Be cautious about comparing one workout with another, particularly if the workouts are not the same as each other. It might make sense to compare your interval workout of 5 x 800 to your having run 4 x 800 last week or 6 x 800 next week, but it does not make sense to compare that to tempo runs or hill repeats or any other workout. That's like comparing apples and oranges. That is the route to perdition. Our ability to do certain workouts often is affected by what we did the day before or the week before or the three months before. Learn from the numbers, but don't be trapped by them.

Photo Above:  Bob, Bill, Rich and JoAnn on a training run in Los Altos Hills.  Photo by Waitman Gobble Ujena Fit Club

"Among my most enjoyable activities is helping runners train for the marathon. I estimate that I have assisted a half million runners reach the finish line of 26 mile 385 yard races," says Hal Higdon

The harder or further you run the more time the body needs to recover. It's a simple concept but one many of us find difficult to adhere to. When your muscles are sore from a strong workout that is a positive. That's how we improve our fitness and/or get faster at racing. When we fail to provide adequate recovery time before the next hard workout, that is a training negative. Recovery time is training time. When your muscles and tendons are regenerating themselves that is training . Never think of recovery time as down time. You can always do an activity between hard workouts that uses different muscle groups than those that are sore. Or you can take a day off occasionally like I do. It's not a fitness crime.

Photo Above: Start of the Chinese New Year Run 10k/5k held Feb 19 in San Francisco  Photo by Catherine Cross Ujena Fit Club

Bill Dunn has been running races for nearly 35 years logging in over 75,000 miles.   Back in 1983 he ran a 53:34 10 miler and is currently training to go under 70 minutes at age 64.