Confidence Building Exercise

No, I'm not talking about a breathing technique, or some cheesy mental trick to make me hold my head higher. I'm not talking about an exercise that builds confidence, I'm talking about exercise that builds confidence.

That was precisely the goal of my run this morning. Build confidence for Saturday, without demolishing my legs. My confidence had been waning a little bit, since I hadn't really run hard since 9 on the 9th. Most of my runs have been either easy or moderate since then, so I had to check I'm actually capable of pulling off the time I want.

Well, let me tell you. It worked. It worked big time. I can confidently tell you I'm going under 19 minutes on Saturday unless something goes horribly, horribly wrong. Hills? Please. My legs will eat those hills for second breakfast. I'm ready for the lactic acid storm. I'm ready to run down a victory.

The run this morning was pretty simple: 3 miles warm-up, 2 miles hard, 1 mile cool down. Just enough to wear me down without killing my legs for a few days. Here's the numbers. Just a warning: they're scary fast.

7:36
7:31
7:34 (Get ready for it....)
5:59 (GO!)
5:58
7:32
(and some change)

Thats right, I'm breaking out of six minute land. The second hard mile had a good uphill, too, it really pushed me. However, the good news (or bad news for those running the race on Saturday) is that I had enough left in me for another mile, and this is also after yesterday's ride.

Now, to take it halfway (sorta, kinda, maybe...) easy for a couple days to get ready for my first race in five months.