In my winter of base maintenance I have been running a lot of 10 distance runs. I have been doing them pretty slowly until recently when I have been pushing the tempo a bit. I can’t even classify these junk runs as LSD runs anymore in my journal, they have been closer to tempo runs (but not really). I had been noticing that my pace has been pretty good for the first 3-4 miles, but then slows down considerably in the final 2+. Some of that I have been blaming on the hills in the fifth mile wearing me out, but I don’t think it has been the only factor. I also think it is a conditioning issue as well and that I just poop out towards the end with my pace dropping to 10-11 min miles.

So this week in an effort to battle the slow death of my running pace I have been pushing my tempo throughout the runs and especially so at the end. Yesterday I was rewarded with my fastest 10k time this year, just under an hour. My average HR in these runs has been really high and I even hit my max of 189 during my final push to finish in under an hour (59:45). I think I will start sprinkling in these runs in preparation for starting marathon training, which I need to get going on soon. The race I am targeting is the Vancouver Marathon on June 19th (just checked the date and I am happy to see I have another 2 weeks! I thought it was the 5th for some reason.) I am not totally sure I will do the race, but I’d like to try for it. I can make my decision to back out if the training gets to be too much. But conditioning wise I am right on target to start training. My weight is low and I have been maintaining my base enough (could have always been better…) My weight (hovering around 180) is perfect for starting the regimen. If I can shed another 10 pounds by race day I’ll be happier, but I think it is doable at that weight. It should be nice running in Vancouver (WA not BC) for the change of scenery. They are promising a flat and scenic course along the Columbia and Fort Vancouver.

Not sure if I will run today, mostly for time reasons (busy with work, except for right now and I suppose I could head out the door for a slow recovery run.) We’ll see, I mostly wanted to write today as my blog maintenance has been lapsing more than my running!