Suspiciously too consistent

I’ve noticed something very troubling – too much consistency.  I know consistency is good, and you often want your individual runs to be consistent.  But each and every run should not be done at the exact same pace.  Lately, my runs have been ridiculously consistent:

1. 7/2 – 42:19 / 4.6 = 9:12 pace
2. 7/5 – 54:23 / 5.9 = 9:11 pace
3. 7/9 – 57:03 / 6.2 = 9:12 pace
4. 7/11 – 53:57 / 5.9 = 9:09 pace
5. 7/14 – 36:22 / 4.0 = 9:05 pace
6. 7/18 – 36:25 / 4.0 = 9:06 pace
7. 7/19 – 42:12 / 4.6 = 9:10 pace
8. 7/22 – 30:57 / 3.4 = 9:06 pace

So, over my last 8 runs, my pace has been between 9:05 and 9:12 for each one!  In contrast, in the month of June, my runs, of similar distances, ranged from 8:37 to 10:12.  What’s also amazing is that some runs felt fast, some felt slow, and some, on the streets of Manhattan, are subject to having to stop, speed up, or slow down to get through some of the intersections.  As far as I’m concerned, this is luck more than anything else.  It will certainly not last for long.  Once the New York City Triathlon is over, I’ll start mixing in long runs and speed workouts again.  I think it is fair to say, though, that I’ll never see another streak like this again!

I would actually be quite happy if I could run one more at that same pace, in the tri on Sunday.  In a standalone 10k race, I certainly would run faster than 9:05 pace, but after a 45 minute swim and 90 minutes on the bike, I’ll be pretty beat by the time we get to the run and would be satisfied to finish with that pace.  Plus, it will be hot, and the run is in hilly Central Park, including Harlem Hill at the north end.

Big race is in 2.5 days, and I’m fully into my taper.  Did my last training swim this morning, and tomorrow and Saturday are both total rest days.  Also fueling up and will spend the next 2 days getting nice and hydrated.  In short, looking forward to soaking in the whole experience this weekend, and having a fun race!