have fun with it

 Yesterday I tried a track workout that I thought it would be very doable. A week ago on Wednesday I ran 4 miles and averaged around 5:25 per mile for the 4 miles. So I thought it would be pretty straightforward to go to a track and run 5 miles worth of 800s at maybe 5:30 pace and work down to 5:20 pace with a short 200m jog in between. That should've been fine.

Well, I guess I didn't consider what some colder temps and running twice as many miles per day would do because very quickly I realized that workout would've been way too hard. I did a good job of not getting too discouraged and quickly shifted into a medium hard run on trails and hilly roads for 5 miles. 

I think I expect myself to be able to run long runs every day and do hard workouts because in the past I've been able to do that. Or at least how I remember the past being I was able to do that. And it's easy to get into a space of like, "oh no, I couldn't do this workout at all. is something wrong. am I not fit?"

There's no way I can't be fit. A week ago I did a run I was really proud of and felt great. The only thing that changed is that I'm running more and also doing some lifting and climbing.

So, at least on colder days, on Wednesdays when I would normally do a workout, I think I'm going to allow myself to do longer runs that aren't necessarily on a fast surface but have me working hard. When I was home for the break I wasn't worrying about paces or workouts at all and I knew I was getting fit. 

Rather than sticking to a rigid workout schedule and trying to hit specific paces I think I'm going to opt for more freeform workouts during the weekdays. And really, in a ten mile race, you're mostly just running hard for 10 miles. It's not particularly tactical and for most of it you should feel pretty good. So I'm going to simulate that feeling and trust that when I drop my mileage and rest up, those paces will fall on their own.