Possibly my best run ever

I figure we need an update so I'm posting my journal entry for today's run. Its a bit long but I hope you enjoy it.

Sometimes, you just have a run that feels amazing, is amazingly quick, and represents something wonderful to you. My twilight full Arroyo run today was quite possibly my best run ever, and at least in the top three, which already includes an upper arroyo from the winter off-season. Everything about this run was almost surreal, elating, and aesthetically amazing. Last night I had met Mark, Ian, and Matt cooling down after running a blazing full arroyo (Matt casually stated that they were down around 5:15 pace for the last stretch through old Pas). I was inspired. At some point in the 105 degree heat of the afternoon, I decided I would leave at 7 p.m., hoping to make it out of the arroyo just after it became too dark to discern the rocks and bumps on trail, and I would run it hard. I remember after reading Running with the Buffaloes, the Colorado guys do a hard 10 mile run at altitude. Combining hearing about Mark, Matt, and Ian's run last night and this story had an impressionable me ready for some work. I got really hydrated during the day, ate a 6 inch subway sandwich at 2 p.m., some pudding at 5:30, and some tortilla strips at 6:20, watched a youtube video of Haile G setting the 10k world record, and was ready to go. I rolled out of Lloyd at 6:57pm, and cruised out to the Brown gym.

Already by the time I got there, I could tell my legs were surprisingly fresh and filled with energy. No whining, no bitching, just a sudden full tank of gas. The temperature was already comfortably below 90 degrees, as I cruised over to El Molino. I held steady at my medium-easy base pace, maybe 8:30, at times 8:15 when descending the fault. I had also noticed, or failed to notice per say, my Achilles's tendinitis, which had been mildly bothering me the last 2 or so weeks. It just wasn't really there today, at all. I effortlessly made my to Garfield park, thinking about Alan Webb and Worlds, and Haile G. I stopped only for 1 or 2 minutes to stretch out the Achilles' and was on my Merry way. By the time I reached the Arroyo, the sun had already set, and it was at that nice and lazy summer dusk that just never seems to quite fade into night. As I ran by the horse stables, my legs brimming energy, I decided I would step it up to an easy tempo pace, about 7:30-7:15. Remembering Multi-duals, that fateful race where I was moderately sick, threw up between 7 and 10 times, filled my shoe with blood, and ran as slow as 7:30 pace at times, I figured tempo-ing at this pace was fine. As I accelerated into the twilight of a redder and redder arroyo canyon, I passed into a state of blissful runner's reveire. Everything about the arroyo seemed like that idyllic red rock desert river canyon, like it was from somewhere in a picture when I was very little. All you could here were the birds, bugs, and the slight trickle of water. As I ran north of the casting pond, now at least more than a mile into my tempo pace, I noticed a dog up ahead with no owner. Then I realized it was no dog but a Coyote. I moved to the far side of the trail to give it way and it trotted right by me, no more than 10 feet away.

I emerged from the canyon just south of the Rose Bowl Aquatic center, just where you can see directly up into the mountains. The sky was a pastel smear of red, violet, and blue, and the lights of altadena dotted the hills. Perfect twilight. I stopped for a minute to get a drink at the aquatic center and take a leak. Feeling just amazing at this point; tired but not too tired, completely high on endorphins, I headed up the hill at a steady pace, and begin what was more a series of sprints than a continuous run through old pas. I did my best to Jay-walk (Mexican style as we called it in High School), make as many lights, but at times I was limited to as little as 200m of running with little breaks in between. As I flew along Green Street, I pushed a controlled race feeling pace of 6:45 to 6:15. Now almost completely dark, the gentle white lights and deep green trees of old pas made a continually beautiful backdrop for the run. Pulling onto the Lake I flew at top speed through throngs of Thursday night Pasadena town-goers, now feeling the toll of more than 5 miles of fast pace. Finally arriving at the Brown Gym an hour and 1:45 min later, I was fairly exhausted. The North Field, dark and empty, seemed a bit anti-climatic to my rugged desert/urban promenade adventure, but I jogged 4 contented laps and jogged back to Lloyd.

I lost 6 pounds over the run, including a water break at the aquatic center and hearty gulping at the Brown Gym. This run has really shown me how I actually have progressed alot since August 16th of last year. Coming off of 7 months of basically not running, at this point last year I basically trying to be able to run 9 or 10 miles. And while I didn't run for 3 1/2 months this spring, I could tell today that a good season lies in store for. Everything just felt like it was falling together, working properly. No injuries, no pain, no sucking, just a very satisfying run. UCI invite is 3 weeks and 1 day from now. I ran 34:04 there last year for my first 8k. I definately think I can break 33 at least there barring any injury. We'll see where I go from there. Maybe Ian's inebriated but honest prediction of 30 minutes this year isn't quite as hopeless as I once thought (although I still don't think I'll hit it).

Miles: 12