The Long Run

7.42 mi, 1:06:34, 8:58 avg

Week 10, day 1 of the plan.  Going to ramp miles back up a little this week after last week's cut back.  7 easy miles today from Foxwood down the new trail past Lake Dan then turn around back home.  Finished up with 6x100m strides up and down the street.  Felt a little bit flat on the strides today but did the job of making my legs move quicker.

9.2 mi, 1:10:26, 7:39 avg, HR 156 bpm

Week 10, day 2 of the plan.  This was similar to a run 3 weeks ago except it was 7 miles at tempo pace instead of 6 with only 1 mile of warmup.  I had a certain amount of dread the night before.  Last time I struggled to get on pace until sometime around mile 3.  This time I wanted to do better than that but also knew the first mile would be tough so I planned on taking it slower than the rest of the miles but a little faster than the first mile last time.  I also did a few mini strides toward the end of the warmup mile so the faster pace wouldn't feel so hard.

The other challenge was that 1 mile would not get me to the trail.  I'd still be on street or sidewalk.  I at least set it up so I wouldn't have any busy street crossings.  My warmup ended in Eniswood.  I'd have to to some on the sidewalk on Alt19.  Had to go around a lady with her dog standing next to her kids waiting for the bus.  But overall it started out ok.

I did have to do a lot of bargaining with myself for the first half, there was no reason to stop, shoes were double knotted, no cramps or tightness.  If I had stopped it would've only been because I gave up.  I also kept telling myself I'd feel better after the turnaround.

And, I did feel better and felt the pace go back up.  I even had the fastest mile running on the sidewalk.

Tempo splits: 7:32, 7:28, 7:23, 7:20, 7:10, 7:16, 7:07

Average came out to 7:19.  My strain app also showed much less strain than similar mileage at lower speeds.  I do miss the sub-7:00 tempo days, maybe I can get back there.

5.06 mi, 44:20, 8:46 avg

Easy run day, 5 miles on a loop from Foxwood out the Duck Slough entrance, SR54 to the new trail heading south to Robert Trent Jones, then back home the usual way.  Another nice and cool morning.

10.09 mi, 1:27:32, 8:40 avg

Mid-week long run, route was from Westlake Village, out Alderman, south onto Omaha then cut over to the Pinellas Trail and head north.  5 miles out took me to the intersection of Klosterman where I ran the last little bit before turning back.  Quick stop at the water fountain outside of Wall Springs Park for water and a gel then continue back to the house.

Made it back in time so Jessica could get to body combat although she ended up leaving late while talking to the car repair people.  Had dropped off Jacob's car which had developed a bad enough oil leak to cause a lot of white smoke.  Fortunately it was just a gasket, but unfortunately it takes a lot of labor to get to the gasket.

7.48 mi, 1:03:23, 8:28 avg

Easy run Friday.  Did the loop from Foxwood out the Duckslough entrance, SR54, then south down the new trail.  Added another mile heading south right about to Lake Dan and then back home.  Felt pretty good today so was running at what felt easy but was a little faster than planned.

The 6x100m strides at the end bumped up the pace a little bit more.

Bigger run tomorrow - 16 miles total with 11 miles at MP

16.02 mi, 2:07:14, 7:56 avg

Wrapping up week 10 with long run which included 11 goal marathon pace miles.  Going into the run felt like a mountain to climb but I knew I could do it, just knew it wouldn't be easy.  Plan was 2 mile warm up, 6 miles at MP, 1 mile easy, 5 miles at MP, followed by 2 miles easy.

Instead of a complete out and back, I ran sort of a t-shape.  First 2 miles was a run from Westlake Village to the Pinellas Trail then a little bit south to hit 2 miles.  Next section was 3 miles north on the trail then turn around back to the trail starting area.  Splits for first set of MP miles: 7:42, 7:35, 7:33, 7:32, 7:28, 7:28.

I had a drink bottle stashed at the trail starting area, used it to wash down a gel.  Next was 1 mile easy heading north, then started the 5 mile MP section going 3 miles south then 2 miles north back to the start.  Splits for next section: 7:33, 7:28, 7:31, 7:27, 7:21

Great feeling to finish up that second set, then it was just a "jog" home.