Early Morning Eight

Been about 6 weeks since my last early morning adventure on what I am now minting as "the course".  32 degrees and not much wind today.  My legs were a bit stiff waking up but I foam rolled them out and they felt better.

I was running solo again today so it was all up to me to keep it honest.  I started off a bit slow but eased in pretty quickly and worked up to a solid pace by the 1 mile mark, logging the first mile in 7:20.

I kept the pace strong and steady for the next 4 miles through the rolling hills logging a 6:58, 6:54, 7:02, & 7:06… Once I got past War Memorial I bore down for the last 3.  

I starting pushing on mile 6 upping my effort but still keeping things comfortable.  I threw in some short light pole to light pole surges to really get the pace going... This seemed to work in boosting the pace without effecting my overall effort.  I ran mile 6 in 6:37.  Mile 7 is uphill and I let up slightly but not too much... I got up the hill to the turnaround point at the 2nd fire hydrant and once I turned around I started pushing it again.  Mile 7 was clocked in 6:51.  Kept on the throttle for mile 8, throwing in more surges but not holding it for too long.  Clocked Mile 8 in 6:36.  

Final Stats:

8.01 miles

0:55:29

6:55 pace

Happy overall with the effort and how my fitness is progressing.  I'm at the point where the hills really don't take much out of me aerobically and I can throw in surges without suffering.  I really felt like I was in control for the whole run.  It was my 6st fastest pace on "the course" but the perceived effort was lower than in the past.  Also, 11 seconds per mile faster than what I ran 6 weeks ago.  

I feel really fit right now and I haven't really been doing many workouts so I think that I should have some pretty good room for growth.  Would really like to hit one of these runs at sub 6:40 pace.