5 mi – The Blue Heron Bridge run is a place where you can’t bluff your level of fitness. I proved this again today.
The Riviera Beach Police were at the entrance to Phil Foster Park just before 5 am to tell myself and any others the the park is closed and will open at 7 am. I’ve seen this happen before, an enforcement effort that falls aside in a few weeks. I drove back over the bridge and parked in the small lot next to Publix.
My run was to be 5 miles with 2 miles of tempo in the middle. Tempo speed was whatever I chose, so I was shooting for a 7 minute mile for those 2 miles done in one interval. I ran the bridge for 1.5 miles and then into the 2 miles
The route on flat A1a is east and then turns north at 600m. There was a breeze from the north, so a headwind. I ran the first mile in 6:47, that was ok. Tracking my heart rate with a Coros HR monitor on my arm, I saw it reach 182 at my turnaround.
On the way back I ran with the breeze and pulled over with 1k to go. My HR was at 185. Maybe I could have gutted this out, I thought. More on my mind was how I had eaten and drank way more than usual in the last two weeks. A trip to Boston for spectating at the marathon, then a quick turnaround to Las Vegas for a weekend trade show. Plenty of beer, steak, pizza, rum, skipped meals, late nights, these elements don’t yield success. I was not in good condition for speed at pace.
While in Boston, I watched some friends achieve and some fail. It was right in front of me. I have to wrap what that looked like into a plan for improving. I want to get a faster 1 mile and 5k time. I don’t want to fail.
I know what normal feels like. I know what really prepared feels like. This was neither. I will adjust what I do and lean into the discipline necessary to deliver good speed runs twice a week. I want that more than the other distractions!
- dm
drun4fun 