12 miles on the road at a brisk pace

I woke up at 5 AM to hear pouring rain and all I could think about was how wet my feet were going to get during today's run.  Fortunately I fell back asleep waking a couple hours later to clear skys and sun.  Following a long, slow trail run (Tuesday) and speed work (Wednesday), today's plan was to run 12ish miles on flat roads at under 7 minute pace.  I feel like these workouts will be a good foundation for speed work and help me in races longer than 10 miles.


In honor of the new Google+ UI design launched yesterday I wore white (#whitespace).

Equipment list: today's sunny skys mean the opportunity to try the multilaser blue lenses in my new Rudy Project Genetyk glasses.  Unlike most of the sunglasses I use, the Genetyk has a slightly larger single piece lens.  With better visibility over the nose bridge it's beter suited for cycling or cross country skiing but still makes a good pair of running sunglasses.  I also tried a new pair of shorts today - the Salomon EXO Motion shorts.  These shorts have more material and are heavier than the Twin Skin EXO S-Lab shorts but also have a built in "bike short" style liner.  Having used both I prefer the lighter and more sparten S-Lab version - especially in warmer weather conditions.  Shoes: XR Crossmax.  Shirt: ActiLite zip t-shirt.

The run was pretty uneventful.  I took my usual route North on the Stevens Creek Trail to the Bay Trail; around the Google campus and Shoreline Park.  My pace averaged under 7 minutes per mile as planned.  Overall I felt good and much stronger at the end of the run than I did after similar runs in January / February.  When May rolls around I'd like to start doing this kind of workout at sub 6:30.  We'll see how that feels at the end of the run.  :-)