October 3, 2023 - Two Months To CIM and Running A Bit Faster

California International Marathon takes places two months from today, December 3rd. It will be my final attempt to run a personal best at a marathon. (Yes, I've said this before, but this time I really mean it!)  This is my final marathon training cycle. I can't say I'm as excited as I have been for other marathon training cycles, but I am still looking forward to it. Will a 2:49 or better finish be possible? I have no idea. That's the goal, but I'm pretty blind to my current fitness. It has just been too hot this summer to really get a feel for fitness.

But yesterday I was reminded of a truism in running I sometimes, nay often, forget. Occasionally, I just need to force myself to run a bit faster. When I first started preparing my CIM training plan many months ago, I had decided I would run my easy runs around 7:45 pace. Or maybe that's a bit wrong. Many months ago, I had decided that if I was going to be ready to run 2:49 or better, easy runs should simply be around 7:45 pace and feel easy. 

My easy runs have not been at 7:45 pace. They've been more at an 8 minutes to 8:30 pace. Exactly the same as they've been for at least the past three years. The recovery runs have gotten quicker over that time. Those are heart rate based and the pace has picked up while keeping a super low heart rate. But the easy runs (easy by feel) have stayed nearly the same as they have for a long time.

So yesterday with my CIM training formally beginning, I forced the issue. I decided my easy runs would at least average under 8 minutes pace. And yesterday was the first easy run of the training cycle. And I ran at about a 7:50 pace for the 8 miles. And it was completely fine. It was fine by feel. It was fine by heart rate. It was fine. Totally fine. 

I had been in a rut. And I hadn't noticed. My aerobic fitness had improved, but I was still running easy runs at that same pace. Maybe this doesn't matter. It's just easy runs. Aerobic development runs. Pace isn't all so critical. But it does matter, because it points to a bigger issue. I hadn't just been doing this in easy runs. I've been doing it in almost all my runs. All but the recover runs. My fitness has improved, but my running has stayed the same. I was in a rut. I was comfortable. I was no longer slowly nudging that fitness edge up, no longer applying that incremental gradual pace increase to keep the stress the same. Instead, the runs had gotten easier and more comfortable. I'll fix that now as I work toward CIM in two months. Sometimes, I just need to run a bit faster.

Interestingly, and in respect to the High Five By 55 project, I have not done this when training for mountain ultras. I haven't found comfort and just stayed there. I've always slowly and methodically increased the challenge. Perhaps that's because I live in Florida and so rarely get the opportunity to actually do real mountain training that it's always a new experience and I'm never afforded the opportunity to settle in. That's probably it.

For now, I'll force the issue a bit. As I prepare for CIM, I will remember to run a bit faster. And it'll be okay...probably good.

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