Loopy Tuesday- The BIG Loop

After a demanding race on Saturday, a very hilly 10 miles on Sunday and a lazy 8 on Monday it was time once again for a Loopy Tuesday. This week's theme was less about raw speed (or 10k effort for a 50k training cycle) and more concerned with relaxed, flow running.

I am looking to find that sweet spot where biomechanics combine with physiology to create the perfect run (somewhere on a distant trail/ road). With this in mind I hobbled from my car's door, hit the start button and began tempo/interval run. The plan was to use MP as my baseline for an hour of running. During this time I would surge for 6 minutes at tempo pace and 3 minutes at 10k alternatively... recovering back to MP in the intervals. The ultimate goal being quick turnover, and running fast but feeling easy.

I did my big loop in Boone. This route takes me on the nice and flat Greenway Trail along the New River. Then on into town by way of Appalachian State University. By this time I was a tad tired, feeling the effort of 35 minutes of speed work. Luckily there were a few distractions along the way.

have to confess the happening depicted this picture above did not actually occur in my presence.

I made the first climb and headed downtown. Weaving in and out of shoppers, smokers, banjo players, beggars and tourists... then hit the sidewalk outside of the Boone Saloon and did all this again, only this time around drinkers and drunkards.

This led on to a few moderate climbs to finish of the final mile and a half of hard work. I may have reached to 5k effort near the end but all the while concentrating on running easy and smooth, never running harder just faster.

The final 2 miles were back to a cool down effort at a now easy pace of 7 minutes. Funny how this relative perception in effort versus pace transitions from your warm up to cool down. The trudging at the start was barely a 7:40 pace and I was feeling like I could never run more quickly ever again. The lesson here is to allow the run to come to you.