Instead of getting up early and doing my run before the family gets up, I didn't run until about 3:00pm. My wife had made plans to go to Englishtown Auction, to sell some of our old kid's clothes. She was up and outta here at about the same time I usually do my Sunday morning runs. She did really well selling and had a great day with her father. I had the day with the boys, putzing around the house, raking leaves, playing soccer, and enjoying the nice weather we had today. All in all, we both had a really nice Sunday.
OK, back to my run. Since it was 3:00pm, when I was leaving, I decided to run an out and back down Edinburgh Rd., I didn't want to be running in Mercer County Park at dark. With a 14miler on the schedule, I knew I would be finishing in the dark.
I have had a bit of a head cold & sore throat lately, so I wasn't sure how I would feel running. The 1st half of the run, I had a nice wind pushing me along. I would estimate it at between 5-10mph, sustained. It didn't feel like much, when it was at my back, but it sure did for miles 8-14!
Here is where I say the usual, I wanted to start out slow, blah blah blah... You've all heard it before here.
What felt like a nice leisurely pace, for the 1st mile, was a nice wind aided 8:23. So, after seeing, mile 1's split, I wanted to see if I could stay around an 8:30 or under pace, until I turned around at mile 7. I did that, staying between 8:20 - 8:30!
When I turned around at mile 7, boy I could feel the difference! The wind was pretty strong, and I wanted to stay between 8:45 -9:00 min/mile pace.
I did just that, actually staying under 8:40 pace.
I hit the 10 mile mark at 1:23. When I saw that, I thought back to running the OC Drive Marathon 10 miler, in late March, and remembering my struggle with the wind, and finishing in 1:30. With only 3.2 miles to the 1/2 marathon marker, I was pumped to see where I would end up. Check it out.. 1:52! That would be about a minute quicker that I did the PDR, back in Sept!
All that with not feeling too good. Guess it's my inner Micheal Jordan. Didn't he always have his best games under the weather?
Well, I finished strong running my fastest mile for my last, at 8:19.
There ya have it, if you don't feel too good, get out the door and run. It might just be your best run! It's funny, being thisclose to the marathon, I think the nerves are starting to kick in. A little less sleep, head cold, nervous about lower mileage, that I might not be ready. You get the idea. It's crazy how the mind works. I've run a bunch of different races over the years, even in the occasional playoff and championship games back in my competitive street hockey days,so this shouldn't be a big deal, but it is!
Here is the rest of the week:
Mon. off
Tues. 7
Wed. off
Thurs. 5
Fri. off
Sat. 4
14 miles 1:58:36
Mile/ Time
1 8:23
2 8:30
3 8:27
4 8:26
5 8:20
6 8:22
7 8:23
8 8:24
9 8:30
10 8:36
11 8:39
12 8:37
13 8:32
14 8:19
10 comments:
Awesome run with the solid splits. Even more impressive with a had cold and into the wind in the second half. I think you are defiantly right on target for you marathon training.
Congrats on a new (if not completely official) Half PR!! Very exciting to see such improvements so soon after PDR. Here's to kicking some serious ass Nov. 23!
Nice splits - sounds like you have have the beginnings of taper madness. You're in good shape for the race.
Isn't it funny how it works? LOL Killer job ;D ;D
Whoa! Nice stats, brother! I did just under 13 miles yesterday morning (wind here roughly as you had it there) and it took me just over two hours.
The I got home and fell into a small, peaceful coma.
Way to go keeping that inner competitive imp alive!
Man! Marcy just beat me with her comment! She's like God - she's everywhere at once!
I sound like a broken record: Great job. Kick ass digits. Seriously, another great job.
Nice running! Take care of that cold, though. I know of a few swimmers who routinely would go drinking the night before a big competition in order to dehydrate themselves. They would end up losing 5-10lbs in body weight, but the negative effects wouldn't be felt for 36-48hrs so they were just as strong as before, but pulling less body. I don't think this works in long distance running, but maybe you've lost some weight as a result of the cold? lots of lemon and honey and some rest as you head into the marathon man!
It must've been the shoes... Seriously that's a great run, sweet splits. I think you're on the right road to kick ass in philly.
Wooo!!! Look at those splits! Man you are getting faster and faster! You're training is working out really well. You're going to SMOKE the marathon!
You are definitely peaking at the right time. Sounds like good planning to me. Like the new pic on the front.
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