Not quite in grass running shape.

April 6th, 2021

Hi friends, welcome back.

I set out today with the goal of getting in a total of five miles. I reached that goal, but not how I expected to.

When I got up this morning my plan was to hit the roads after work and do a 3 mile tempo run at a 7:40 pace sandwiched between warmup and cool down miles. As the day went on I really felt the desire to get off the roads so I changed the destination and headed out to Sunset Hill Farm County Park instead.

I started my run out with an 8:20 mile which quickly taught me that I am not yet in the kind of shape needed for running on grass quickly. The idea of kicking it down to 7:40 for a 3 mile tempo felt unreachable, especially after I hit a hole and rolled my ankle. I’m okay, no injuries, just a little bit of stumble and I was soon back in stride. After that, I changed my plan and finished the next 4 miles of hilly uneven terrain as a Fartlek instead of a tempo run. I alternated through periods of speed and rest as I set reachable targets on the path in front of me. I completed the run at roughly an 8:45 pace and felt pretty good about the way it went. I’m looking forward to running these trails again soon now that the weather is nicer. I’ll get back to the level of fitness needed to push the pace in them soon.

My Gear:

I set out in the same gear as the day before, which lead to another lesson. The roomier toe box in my New Balance Fresh Foam Beacons’s wasn’t a benefit on the uneven surface. The extra room prevented me from having the lock down I needed to keep my foot in place when running down hill and on uneven terrain. Next time I’m out there I’ll be sure to lace up the old Fresh Foam Tempos instead.

Up next:

10 miles tomorrow, 5 in the morning and 5 in the evening at an easy pace.

Comments

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