Watching the storm roll in

I was training out at Fairview track today and as I ran I could see the storm clouds rolling in over the peaks. Spectacular! It is so great training in a place like this.

I was using the track as a base -- the actual sessions was hill repeats. 4 x 90 seconds on the road up a long steady hill, then a walk/jog break, then 10 x 30 seconds up something a little steeper: I chose one of the narrow little tracks that wind up from the lake.

I've only been running for, like, forever (it seems) so I am always surprised that I am so surprised at how intensely I can train when I am feeling so sluggish. You know the feeling? I started my warm-up run at a snail's pace, justifying it with the mantra "Just like the Kenyans, just like the Kenyans". Of course, they get progressively faster while I... don't. But still, it did start to feel a bit easier. And the first hill rep I ran so fast that I had to stop just short of 90 seconds to stuff my heart back in my chest.

So, over these short bursts I am feeling pretty good. But as the Dash 'n' Dine showed, I'm not so sure about keeping it going more than 2 or 3 miles. I've entered the Bolder Boulder 10k, which is at the end of May, but realistically I don't see how I am going to be ready in time, even to use it as a "development" race. My pride won't let me run it unless I am confident I'm going to do at least as well as last year.