It’s not me though. Tuesday was just ugly. I went out conservatively, 20 seconds behind the leaders by two miles and then started catching the guys who had gone out too fast. It felt good until about 3.5 miles and then I was suddenly the guy who went out too fast and was getting caught. I felt good briefly when I got past halfway in the race, but by seven miles it was a disaster.

The fast Freeman of the title is my daughter. Check her out in the fun run from July 4th:

I haven’t updated for a while–sorry about that! It is a hectic summer. I have raced a couple of times, winning both times, but in both cases disappointed with my times.

At one race Iris completed the kids fun run; I keep meaning to post pictures of her but haven’t gotten to it yet.

Anyway, the title of the post refers to the fact that during both my recent races I have felt like I was on “autopilot.” You know: pretty fast, but just cruising along getting the job done rather than digging deep and pushing the limits.

To break out of this funk, I did one of my favorite level four sessions on Saturday. Seven sets of (600 m in 1:47 / 200 m recovery; 300 m in 0:53 / 100 m recovery; 200 m in 35 / 100 m recovery). Note that this means I only get 100 m of recovery coming into the longest (600 m) hard stretches. Also, a key to this workout is quick recoveries – ideally 30 seconds of 100 m (though I slipped to 35 near the end) and twice that for 200 m.

This is a great workout because while each individual piece is easy, the accumulated load is extraordinarily high. And each interval presents its own challenges. The 600 is hardest but comes with extra recovery; during the other hard stretches you need to think about conserving energy for the next effort (without letting the time slip).

It is also a great workout in that each section totals 1500 m, which means that every effort starts and ends at a new place on the track. This makes it harder to settle into a rhythm. Which makes it hard to use autopilot.

Which hopefully means that my brain is ready for the 10 miler today. Last year at this race (in Newburyport MA) I had an awful day. Today I am looking for redemption. Stay tuned (and don’t be surprised if it takes a week for me to break the suspense; taking classes and taking care of kids and going fun places and training and gardening is hard work!)

I ran 20 miles yesterday, mostly on trails. The first few miles were kind of fun, as I was outpacing a group of guys on four wheelers and I have to imagine they felt pretty pathetic not to be able to keep up with the guy on foot even with their overpowered engines.
The first scary thing I saw was a bear. And what worried me is that rather than running away or ignoring me, he was standing 50 yards away and calmly observing me. Didn’t charge me or chase me, but it was still a little unnerving.
What was even more frightening though was a sign I saw at the end of a driveway. It was made of plywood, and in white paint was written this message: “If you are seen here tonight, you might be found here in the morning.” This was is sloppy handwriting, but the drawing of a rifle’s cross-hairs was very precise. I will make a note not to run past that house after dark!

My wife is running a writing camp for two weeks, so I am halfway through a period of taking care of both my daughters for half of every day. Which is why I haven’t had time to write. I do not know how my wife does this every day. She is awesome! (And this post isn’t likely to score any points with her, as she has less time than I do and so likely won’t have time to read it!)

Not knowing the answer to this question, or how to change it, I don’t have time to write this post. Consider this to be a description of how my intervals went today (I won’t have the energy tomorrow either, maybe Friday…)

That’s under three hours of sleep and under 16 minutes for 5k! I didn’t land in Boston till midnight on Friday night/Saturday morning, then had a two hour drive home with traffic (late night construction makes lots of sense till you are stop and go at 1 AM…) and a stop for gas. My girls got me up at 5:30 and at 6:45 I drove to Tilton for the Old Home Day race. It is a brutal course, I think my previous best time was around 15:50 and as I was not feeling it I was glad that no one good ever shows up.
Except that some Div III All-American (indoor track, but still) showed up and took us through the mile in 4:56. On mile two, where the big hill is, I put the hurt to him and opened up a gap, and then I coasted to the end, finishing in 15:36.
So I am fit! Not rested, and might not be for a few years. But fit.