Go fast or go long...?

That's the current Big Question, stuck here in London.

Only got one run in so far -- an easy 4-miler in some beautiful English countryside. I limited it to four because the footpath I was on did a disappearing trick and left me surrounded by farm fields with no clue where to head next.

Anyway...I've been knocked so far off schedule that I can literally feel myself deconditioning. I could just enjoy the rest, but a couple of days after I get back I'm running the next race in the Colorado Runner Race Series, the Sharin' O' the Green 5k in Fort Collins. So I need to keep some vestige of race fitness.

I'm thinking I should treat this like a massive taper: give up the quantity, but keep the intensity. So rather than go out (when I eventually do go out) and troll round an easy 6 or 10, I’m going to do something short and fast. Maybe a series of 800s, or one of Ric’s ladders – 200s, 400s, 800s and back down.

That’s assuming, of course, I haven’t forgotten HOW to run by then.