Short and hard

As the years have gone on I've enjoyed "going long".  First in triathlon going from my first sprint to Ironman distance in two years and then 3 years after that tackling the "toughest footrace on earth" - the Marathon des Sables.  Ultra running took over and there's nothing I love more than a day in the mountains with a mix of power walking up, running the summits and pelting down the hills where the terrain allows.  But in my training there is a variety of running from short slow heart rate runs, to tempo runs or fartlek or negative split runs.  I need to do some speed work so that I'm not constantly jogging along.
While recovering in Portugal after the Ultra X race in the Peak District, I ran four times in a week and each time I picked up the pace.  Nothing too exciting but you need to remember I was recovering and it was 24 degrees.
When I got home, Beth & I decided at the last minute to run the Great Scottish Half Marathon but it was in a weeks time.  So I ran three times with the last one a fast, for me, 8km at 5 min per KM pace.  On race day I knew I'd need to do that for 21 km so it was a stretching target.  The race has pacers and I stayed with the 1 hr 45 min pacer but he tore off from the start line which goes uphill.  By the top of the hill I knew how big a challenge this was going to be.  My last race has been over 7 hrs and 22 mins including 2,000 m of ascent, but this was a hard short (relatively) effort on tarmac and I had my work cut out.  Unfortunately a pee stop meant I lost the pacer by joined back in and tried to keep a decent pace.  Beth had started 7 minutes behind and I knew she wouldn't be far away despite her fatigue.
The Glasgow half takes in stunning parks and I tried to enjoy the beauty of it while my heart rate increased beyond what I'd call comfortable - or even sensible for that matter.
I can't remember the last road race I took part in but this whole madness started with the Great Scottish 10km race in 2008.  When I crossed the line back then I walked back to George Square where the half marathon runners were lining up and I thought "really, how can you run twice that distance".  Since then my longest one day race was 73 mile in the Great Glen in 14hrs 40 mins and my longest continual race was 205 miles around Lake Tahoe which was 85 hours including sleep.
I have gone long and enjoy it more but have to respect just how tough the shorter distances are when you are running way faster than normal.  I was glad to cross the line in 1 hr 47 mins (5:05 min per KM) so only 2 mins outside my target.  I was even more delighted when Beth came in a few minutes behind me and with the fatigue she had in her body, that was an amazing achievement.
Short and hard has my respect and will always play a part in my training.  But I think I'll stick with the long miles where you discover a whole different world and find yourself.  
We are definitely in autumn now and my attention will turn to the gym for strength work, yoga for strength and flexibility plus breathing and cross training to give the legs a bit of a break.  A change in training is always exciting especially when you know the results will show up when racing next year.