Faster But Not Wiser

This morning, as I set out on an easy 30-minute run--my last jaunt before the Cascade Half this weekend--I got to thinking about speed. On the darkened street, I vividly recalled doing a tempo run in preparation for my 2007 marathon (Nike Women's). That training plan was the first time I was trying to hone my speed, rather than wishing I could magically go faster. I remembered how tough it was to push myself to maintain sub-9:00 miles on that same flat neighborhood street I was on.

Yet there I was, less than two years later, going on a lark of a run--and effortlessly loping along at that same rate. It made me realize speed is something that requires work, yet the payback is sweet. It just takes time. One track workout didn't make me a sub-4:00 marathoner overnight. It took months of track sessions and tempo runs, and now it's ingrained in me. I marveled at this (obvious) epiphany for a few blocks before getting distracted by REM's "Supernatural Superserious."

Not 20 minutes later, though, toward the end of my run, all my revelations about speed had flown out of my brain. Proof? As my Nikeplus sensor (a new one plugged into my new nano) counted down the last five minutes of my run, I noticed I covered way more distance than I normally do, say, when it tells me, "Four minutes left," and "Three minutes to go." A total moron, I decided there was something wrong with my new sensor or iPod. Honestly, it took until the voice congratulated me for completing my workout for me to realize, uh, no, technology was working fine--I'd just gotten faster.

An excellent affirmation to have before Sunday's race!

-SBS