by Larry Eder
This is Saturday, March 25, 2023.
This is Week 2, Day Six, for the Spring Training for the Middle Distances.
I am going back several decades now, but I looked up my early Spring racing in 1981. I had run 2-mile races for much of the winter,
with a 3,000m indoors and a 5,000m outdoors added in for variety. I had been overly enthusiastic in my hill training, building up to 20 x 800 meters
uphill twice a week, and felt like a monster.
When I raced, the early pace for 10k was quite relaxed, running what I had run at the 2-mile distance by myself, but my miles 3-5 were just not there. I tried interval work, but no luck, and so I cut my mileage down, kept easy days real easy, and hard days, quick and short. I ran my 5 milers quick, feeling speed come back, took naps, hydrated, and relaxed.
Soon, I ran a modest 10,000m PB on the track, and then, week after week, big improvements over the year before. In the last race of the season, I ran a PB on a 5.8-mile race by 1 minute, 44, only to be outkicked by a guy who had just broken 4 minutes for the mile.
I was supremely happy with the season. Lessons learned: 1. Easy days mean easy, 2. Racing means focus, and 3. Patience is key.
Your workout today, warm up well, one race, your primary distance, then, a 30 minute moderate run and cooldown, stretch well.
