Man:1, Machine:0

Congrats to Seebo on a nice showing this weekend. Good luck at CR next week. i've never run that race.

This week for me was just over 58 miles in 7 runs.

M: easy 5
T: 3 x 2 mile at 5:45
W: easy 5
T: easy 5
F: 5 x (800,400)
S: easy 6+
S: hard 17.75

Sunday's long run seriously kicked my behind. I ran this on a rolling loop course near my house where the only flat part is about 30 feet where you cross over a small dam. Everything else is going up, or going down. I started with an 8, then 7:30 then 7:15 and then it was all 6:30s and 6:40s from there on out. The last 2 miles heading home were flat and I tried to keep the effort level consistent and I dropped down to 6:20 pace, so the the workout was probably around that level if I had run on a flat course.

In the middle of the run, I was coming to the top of a hill on the loop and a couple on their mountain bikes noticed that I was catching up with them. She leaned over to him and said something, and *whoosh* they were off in high gear down the hill.

No.

One of the things I've learned over the years (especially running at the Wissahickon) is that recreational bikers aren't good for much better than 10 mph, especially on rolling terrain. They'll smoke you on the downhill, but you can make up real ground on the up. This isn't the real-deal bikers in their tights and actually knowing what gear they're in. Those riders I can only catch if I sneak up on them at tempo pace on a hill.

But this was a challenge. THey had maybe 80 yards on me at the bottom of the hill, and I could see them start churning up the next one. 6:30. I got within about 20 yards of them by the top of that hill and I could see them looking back again and *whoosh* they were gone again. 6:20. Into a more level part, I could see them pushing the pace pretty hard. 6:10. I knew I had them when I saw them pushing it into a low gear and getting up out of the saddle on a long but relatively gentle hill. 6:00. As I got really close I could see their bikes wobbling side to side, sweat under their helmets plastering their hair to their neck.

And *woosh* I went right by. Didn't see them again.