Sustained Improvement

 It has now been 50 days since I showed up at Vestavia HS track to run a lap after nearly 6 weeks of inactivity.  While I didn't put much effort into that lap, my time was 2:43.7  The last time I ran that distance, I was down to 1:26.6  In terms of pace per Mile, I've improved from 10:54 to 5:46 (MINUS 5:08).  It hasn't all happened overnight.  Improvement has been strong and steady.  About a month ago, I was honestly trying my best but could only manage a 31:24 for 5K.  My next time trial was a 29:13.  What could I do right now if I ran all out with fresh legs?  Given that I've done 2 consecutive sub-9 paced 3 mile workouts, I believe that I am good for a low-mid 27.  My Mile PR of 8:16 looks awfully soft and I'll shoot for a 7:45 next time.  I FULLY expect to break 60 for 10K if my pills are on target and I like my chances of being able to do it consistently.  If I can, I'll sign up for a local race and hope that leads to more road trips and run-cations.  This is after I had pretty much given up hope after Hawaii.   

My total distance in the last 50 days is just 71.5 miles, which averages out to an even 10 miles per 7 day week.  If I can get up to the 30-35 MPW range with consistency, there is room for a LOT more improvement.  While I have no illusions of matching my times from 10 years ago or even their age-graded equivalents, it's looking like I have a realistic chance of doing well enough to enjoy racing and the running community.  I'd estimate that I can hold a sub-4 marathon pace for over 4 miles at this point.  4.37 is a third of the way to a half marathon and I think I'd have a chance on my best day.  A sub-2 half is beginning to look realistic.   

The only thing that can stop me is medical issues that prevent me from training at the recommended mileage.  Yes, I've had a couple of adrenal spikes and 1-2 days blips that can be explained by taking a bad pill or most recently, a shipment that did not arrive as scheduled.  I have had NO autoimmune flares or unexplained reactions to benign supplements.  That is YUGE!   I have gradually increased my weekly distance and had no problems with 15 miles the past 2 weeks.  In fact, I could have done more.  I'm shooting for 18 this week and 20 by the end of the month.  I expect to be able to handle it.

This is probably my longest stretch of sustained improvement since at least 2017.  That said, I was in an extremely deep hole and I'm only beginning to dig myself out.  I've still got a long way to go.