Start time: 05/16/05, 5:45pm
Location: W&OD Trail
Distance: 5 miles
Run:Walk ratio: 5:1
Average pace: 10:55min/mile

Julie and I did another “after work” run, and despite a slow second mile we still ended up with an acceptable average. So much was just chatter about this and that, but towards the end we were talking about the real difference between this time last year and this year in our running. Last year was ultimately “playing it safe”, and while neither of us regret the decision we made in terms of pace, it feels really fantastic to be going at a pace more in line with what we should be aiming for. “It feels really good,” Julie said at one point, “to just feel like at the end of a run cycle I’ve really moved down the trail.” It’s so true. It’s, in many ways, what was missing last year. Thankfully we had The World’s Best Pace Group(TM) that more than made up for it, and as the season grew to a close last year my maitenance runs had picked up enough speed that going that much slower than what I was capable of on the weekends helped too… but both of us are so much happier with what we’re doing now.

Like I said, no regrets about training choices in 2004—after the disaster that was 2003 I really needed a confidence-builder, if nothing else—but it’s more satisfying now.