Feeling Good 4

I think that tapering is finally starting to have a positive effect.  I was sluggish early on during it, but I'm now feeling pretty fresh.  I still wish I felt super strong right now, but I can't complain.

I only needed 8 more miles this week.  I headed out for a short 4 mile afternoon run.  It was in the upper 70s and supposed to be low humidity.  It was far from the worst weather of the summer obviously, but I still found myself sweating a lot by the end of this one.  Maybe that was due to the pace.

It wasn't worth making a trip anywhere for such a short run.  Therefore, I headed to the other neighborhood.  I decided to run the Blue Eagle 5k course and then add a little more.  When I got to school, I looped around the front parking lot.  I was over a quarter of a mile into the run.

I was cruising pretty good.  I wasn't pushing it, but I wasn't holding back either.  I was still able to chew gum, so it wasn't too hard.

The first mile was over in no time.  It was a quick 7:32.  Since I was running more of a moderate pace, I was more focused during this run than usual.  My breathing was slightly labored. 

I was happy to see mile 2 was under 7 minutes (6:55).  I felt fairly good.  I was glad to be halfway done.  I kept on working at it and remained focused.  I flew up the hills and focused on mile 3.

Things got even faster for this mile.  I ran a 6:47.  I kept watching the overall pace drop.  I couldn't get across the highway to the school right away, due to traffic.  I ran a short out and back. 

I was over 3.5 miles when I finished the 5k course.  I decided to run the shorter loop of my neighborhood to finish up.  I noticed that the overall pace was getting closer and closer to 7 minutes.  I did push a little harder, but I still was feeling fine.  I ended with a 6:39 mile to get the pace under 7 minutes.

This wasn't a difficult run, but it was 4 miles around my marathon goal pace.  It was harder than it should be.  I'm not very hopeful for the race.  Of course, being that it is at night could help a lot.  I didn't have any shade during this one.  We shall see.

Tomorrow, I'd love to get up and run with BCR in the morning.  That's always a hit or miss for me though.  They are running at the Saucon Rail Trail.  If I get there, it will be a fast 4 miles.  If not, I'll run on my own later.

4 miles - 27:54 (6:58 pace)