makin it easy.

"own 35 julie, you have to own it or you're screwed."
another saturday, another morning workout. but the track felt different this time. maybe my excitement for worlds, maybe the dawn of a new realm of pain-free running, maybe my stride feeling easy again. just me and coach and a medium hard workout.
july 25: 6 miles, 8x200 in 35s w/100 rest, 1/2 mile jog, 10x200 in 35s w/100 rest, cool-down.
many runners believe the most difficult task in running is running fast. not true. the most difficult task in competition is running smart. you have to know your body, know your fitness, and gauge where you're at on race day. and then you have to run smart. and then you have to run fast.
this particular workout was designed to force me to commit 71 second pace to memory and more importantly to my stride. a 33 in a race instead of 35 for a few 200's will cost you the race by lap 9 or 10. you have to know this pace. you have to make it feel easy. you have to stride it. you have to commit it. and you have to own it.
this is much more difficult said then done. especially when coach is running across the infield for every single 10th of a second split (i've never seen him do this) and hounding me and riding me for a 34.3 instead of a 35.5.
"i know you can run faster, that's not the point."
it feels good to be back and it feels good to be feeling good. coach has written the formula (on a notepad and not a napkin) and it's exciting to see it in writing:
july 25...august 1...august 8...august 19...
5000m trial world championships
back to the day to day grind:
july 27th: long run, 15-16 miles.