9:30am, 40o - a little chilly with the wind & some rain Decided to do about a 10 miler today and since the HS track is about 4 miles away I figured that would be a nice run up there, so a few laps and head back. Hadn't run this route before, but it turned out to be a nice one with some hills, of course, since Pittsburgh is just one big hill with the exception on downtown which is flat as a pancake. Here are my splits (pace): 1.04mi - 10:08 (9:44) 1.04mi - 11:51 (11:23) uphill 0.90mi - 9:21 (10:23) part uphill 0.96mi - 8:35 (8:56) part downhill
Track laps: 2:28 2:29 2:26 2:24 2:23 2:23 2:23 2:24 2:25 Return trip 1.86 - 17:47 (9:33) - part uphill - forgot to hit the watch at the first marker 1.04 - 9:09 (8:47) downhill 1.04 - 9:51 (9:28)
Overall, I'm happy with the run. I was shooting for a 10:00 AP and had a 10:08, which isn't too bad. I took it easy on the uphills and even walked for about 30 seconds on mile 2. Otherwise ran it all without stopping. I'm feeling pretty good about the Half in 2 weeks. I'm not going to PR, but since I don't plan to taper and use the race as a training run, I'm fine with that. BUT, if I happen to be feeling so good that it just happens, so be it. :-) 2:08 for the Half isn't some killer time, so it could happen. This route is a whole lot more hilly than the Half course is. If you've hung in here reading this far, you deserve a story. So I was running the last mile of this run and a car pulls up along side me and says something to me. I pull out my earphone so I can hear what they're saying. It's a group of 3 guys in a semi-beat up car, dressed in green hats and green shirts and stuff. They yell out to me asking why I'm not home drinking and celebrating. I told them because I was running (duh) and because I don't drink. They said "well, are you going to be drinking later?" I said of course! I've got a gallon of Gatorade waiting for me. They chuckled and took off. I just looked up when Shamrock Day is and it's not until Wednesday the 17th. Guess these guys were starting early...
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