Shadows to substantiate

For the first time since 2006 I raced locally. Last fall I did a race in complete anonymity down in Beaufort SC. It was a night time 5K and I ran a modest 19:19, I was 9th of 200. Dead flat short races are my forte however, downhills? even better. A hilly 12K on trails is far more challenging for my skill set.

I became hurt playing soccer (again) after that race and had to shut down till January. I have done a few races in the past few years, the Blue ridge Relay twice... playing the role of the fat kid on a winning relay. I am now in better shape than I was for anything since 2006 but that is not saying much. Starting in July of 2006 I went on a tear PR'ing every distance from the 800 meters out to the marathon.
That man, is a shadow of my current self. He weighed 157 pounds, had a resting heart rate of 34, and ran 90 miles a week and did the occasional bike ride as well. That man would have completed today's 12k in 48 minutes or less. This man, the 180 pound 45 mile a week guy, ran it in the upper part of 55 minutes. There were 207 people racing. This man was 29th, that man would have been top 10 easy. This past few weeks I have started to build into the 40 mile a week range, it is just enough to start the transition. Muscle for fat. It causes my weight to drift subtly downward if at all but there is the blessed trade off. More power, less weight. My belt buckle comes in another notch every few weeks, easy runs are fun, faster and take less effort. The Engine is sputtering to life. Actually as my friend Jay Curwen might put it, the furnace is lit. And if the Furnace is hot enough, anything will burn, sugar, fat, everything. Beer, Pizza, ice cream, whatever. Once I get above 60 miles a week, caloric intake is a concern only insofar as I must eat to fuel the effort. Hungry? then eat, eat till it hurts, I'll need to.
It was a simple and humble beginning, 77 minutes of jogging during the first week of January. This week I am looking at 340 minutes which included my first track workout since 2006 and a tough but fun race.
That is about halfway for this portion of the plan. by June 600 minute weeks are planned, and by then, speed and fitness should see all runs paced at 8 minutes per mile or below. Today's pace during the race was 7:29 per mile. Which is the pace I will be training at for rolling hill trail runs this summer.
Why? I love the way it feels to be able to run that fast on basically no effort.