16.1 @ 7:35 pace, I am happy camper, off to have dinner with Alex
Update: Went to Sims Lake to get in a spontaneous long run in 60 & sunny weather, with 2 days of rain in forecast. Also, following Hanson's principles, that your longest run should be 16 miles, but coming off high mileage ... so it simulates the last 16 miles of the marathon ... not the first 16! Since I may never have a 4 day period with 44 miles again, I figured this was perfect timing to get 'er done! Path is a hilly loop, 1.15 miles long. I knew my Garmin would die early, so wanted to have accurate lap data with my trusty Timex. Garmin actually lasted 11.9 miles, its lifespan is rapidly shortening, & not uncommon to die after 8 miles! Anyway, I was thrilled when the last look I had was 11.7 miles @ 7:30 AP. My goal was just 8:00 miles, but first mile was 7:30 & I just went with what was comfortable from there. I think I held Mile 13 at same pace, but it was getting harder, so I slowed to stay comfortable. The last couple miles were tough ... was actually glad my watch had died ... because no doubt I would have pushed to hang on to that 7:30 pace ... but the plan was to just run comfortably. Well, that is the back story, these are my loop splits which have less variation than my 12 recorded mile splits, because obviously each loop has 0 net elevation change. Loop Time Pace 1 8:35 7:28 2 8:50 7:41 3 8:46 7:37 4 8:44 7:36 5 8:40 7:32 6 8:34 7:27 7 8:41 7:33 8 8:34 7:27 9 8:33 7:26 10 8:27 7:21 11 8:36 7:29 12 8:50 7:41 13 8:55 7:45 14 9:09 7:57 Amazing what losing 12 pounds can do for your fitness! As I look at the numbers for the first 10 loops (11.5 miles), I find it interesting that if you throw out the first loop where I was clearly running faster than I should have been & made an adjustment ... every loop is ever so slightly faster with the focus on just running comfortable ... with the exception of Loop 7, where I remember telling myself to chill as I was not even half way done yet. :)
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