I got some of the best sleep I've had in a long time last night and only planned on running 11 miles today, but as I noticed the nice cool, yet breezy weather, I decided to push it and see where I really am in my running. Since I'm running in the Potomac River Half-Marathon on May 3rd, I wanted to see where I stood at that distance since I haven't run it in a while. Running on the wonderful W&OD Trail, all pavement, I set out from Fall Church and headed west. There is a pretty long hill at mile 2-2.5, which wasn't all that bad and at the top, I adjusted the tightness of my shoe laces as my feet were going numb.
In the first 2-3 miles, I had a really hard time regulating my breathing as I didn't have a great song in my head. Oddly enough, I settled on a portion of the 1812 orchestra (all in my head) and really felt good.
At the half-way point, I felt a little sluggish, took a energy gel, then got right back into it. Once I downed some water at mile 9 I was off to the races and felt great. As I closed out the run, I was still feeling great and powered through to the end.
I ended up finishing the 13.1 in 1:41.05 which brought me under 8 minute miles! Running 8 minute miles was my goal for this run, so I feel really good about my overall running. I now may have to revise my goals, as it looks like running a sub-4 MCM in October is very much in reach. Nothing like overconfidence, but I feel really good about where I'm at right now. Now, off to the gym for a post-run workout. I do have a little blister on my left foot near my big toe, but I attribute that to getting back into the longer distances and my relatively new shoes.
(Brooks Infiniti 39.1 Miles) | 