The Long Run

I started out my morning pretty good, with a reasonably early 5:57 wake-up.  I fed the dogs, got ready and headed over to the Y.  Warmed  up on the bike and rower then headed outside.  Did a little more stretching then started my run.  First mile was slow, it started out ok but gradually seemed to get slower.  The next mile was not much better.  A little past two miles I stopped and dropped off my drink bottle.  I had averaged a 9:30 pace.  I stretched a little bit more then started again.  The next mile was just under 8:00 pace but it felt forced.  The next two miles felt better and more natural and were about an 8:15 pace.  After that I finally felt better,  much less tight.  When things were not going well I thought about cutting it short and only doing 7 miles.  But, I was thinking that since I suffered through a couple bad miles at the beginning, I might as well get something out of it. 

Average pace: 8:20

Pretty good run this morning.  I had plenty of time so decided to get in a medium long run.  The weather felt slightly warm and humid and I noticed some wind at first but didn't think too much of it.  I left from home and took the route out of my neighborhood to SR54 then up Starkey blvd and back.

First two miles were kind of slow, similar to yesterday but not as bad.  3rd and 4th miles felt better,  more comfortable and relaxed which meant faster with less effort.   At the turn around point I started getting battered by the wind.  I was glad I was getting hit on the way back, otherwise the starting slow miles would have felt slow and discouraging.

Despite the wind I managed to hold my pace and I tried to remind myself of the good that the wind was doing for me making me stronger.

This run felt similar to the last time I took this route but not as good as two runs ago when I felt like I could have done a marathon PR on that day.  But overall I'll count this as a successful run since I didn't let the wind slow me down. 

 
Average pace: 8:05

It was perfect weather this morning for running, right about 60° at the start and no humidity to worry about.   I warmed up inside the Y on the bike but both rowers were in use so I skipped those and headed outside.  A little more warm up and then I started.  I have a 10K on Saturday so thought I would try a low key tempo run.  I thought about just two miles at tempo pace and decided that was not enough and settled on 3.

After a two mile warm up I started my tempo with a goal of right at 7:00 pace.  When I started out I realized my pace was too fast and slowly backed it down.  The next mile was a little bit faster and then the third mile was about the same as the first, then I decided why not make it 5K.

Splits were: 6:48, 6:38, 6:45, 0.11@6:40

Well, that was supposed to be it, I backed it down for the next mile at 7:41, but the mile after that kept on getting faster, towards the end I was right about 7:00 pace so I pushed just a little more for the last 0.2 miles to finish that mile at 6:53.

Then I backed it down and ran easy for the return trip.

I think I can do a similar pace and hopefully a little faster for this Saturday's 10K. 

Average pace: 7:35 

I wasn't expecting too much from this morning's run as I wasn't feeling great when I woke up this morning.  But, I was determined to at least get in a nothing fancy 7 mile run at whatever pace I could manage.

I did have at least two things going for me this morning.  It was nice and cool out, but not cold, pretty much perfect.  Yesterday I ran fast and it seems like the day after a fast day, the easy pace feels easier.

First mile was slow, next two were a bit better.  Then I felt nice and warmed up and was moving along nicely.  Nothing too fast except for one of the miles at 7:22.  I was feeling good enough that I decided on 8 miles instead of 7. 

Average pace: 8:04

I did a few "easy" miles on the treadmill this morning to keep myself ready for tomorrow's 10K.  The pace was relatively slow but it didn't feel all the "easy".  Just one of those days.  But, much better to get a bad run out of the way on a non-race day.  I think my pace was around 8:30.

I also did some time on the bike and rower as well as some weights, but nothing too harsh. 

Today was my first 10K that I have raced. I was looking forward to it this week but things did not go completely as planned. The weather report had changed and the wind was going to be strong for the start of the race. In fact, when I woke up this morning I could hear the wind howling. When we got to the race site I was still somewhat optimistic as it didn't seem that bad all the time. The wind was steady from the west at 24 miles per hour. Most of the course was going to be north/south with a little bit of east/west.

I did a little bit of warm up before the race but I was not very careful about my time. The next thing I knew it was 7:56, I was 1/4 mile away from the race and I could see people hurrying up towards the starting line. Whoops!

I was at the starting line and did not feel completely loosened up but was doing my best. The race started and off I went. The 5K and 10K race started out together so there was a good number of people starting out fast. I quickly got into a 6:30 pace then eased it slower to about a 6:50 something pace. I thought I would take it a little bit easy for the first couple miles then gradually pick things up. The first mile included a section of course going directly into the wind. It was tough but manageable. As I was finishing up the first mile I noticed my pace slowed a little bit and I was not able to get under 7:00. The next mile was about the same.

At the beginning of the second mile a few people passed me. I was able to eventually pass them except for one, a 17 year old girl who I decided I would at least try and keep up with. My ankles still felt tight and very uncomfortable, my breathing and the rest of my legs felt ok. I was hoping that it would pass and I'd get into a good pace.

Just past the turnaround I saw my wife running with her friend Kathryn. Jenny asked me "are you doing it?" I said no, but I felt some inspiration. I picked it up a little bit and as I got closer to the 4 mile marker I was determined to finally get under 7:00, which I did. I nearly caught up to the girl that had passed me.

The 5th mile I was getting whipped by the wind some more and struggled to not totally blow it. My pace slowed a lot at one point and it took all I had to try and salvage it.

Finally for the 6th mile I was able to get into a pretty good pace. As I got close to the finish line I heard several people I knew call out my name and cheer me on. Kathryn's boys were there yelling for me. Despite not having run the best that I thought I could have run, I gave it all I had for the finish.

Here are my splits:

7:00, 7:00, 7:07, 6:45, 7:10, 6:53, 0.26@6:28

Sometimes, it comes down to who has shown up for a given race. I saw the results and was pleased to see that I did get first for my age group.

I went to look for Jenny and Kathryn. I soon saw them coming in strong. Jenny came in one minute faster than last year. Last year I paced her in and she was not able to beat that time on the 10k's she ran after that without me. But for this race, she beat that time, despite the whipping wind that did me in. Great job Jenny and Kathryn.

Also, for the first time I met a fellow FRB blogger in person.  I saw Mark from http://tamparunning.fastrunningblog.com

So, that was kind of neat.  I chatted with him for a bit.  I had seen him at the Tampa Bay Lightning Bolt run 5K and I think I had followed him for a good part of the run.  Something seemed familiar about him and I later remembered where I had seen him.  So, today I said hi and introduced myself.  Hopefully I'll get to meet from more FRB'ers eventually.