My legs were like, whoa, running outside on the road!

Two Saturdays ago, I participated in a stride clinic offered by my local runners club (MCRRC). Then, on the day after, I did my weekly long run (20M) at a pace, for the first time ever, faster than my BQ pace--by 10s. Coincidence? I think mostly so. Now, even though much of what I heard at the clinic I had already read from books and articles, what I did learn that's really important was that what I thought I've been paying attention to (mindful of) and doing in my training runs might not have been quite what I actually have been doing, at least not all the time. During that Sunday's run, I was more mindful (than usual) of my form and stride, and, perhaps, doing that improved my efficiency and thus pace. Still, I think it's mostly coincidence that my "PR long run pace" (8:48) immediately followed the clinic. I'd give more credit to the two Snowzilla-imposed treadmill runs (18 and 19M). I think my legs were just so ecstatic to be running outside that they were beside themselves. :)

The following pace chart shows the mile splits for both the post-clinic run (Feb. 7) and yesterday's 21M run on the treadmill (Feb. 14). The two red lines mark my GMP (8:58) and stretch GMP (8:30). Because 8:58 would not actually get me into Boston (need ~8:51), I've been mentally using 8:30 as the goal pace. For the Feb. 7 run, around Miles 5 and 10, I was fumbling with gloved hands a plastic bag of dates; and, around Mile 15, PowerGel. So, the pace slowed a bit for those miles. The chart also shows a generally even pace running outside vs. a controlled negative split pace on the treadmill.

So, what happened on Feb. 7? It was a training run, just myself, without the advantage of a race situation. I wasn't really trying to run sub-GMP; the pace just felt relatively easy. I can think of two possible factors, one related to all those treadmill runs I've been doing recently (14 so far this year, including this morning's) and the other related to some changes I've made in how I do lunges in pre- and post-run exercises.

A treadmill enforces pace--and enforces it absolutely! It's the "perfect" pacer. Running outside, of course, is always more preferred. But, when it's icy or sub-zero windchill, though the scenery may still beckon, the quality of the run will necessarily suffer. In contrast, on a treadmill, I can plan out exactly each mile split, for each kind of run (tempo, easy, etc). Perhaps, from all those times when I opted for quality over scenery and ran on the treadmill, I've gotten used to running and sustaining sub-GMP's. Perhaps, the treadmill has trained my mind to be comfortable with dropping ~7s per mile (0.1 mph) in the last 10K of a long run, from what's already a sub-GMP just before the 10K. The latter kind of 10K was what I did on the Feb. 14 run. Because running on a treadmill is like running with a pacer, a particular pace seems easier on a treadmill than it is on a road by myself. The difference in perception of effort from increasing by 0.1 mph from mile to mile is very slight; and, yet, from the first to the last mile of the last 10K of a long run, there's a 35-second or so difference in pace!

As I had noted in my post on those Snowzilla runs on the treadmill, if one is mindful about running, then whether it's on a treadmill or on a road or trail outside should make little difference. By breaking the long run into 5-mile segments and focusing on the current segment and its components (each mile, each 0.1-mile, etc.), I'm starting to find running on a treadmill to be, well, not too bad. :) At least, I no longer think of it as "dreadmill"! I think these treadmill runs are helping to strengthen the mental aspect of long runs. Being mindful is not just of form and stride, but also of fatigue. Being mindful of fatigue, though, does not mean dwelling on it, but, rather, acknowledging it and moving on. So, to the mantra that was so useful in Pocono 2014, "dumb it down," I now add, "let it pass."

Some months ago, I began doing lunges that are in the pre- and post-run exercises as if they're part of Tai Chi Chuan (Tai Ji Quan)--slowly, mindfully. I think the strengthening of the legs, as a result, is one factor in the recent pace improvement. Here are couple illustrations of the lunge element in Tai Chi (from googling "taiji images").

There could be other factors. I've been experimenting with dates replacing gels. In the Feb. 14 run, I fueled with 4 dates each at Miles 5, 10, and 15. No gels at all. But, I don't know yet what difference fueling with dates makes. I haven't yet decided how exactly I'll fuel for the upcoming March RnR USA marathon.

Regardless of whatever explanatory factors, I feel the Feb. 7 run is another occurrence of punctuated equilibria. Right now, I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about BQ'ing in the March race. :)

And those legs? They're still talking about that morning's high!