How things are boding

Bode is a funny word. It makes sense in some contexts (like, it bodes well), but not in others (you wouldn't say, things are boding pretty good). Here is the Cambridge definition: "The verb bode means to serve as a sign or omen of a future event, usually something very good or very bad." And here is some further information from Vocabulary.com: "The word comes from the Old English verb bodian, meaning "to announce" or "to foretell," which traces back to boda, meaning "messenger". This root is also the source of the modern word foreboding (a strong sense that something bad is coming)." With this in mind, how the heck are things boding for Dan, you ask? Dan would answer, "They're boding pretty darn good these days."

After last week's Yasso workout as well as a few other gems, today was Dan's all-important long run. He's not kidding about how critical this run was. Dan ran sort-of-long last week as a pacer for the Canal Corridor 100-Mile, and prior to that, he ran the Akron Marathon with not-so-great results. Although he's been putting in the miles, and although his speedwork is coming around, he strongly felt that he needed a rock-solid long run to boost his fitness and, more importantly, his confidence.

Dan decides that his long run should be on the Towpath, since it's similar to the Ghost Town Trail that he'll be on for the entirety of the Veteran's Marathon in two weeks. He starts running around 5:00 AM and returns at 6:00 to meet up with training partner extraordinaire, Julie Boggs. Dan and Julie run another ninety minutes at their usual pace, which is an improvement for Dan. When Julie leaves to attend her kids' sports events, Dan is all alone again. Now, he knows he needs to pick up the pace even more.

Dan has a strong conviction that he should be doing the final 3-4 miles of his long runs at close to marathon pace. That's a bit under nine minutes per mile. But it's tough after already traversing 18 plus miles. Can he do it? 

Yes, he can. He manages to get under a nine-minute pace for the final five of this 22 1/2 mile long run. And he's pretty durn happy about it. Now, all he needs to do is run an entire 26-miler at this pace. Piece of cake when things are boding so A-OK.

Finishing a terrific Towpath trail training trot on a tremendous Fall day