I had a great week of running last week. I ran almost every day. The temperature was not quite so hot although it was still fairly muggy at noon time when I usually run. This meant my heart rate was getting up into the high zone pretty quickly when I started running. And this means good adaptation if fatigue can be managed well enough. I also took a jump rope with me and tried doing some of the pose exercises as a warm up. This definitely helped me improve the perception and feel of this running technique.
The torture master was ready and willing to give me a good thumping so we got off right around 8 am Saturday near the hand ball court where we usually start. I set the goal of making it all the way down Skinker (we run clockwise) to the water fountain by the park exit before I stopped running. I achieved this goal although it was a little hard on the uphill spots before we got to Skinker. But this downhill part offers a chance to catch a little second wind and enough incentive to make it to the drinking fountain.
We stopped and got a quick drink, walked around the curve and then started up again. Bret decided to attack me a little bit and quickly got a gap of about 15 yards. That voice in my head started complaining just a bit but I kept on. At times like this, I just try to concentrate really hard on form. Make sure I am picking up the feet, landing on the ball of the foot, and changing support. As we came to the history museum, Bret let up just a bit and I drew along side. We hit it hard for the last 100 yards or so and finally finished.
That was a nice workout. 54 minutes and some change is encouraging. If I can keep up this level of training for a couple more weeks, maybe I will be in a position to beat my personal best 5k time.



