Super-Runner

I have come to the conclusion the I posses super-powers. Yup, I'm special. I'm not a super-hero though. That would imply I help people. Sadly, I cannot help anyone but myself with this ability so the hero part is out for now. As soon as I figure out how I can use it for the good of mankind I'll let you know. 

You see, every time I get into some sort of running funk/rut/difficult moment, I can get myself out of it simply by writing about it on the blog.

I have noticed that every time I have one of those difficult moments and share it with people on the blog, I end up working through it with pretty scary efficiency, to the point where it almost seems fake to me. I run into trouble, I write about it, next week, problem solved. I get that we have bad weeks and good weeks but this is getting ridiculous. Case in point: I wrote this post two weeks ago about being stuck in some awkward place. I was on a little weekend getaway the week after that so the solution didn't exactly happened immediately but this week was... well, take a look.

On Tuesday, I went on a 5 mile regular run. I was very aware that I was having pacing issues so I decided to not focus on pace so much and just run. It took some discipline but I managed to avoid looking at the watch too much during the run. I got home, uploaded the info and was totally blown away! It was the fastest 5 miles I have ever run. Ever. 15:12 min/mile average and not a single mile slower than 15:45, including a 14:45 final mile. The last time I ran 5 miles I did it in 1:21. This time I did it in 1:16! What the...

Thursday was speed work on the 4th of July! I was scared that the track would be closed but It wasn't. The security guard was giving me dirty looks as I believe that I was the reason keeping him from closing up but I was there to work, thank you. Mile repeats. Ouch! Hard work but they are totally worth it and not only did I do them but...

The very next day I ran 4 more miles. My legs were feeling it a bit but again, this was gonna be an easy run and I was not gonna focus on the watch. Well... just look at the splits:

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	58:17.8	4.00	14:34
1	15:02.9	1.00	15:03
2	14:04.0	1.00	14:04
3	14:45.3	1.00	14:45
4	14:25.6	1.00	14:26

Result: fastest 4 miles I have ever run. 14:34 average pace! Keep in mind that my average pace was around 16:30 with "speedy" runs at 16:00 or close to it. See what I mean? super-powers.

Finished the week with a 6 mile long run were, finally my body caught up with my super-powers and I ran out of gas on the final mile. Still, I managed to maintain my pace below 16 minutes for three miles and around 16 for the next 2 miles before that last mile where I had to run/walk to finish but I really cannot complain. Not only did I have some great runs during the week and broke two personal training records, this is my highest mileage week to date: 20 miles.

I tell you, I'm a little excited. Maintaining those speeds was not that hard which means my pacing might be on the up and up. This is a big deal as my biggest worry right now is being swept in races, especially the Marathon I'm working towards in January. The limit for most races is 16 min/miles. That is the knife's edge for me. If I can work towards (slowly) 14:30 or 15:00 min/mile I will be able to sleep at night a little better.