon on November 7th. That may include the Urban Bourbon Half marathon as a tune-up race on October 25. If I follow a 18 week plan, here is the week table (start dates - Sundays - are noted):

I have to build up to about at least 60 miles by the start.

Week -17: July 5
Week -16: July 12
Week -15: July 19
Week -14: July 26
Week -13: August 2
Week -12: August 9
Week -11: August 16
Week -10: August 23
Week -9: August 30
Week -8: September 6
Week -7: September 13
Week -6: September 20
Week -5: September 27
Week -4: October 4
Week -3: October 11
Week -2: October 18
Week -1: October 25
Race week: November 1

Run for the Ivy 5K Race Report

Goal: 17:59-18:30

With the disruption in training in the last few weeks, I wasn't sure what to expect, so I decided that I keep my goal flexible for the last race of my spring season. I knew I may have a chance of placing, and placing was more important than time, especially because I felt I wasn't capable running sub-18.

The course was pancake flat. The weather was great: 50 F, cloudy, but there was strong wind. That surely cost me some time, but not a whole lot. I had to drive a little over an hour to this small town of Indiana (Columbus), so I had to get up at 5AM in the morning. Nothing too unusual on a race day. My preparation and drive was uneventful; I was on site at 8AM, registered, did an extensive and relaxed warmup, and lined up at the front. The race started at 9AM.

The 5K and 10K started together, but it was a very small event, so it almost felt like a friendly group run. I hadn't realized it was such a small race. I talked to a fast-looking 10K runner before the start, who said he was about to run a 6:30 pace, so I told him I would probably be faster.

We were off, and the this 10K runner followed me. We were leading the race by a good margin after a half of a mile. I looked at my watch, I saw we were doing a 5:45 pace, so I told him ``This is not a 6:30 pace, more like 5:45.'' He said ``It will be fine.'' We ran together, and I only left him just before the first mile marker. (He finished third in the 10K.) I controlled my pace, because I didn't want to give up a potential victory for an epic blowup in a PR attempt. So the first mile felt fairly comfortable.

Mile 1: 5:52 (GPS), ~5:56 (mile marker)

I was alone, and the sidewind caught me. Then a tailwind leg, a turnaround, and an headwind portion that slowed me to a pace that was slightly over 6 minute/mile. At the turnaround I saw that the second place 5K runner (I could tell by the bib numbers) was already at least a minute behind me. I knew I had the race in the pocket, and that, and the headwind took away some of my willingness to suffer...

Mile 2: 5:58 (GPS), ~6:02 (mile marker)

I had some bad headwinds right after the mile marker. I ran conservatively until about mile 2.5, and then pressed a bit harder. Completely alone, just following the lead cyclist. I still didn't suffer too much.

Mile 3: 5:57 (GPS), (didn't look at my watch at the mile marker, but based on the rest of the course, probably ~6:00)

I ran by some cheering people, and kicked my way down to the finish line, clearly winning the race.

Finish: 18:36. Last portion ~0:38 (5:56 pace per mile markers).

(It seems like it wasn't a very strong kick after all.)

It seems like the time is weak, though the lack of competition and the missed training certainly didn't help. But in retrospect: this was a USATF certified course, and neither my 18:11 PR, nor my 18:32 previous PR was certified. (Actually this might have been the first certified 5K course I ran.) In my 18:11, my GPS ended with 3.06 miles, and this time my GPS showed 3.14 miles. The GPS paces were faster for this race. There is a reason to believe that my 18:11 race was short, and there is also a possibility that I didn't run the tangents on this one. (In fact I know that after the turnaround I didn't run the tangent in a wide sweeping left turn, because runners were coming from the other direction in the inside of the turn.)

The point is, one way or another, I don't think this race was weaker than my previous 5K. Breaking 18 minutes is very tough, and this effort was very far from it, but maybe I *am* getting closer. I would also like to point out, that probably the first time in my life, I ran mile 3 faster than mile 2. That probably means that I did leave something on the course.

Now I just don't know what I should do for fall racing. Probably a marathon effort, and next spring a 5K PR (at the age of 40). It would be nice to come back to the same race and do a sub-18.

I didn't run on Tuesday apart from the firefighting training, which is pretty hard cardio, but not running. I did 8 miles easy today, and I'll probably do 4 and 4 for the rest two days if I feel like it.

Well, I might salvage some of this cycle. My knee is mostly healed. I still feel it just a tiny bit, but it doesn't bother my running.

Last week was a pathetic 20 miles with only one quality workout, which was light LT training (3 x 1 mile with 2 minutes rests). My knee was hurting for the whole week. I did not run on Friday and skipped my race on Saturday.

Then Sunday, my knee felt fine, and I ran 12 miles. Then today, I did 6 x 4 minutes of hard running with 3 minutes jogs. Tomorrow I might do a light LT training. Very unorthodox, I know, almost 3 quality workouts on consecutive days, but I must improvise. Because I decided to not skip my next Saturday race (on April 25). We'll see what I can do then.

I'm injured. My right knee. Probably bursitis. I train a little, but not nearly enough. My season is probably over.

Week 4 of Phase IV is going fine. I had to rest on Sunday due to travel, so I ran long on Monday, and I did my threshold run today on the road. It was 3 + 2 miles with 2 minutes rest. Paces were very good at 6:16/mile average. Almost 10 miles per day is necessary though to finish on 60 miles for the week, and there is one more hard run.

Week 3 of Phase IV:

Sun: 15 L
Mon: 8 E
Tue: 2 E + 3 x 2 T w/ 2 min rests + 2 E = 10 miles
Wed: 9 E
Thu: 9 E
Fri: 2 E + 6 x 4 min H w/ 3 min jg + 1 E = 9 miles
Sat: Rest

Hammertime Hustle 5K Race Report

Goal: 18:15. Dream goal: 17:59. Minimum goal: PR (18:31).

Preparation for this race was less than perfect. After the good 10K last Saturday, I developed a toothache. I could still run 15 miles on Sunday, but Monday and Tuesday were out. (By Tuesday my tooth was fine, but I was too tired from work and stress to do the prescribed hard workout, and I ended up resting another day.) I did my hard workout a day later, on Wednesday, which was one day too close to race day. Perhaps I also ran it a bit harder than I should have. Then I ran 10 miles on Thursday, 4 on Friday, and here I was, Saturday morning, ready to race. It was way too cold (25F), but at least the sun was out. Too bad we ran most of the race in shade.

It was a very low key race, and church fundraiser. The advantage is that there was a free bathroom in the church even 7 minutes before the start. By that time I warmed up with two easy miles. I got to the start area 5 minutes before start, and did a few strides. I felt strong, but less adrenaline than usual.

After some short speeches, the race started. A few people darted out from the start line, and I was at 6th place for the first few hundred meters, after which I passed two people, who didn't think this pace seriously. I settled into 4th place, maintaining a 5:45-ish pace. At around 1/2 mile, the kid at 3rd place slowed a lot, and I passed him, keeping the first two runners within 50 meters.

This race had a gzillion turns; so many that they affected the pace, and the GPS readings. I got 3.06 miles at the end, but the course was probably of the correct length. My GPS readings show me cutting corners through buildings. So I'll adjust my GPS splits by proportionally dividing them out by 3.11/3.06.

I managed my pace to keep it around 5:45/mile, but in reality, it was probably a bit faster. It did feel pretty hard. The first mile was net downhill, but only by about 10 ft, so pretty flat.

Mile 1: 5:43 (adjusted pace: 5:38)

By this time, I was solidly in 3rd place. The first two had about 50 meters on me, and I saw nobody glancing back. I knew I slowed a bit. I tried to keep the effort hard, but manageable. I had some entertainment as I watched the two leaders battling for first place. The 2nd place runner pulled up to the leader, and they ran together for a while. They increased their distance to about 100 meters by the time we hit the second mile marker.

Mile 2: 5:59 (adjusted pace: 5:54)

I knew that unless something radical happens, I'll finish this race in third place. I was in pain, of course, but maybe I could have pushed harder... it's just pretty hard when running alone. The original leader pulled away again, so much so that I lost sight of him, but I still saw the 2nd place runner most of the time. At around 2.6 mile I accelerated, but it was actually quite pathetic.

Mile 3: 6:10 (adjusted pace: 6:04)

Just put down the hammer for the last portion and covered it at about 5 min/mile pace.

Final time: 18:11. Placing: 3/66.

Not too bad for the temperature, and for a "B" race. There were no real awards: the first few places could pick a prize from a table, and I picked up a gift card. I also picked up a banana, met up with my family briefly, and then I ran a 5-mile cooldown. Very long, I know, but I wanted to get in some mileage after this short week. Legs felt fine, and cooldown pace was 7:30-ish.

Just in case the course was short, I should break this time in 2-3 weeks when I run some (probably) certified 5Ks in (probably) Indiana.

5K tomorrow. Nervous. Last year's winner was 18 minutes, so if he's there, victory is unlikely. Planning to go out at 5:45, and see what I can do from there. Might be epic blowup. If fighting for position, tactics may change.

Bad toothache incapacitated me for two days until I got my emergency root canal done. I've done my Sunday long run, then Monday and Tuesday out. I've done some fairly hard workout today: 3 x 1 mile at LT pace with 10 miles total. Not ideal, because it is one day closer to race day than it should have been. I plan to run an easy 8 on Thursday, and an easy 4 on Friday, and hope for the best on Saturday. I will be also be way too cold to race: 28 F. I may need to moderate my pace.

Rodes City Run 10 K

Goal: sub-38 min. Dream goal: PR (sub-37:54). Minimum goal: sub-39.

I wasn't sure what to expect going into this race. I haven't run a 10K for a long time, and this would be the first race after winter training. My 37:54 PR was run in a probably short course with net downhill, so the dream was to kill that semi-fake PR, and replace it with a real one, on a certified, record eligible course. But my training wasn't that great, in particular my 5K time trials, and I thought even any sub-38 would be great. And I also thought it was certainly possible that I just can't do that; but I told my fire chief (at the station I volunteer at) that I will run "38:xx something", so I definitely wanted to run at least sub-39.

I started to have a bad toothache on Friday, at a tooth that I got worked on a few weeks ago. I do have a dentist appointment for next week, but it is of course way too late to do anything about it on Friday at noon, except taking some Ibuprofen. That did work, but I didn't want to overdo it, because Ibuprofen and running don't go well together (despite the myths).

I got up at 5:30 for the 8:00 start. Had my usual egg breakfast, bathroom, coffee, and I left home before 7:00. I arrived to the campus parking lot (about 1.7 miles from the start line) at 7:15. Waited a bit, then I jogged to start line. I met up with my fellow firefighters, who volunteered at the race. Did a few strides, and lined up in the "fast" corral (one needed only a 40-minute 10K to be eligible). I talked with some friends there, and before I knew, we were off.

Here is the elevation profile that I got from the satellite elevation maps combined with the GPS data.

It's not as bad as it looks, but there is that 70 feet difference between the low point and the high point of the course, and the rest is also somewhat hilly. You could call it "rolling hills" I guess, and it is mostly representative of the terrain of Louisville.

I knew the first mile was net downhill and straight, so I pushed it a bit. I wanted to get it under 6 minutes, so that I would bank a little time for the hills. I pushed hard, but controlled. I let a bunch of people pass me after my usual jackrabbit start.

Mile 1: 5:51

(All splits are Garmin auto splits. In reality, they may be a few seconds slower, because I got 6.24 miles as the course length.)

We started to climb at the mile marker. I took the first, steep part pretty hard, then I settled back to a more manageable pace. I just wanted to arrive to the second mile marker at 12:20, so that I needed a 6:29-mile here.

Mile 2: 6:10

This was a great split, but I was starting to run out of energy. I wasn't sure how long I could manage this pace. But I was on the top of the hill, and my plan was to have a "conservative" mile next. There were always plenty of people around me, and I was barely conscious of them. Some spectators, waters stations, but I didn't care. I just focused on running.

Mile 3: 6:03

Not a bad split. Mile 3 was net downhill, but plenty of climbing.

We were running around Cave Hill Cemetery. Lots of small rolling hills. I focused on running the tangents. Still taking things conservatively, because I didn't feel great. I felt I was over my lactate threshold (that's OK in a 10K), but more importantly, we were only at halfway.

Another little climb just started at the mile marker.

Mile 4: 6:08

Every mile marker was a few seconds after my auto splits. That means that my Garmin showed 24:11 at the autosplit, when I passed the actual marker, it showed 24:20. Trusting the mile markers more than Garmin, I was convinced that I was barely on pace for 38 minutes. And I knew there was one more steep hill. We were about to start it.

I powered up the hill, because it was relatively short (1/2-mile). In fact it felt easier than in my course preview training run. Trying to recover on the downhill, I got passed by an older guy. I tried to hang with him, but he was too fast.

Mile 5: 6:14

I was now alone. And tired. Still on pace for 38 minutes, but I have to ace the last mile+.

We turned onto the mile-long finish line. I was clearly fading some in the second half of this race, and one more couple was approaching from behind. Then I heard my name. It turned out it was the leader of the clinical trial I have participated in for the last 3 months. I tried to stay ahead of him, I felt a bit of a second wind, but he and a girl with him passed me slowly. I saw the finish line, but I was at my limits.

Mile 6: 6:09

Pushing hard to the finish, I saw the clock at 37:30. I knew I had my sub-38, and maybe a PR. I pushed it hard, and even in the finish line, I wasn't sure I got the PR. I had to wait until I got home to find out my time.

Last 0.24 mile: 1:18, 5:25 pace.

It took me about 10 seconds until I was sure I wouldn't pass out. I greeted my firefighter friends, who told me that I beat the chief (I knew that I would, of course). I was already pretty happy with the result, because I knew I made a sub-38 with no peaking and no taper for this race. I had no issue with my stomach or my tooth during the race.

I picked up a banana, some sweet tea, and cheered on some slower runners. I wanted to see the awards. The winner, a Kenyan looking and sounding guy, ran 29:xx. The first five male and female runners were announced, but I was 2 minutes slower than even the 5th place female. A very competitive race indeed.

I jogged back to my car, and drove home. I was really happy to see that my

time was 37:52,

a new PR by two seconds. Not only that, but this time on a real, certified, not even flat course.

This was a race, where nothing was quite perfect, but everything was 8 out of 10. I'm sure I got a good 5K training session out of it, if nothing more. But what am I talking about? This is a PR, and unless I'm willing to work on my 10K PR specifically, it is unlikely that I will ever run faster.

An equivalent 5K is 18:15-ish. I will try that, or better, next weekend.

Yesterday I've done close to 10 miles in two runs. I felt a bit beaten up, but I had to frontload the week, and I have had a long streak, so I have a good explanation.

No running today, just lots of work. I'm getting a bit nervous. I have no idea what to expect tomorrow. My firefighter colleagues will see me running so, I can't totally blow it.

Here is the elevation profile from the website.


This is more elevation change than I thought... The first mile should be very close to/slightly over 6 minutes, then maybe I can afford a 6:20, mile 3 should be very fast, and mile 4 and 5 about 6:10 to have a chance at sub-38 minutes. The only time I can be behind schedule is at mile 2, and not by much. And remember, when reaching the top of the hill at 4.5, there is no more holding back.