Well, here it is on my first week of tapering… That’s what the head coach for the program calls it (and it’s probably some real technical running thing). We ran the long 6 miles on Saturday, and then only put in 11 total miles this week. We ran 3 on Monday, and was one of the first Mondays that I was able to join the team running. My friend Jeff ran with me, and the two of us led the pack. I did make one wrong turn on this new course, so actually turned it into a 3 1/4 mile trip. No biggie, other than the fact that the wrong turn put that extra 1/4 mile into a long hill. We finished strong, making it back up “the hill that never ends.” It’s a hill that is much more pleasant to run down than up. It’s not really steep, but long and constant. The first time I ran it, I walked most of the entire hill. The last few times, I ran it all — but it still isn’t pleasant!

Today, Wednesday, has a 4 mile distance listed. Since it is now daylight until after we run, we ran the same ‘ol 4 mile course we have run a number of times. We know the course, know the hills, and know where the miles tick off. The first mile is tough, but very doable. The second mile has three killer hills – only one long one. The third mile is everyone’s favorite since we get a slow downhill run and get to recoup our energy for the final mile. The last hill has been walked by many people, but not today. We all ran strong enough to get up the hill and onto the flat end of course run. It would have been very easy to walk today, but we kept chugging up the hill.

The time today was our best 4-mile course yet. 42:40. That is 10:40 miles with hills. We started slow (good strategy), ran miles 2 – 4 strong, and ended sprinting to the finish. That’s a 1:06 10K if we had the same hills. I am expecting to drop minutes off my time and fully expect a new personal best. Whatever I run, I am in better aerobic shape than I have been since I was in my early 20s – 1/2 my life ago… not bad for an old man. We have decided that we will continue to run Monday and Wednesday evenings, and on Saturday mornings for as often as we can. We think we will try to make at least 2x per week each, so will always have someone to run with. It’s a fun group that will keep me growing in my ability to run into the summer.

Saturday brings our last pre-10K 4 miler. I should better today’s time since it’s early. Finally, 3 miles on Monday and 2 miles on Wednesday. Then the 10K.