Lauren, you may have addressed this already, somewhere, but I was wondering why you run long distances on the track. Do you prefer it over running on the road?

                                                                                Paul

Hi everyone! Paul congratulations on a very good 10k, your progress has been remarkable.

I have been feeling a bit drained, mentally as much as physically, since the race last week. It seems the mental and physical sides are connected, as though my body is making excuses for my mind by not feeling good, kinda weird.

I think part of the problem is this: in the later stages of the race I set my sights on passing two much younger men, a stocky guy in a white shirt and a guy with a more normal build, in blue. I worked hard for about 2 miles and got the stocky guy, then pulled up to the shoulder of the one in blue. We said a few words and I slowly pulled ahead. In the last kilometer both passed me back with apparent ease, while I was exhausted.At the finish line I had to lean on the fence for a minute or so to stay upright. Chatted to "Mr.Blue" later-it was his first half!

Any sports psychlogists want to offer an opinion, or do i just have to accept this? 

Fred, I think I could pull off some 60-second laps. Do you think that is a course-of-action I should consider (since I am planning on doing one 5k per month till marathon time)? Probably no more than three of them right now before I risked something.

Last time I was at the track, a fellow runner mentioned something about the track being 385 yards. Is that possible? Was he off on his calculation? This is a high school outdoor, asphalt track. I thought they are all 440 yards.

I plan on running three marathons in my life..,  two if I do not qualify for Boston this year at Indianapolis. They will all be within the next couple of years. After that, all my races will be 10K or shorter, although I am considering running the Quonset Point Ten Miler each year. My point is that I will be gearing my training toward shortish races. I want to be able to do some advanced speedwork at the track, later on, that will help me, so I am not against sprinting at all.

                                                                                Paul

Paul - std track is 440 yds (old school).   If it's asphalt or small school sometimes they made them fit the property but not commonly.  

Rich - good to hear from you.  How is that new job going?

Congrats on your good 10K race, Paul--that's a good pace.

Simon, I've been feeling lethargic as well, all last week and the beginning of this week too. I think it's both physical from the race effort and excitement and mental as a bit of a let down. The younger runner who passed you (his first half)--it's hard to chase someone, to catch them, and watch them go by. It could be it was his strategy to go into another gear at the end, if he could.  In another race with him (or them), you could have just as easily come out on top. The younger man may have been fatigued at the end, and really struggling, just perhaps not mentioning it.

That's how it is, I think, with people who are running just ahead or behind you in a race. It does become a mind game.  I had a similar frustration. In my race, a young woman (25), was running alongside my friends and me in the last two miles. She was struggling with the effort. Her head was lolling, and her form was ragged. With about half mile to go, I told my friends, let's kick it in, and the younger woman, who I had lost sight of, followed. She caught my shoulder at the finish line but I thought I still stepped across ahead of her (the race photos show I did). But the chip time showed her two seconds ahead of me. It turns out the chip ending of the race was just a couple of paces from what I thought was the finish, so I slowed up. My friends grabbed me and pulled me a couple of paces across. Frustrating.

Paul, I've been running on the track this last week to not aggravate my hamstring, which running on inclines would do. I'll run maybe 6 or 7 miles on the track if I have to, but I'd prefer to run on the road. The track is nice because it's flat and you can zone out without having to watch for cars.

Just a couple of miles to loosen up this morning, now I am all packed and headed to Washington State.  I am doing a conference there for a bankers association and I will be there three days, just doing a 90 minute workshop in the morning all three days and have the afternoons to myself.  The resort I am staying at is on a big lake with a 3 mile running path around it.  Is this heaven or what?

Great to see Rich here.  Hope the new job is going well and glad to see you are uninjured.   Spareribs