Smith Rock - Solved
· Sep 16, 07:19 PM
I’m declaring the Smith Rock uphill running time trial to be a solved test for me. Including today, my last three times have been 11:25, 11:24 and now 11:23. While not quite as good as my string of three consecutive 3:39s at Oak Hill, it’s consistent enough for me to see the pattern. At this point it’s pretty easy to extrapolate an 11:22 for next June, 11:21 next fall and I can just call it good. There’s no reason to actually run the thing again. Some of my disinclination to continue running the test might be due to the fact that it’s about as painful as they come – adding dust to the normal post-race lung burn doesn’t make my throat feel any better for the rest of the day – but I do wonder a little about what it would take to make me significantly faster (or slower) out there.
Today was an alright day. I’ve been feeling quite good the last 10 days or so, which is a nice change from the second half of August when it was hard to make things go right. At any rate, today my body was ready but my legs weren’t quite up to the task. I’d like to use the descent of South Sister on Saturday as an excuse, but then Evelyn would be allowed to use that one too … and since she just took the better part of 40 seconds off her course record, well, I wouldn’t want to put myself in the position of getting girled if we handicap for sore legs. And besides, I went hiking on Saturday knowing full well that there was a running TT today – I just thought I’d be recovered by last night. Now it looks like my legs will be full of life sometime late in the day Thursday, which will be just in time for Friday’s lab test.
It’s nice to have a bit more confidence in where I am right now than I did at this time last year (most of that is due to the last 10 days of training, and today would indicate I’m not behind in any way). The next 10 weeks are going to go by very quickly I think, and then it will be race season.
Commenting is closed for this article.
The last two times I’ve done the Sept. version of Smith Rock, I ran 11:18 and 11:19. Yesterday, 11:18.
— marshall Sep 17, 07:16 AM #
Apparently you don’t need to run it next fall either.
— Brayt Sep 17, 07:29 AM #
So in another 75 years you’ll tie the course record. You’ve got something to shoot for now!
— William B. Heller Sep 20, 03:33 AM #