17:14

I had been planning to run 5k Endurance since May, with the goal of running 16:40 of about 30-40mpw and faster workouts than I had been used to in the past. After the mile did not go well, I actually changed things up right away, but I certainly did not expect there to be any impact whatsoever on the 5k. I was hoping for closer to 17:00, but given the mile, 17:14 is good, and I think the best part is the splits: 3:26, 30,30,33,15. So I averaged 3:27, but that last K in 3:15 says to me I could have gone faster. Maybe I could give the lower-volume method a bit more of a try, but I honestly think that for me, I just need to run more.

With respect to what Davison said about my last post, I am not planning on just jogging. I wil make two adjustments to my training. One is that I'll try to have a higher total volume: 60mpw instead of 40. The other is that instead of doing all-out, lactic workouts every week (François Pap training), I'll build up with more tempos, and run more at 5k and 10k race pace. I will still add-in some of that short fast stuff, but maybe only once every 3 weeks (and certainly not until I've had several weeks of consistent volume).

I think that when I was training for the marathon and mountain running, I probably relied too much on volume and tempos, and not enough on anaerobic training. I ran some good 10k times then because the 10k is a mostly aerobic event, and you don't lose out too much by not having the fast stuff. In the last couple of months, I think that I did too much of it, and for me, I have to be careful because my body just does not react to that kind of training. Someone like Debardi seems to eat it up, and just get faster. I'll probably never run a 3:47 1500, but I think I can still run a low 15min 5k by training mostly aerobically. What will get me over the edge from high 15 to low 15 is most likely a safer, smarter integration of lactic training. But that is not going to come until next summer. I don't think my body can sustain it for long periods of time.

So, next up, I'm going to France for two weeks. Dave Sandomierski and Gary Story speak highly of the running there, so it should be good. I'm going to try to just get in 60-75min per day while I'm there.

As for retirement/non-retirement, I'll have to think about it more, and maybe I'll actually have time this year (2L) to share some of those thoughts here.