Trance

I finally made a jump in training, or at least temporarily have stepped up to the next level. Last week I managed to hit 40 miles and the first run of this week was a 7 miler at 6:16 pace. I headed out towards Bethesda on the CCT from the store and felt really stiff through the first couple miles. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldng relax and get into a comfortable rhythm. I eventually got to the point of the trail where it swithces over from asphalt to gravel, and my body shifted into autopilot as I started cruising down near 6 minute pace. At one point I looked back to see if I was down a big hill, because I needed some explanation as to how I felt so good at the current pace, but it turned out if I was going down a hill, it was a very small hill. I was also kind of worried that I was going so quick before I had even turned around, but on the other hand I love the feeling of running some place you have never run, and not worrying about how far you have left or how fast you are going, but simply just going and slipping into a trance like state. I was unfortunately awaken from this trance after I turned around and made it back onto the asphalt. I still managed to keep pace on the asphalt, but it was not nearly as comfortable as on the gravel section.