Dusty Spikes Plan D

Or is it Plan E?  I don't know, I lost track (no pun intended).

Let's face it, if you want to run fast,  there's a  simple formula.  You need to run A LOT and do hard workouts at least a couple times a week.  By "alot" I  mean at least 40 miles a week.  You also need to race frequently since even the hardest workout does not compare to the pain you experience during a race. All that other stuff we did in college (striders, drills, weights, etc) was for the purpose of attempting to shave an extra 4-5 seconds off our 5k times. Side note:  I'm convinced I gained an advantage by half-assing some of that extra stuff to save energy for running/racing but I digress.

The problem is that with my 37 year old body I'd get injured if I attempted any part of that classic formula - and truth be told I'd probably find a way to get injured doing the extra "stuff".  Being that I still would love to run a couple *fast races before I re-retire, I'm forced to get creative.

How do I reach my optimal fitness level on 3 days a week training?  I've experimented with a few formulas over the past few years with mixed results.  My new plan is to buy a road bike to get in some cross-training while slowly phasing into my inevitable post-running pastime.  I'm going to give this a shot before turning to EPO, blood doping, or chopping off my leg and getting one of those blade runner prosthetic limbs.  I will report back on my progress.

* My definition of fast these days is sub-18 for 5k or sub-5 for 1600

Dusty Spikes Season 5 Kick-off

I started my 5th season of Dusty Spikes running on July 4th with a 4 miler in a park near my place.  I decided to enter the race at 11:30 the night before and used it more of a tempo run.  These days, a tempo run is 7-7:20 min mile pace.  Last night, I ran the Firefly 5k which I took a little more seriously but only managed a 20:24. 

I'm strongly considering re-retiring from racing at the end of this Fall.  In the meantime, I'm consistently running 12-15 miles a week with an occasional hard mile as a workout.  Before I give-up on the mythical 18 minute barrier,  I'd like to come down from the mountains and run a race closer to sea level.   Anyone else up for a sea-level 5k this Fall?  Suggestions welcome.