10 Miles Is Starting To Feel Routine

I regularly run from my house in Eldorado Springs to my office in Boulder. My standard run is right around 10 miles and has been a staple of my weekly “medium” runs when I’m in town. I usually leave my house just before dawn and enjoy the sun coming up on my way up 170 to Broadway (the first 4 miles) and then have the sun on my back for the remaining 6 miles into town.

As I’ve been losing weight (I’m now solidly under 200 and have been for a few weeks even with a long trip to the east coast) I’ve been getting faster. I knocked out a bunch of 10 milers at sea level in Boston and this was my first in Boulder since I went to Keystone in the middle of December.

I crushed it. I did a 9:1 pattern which means I walked a minute every 10 minutes and still turned in solid 10 minute miles the whole way, averaging 9:44. I had plenty left at the end although I definitely felt like I’d been working hard. For a 10 mile run, I’m often in the 140 – 150 range for average heart rate so 158 is an indication that there was some exertion today.

I started to fade a little around mile 8. I remember saying out loud “C’mon Feld – quit fucking around” as I picked it up again. As I made my way past the construction on Broadway (where they are building a new underpass), I smiled and hoofed it for the last mile.

Even with all my running, 10 miles used to feel like a long run until recently. Now, it’s just a routine run on my way to a day at the office.