sub-3 or blow-up trying

So, on Saturday we received 21 inches of snow here in the NW corner of CT!  By evening we lost power, along with about 99% of the western state.  Took a couple days off from running and then did 13 yesterday.  It was a little spooky running my routes due to the sound of snapping branches in the middle portion of my run which is a road that cuts through Whites Woods.  There were a few power lines down in that area and slung over poles with clamps to keep them out of the road.  Anyway, here's the breakdown of my run...

- 2 mile warm-up

- 5 mile tempo (6:25, 6:29, 6:37, 7:06, 7:02)- the last 2 miles were tough in that it was mostly an uphill climb- felt really good- first pain free run since last April (Boston)

- jogged .75

- 3 mile tempo (6:53, 6:39, 6:44)- my hope was to do another 5 mile tempo, but my blister opened up on the 3rd mile of this tempo.  Jogged the rest to keep from ripping it too much.

Ran 13 miles total.  Power came on an hour ago, so I'm able to log it and hope to get a couple firm tempo runs in between now and Philly. 

Ran 7 miles w/my wife @ just under a 10min pace. 

Ran 5 miles on the TM- the final 2 @ 6:22 pace.  Blister began to get raw, so shut things down quickly.  Continued progress, so I'm being a little more careful in allowing things to heal. 

Ran 8 miles w/my wife at about a 9:45 pace through light hills.

Did 30-minutes weights + 4 miles w/4 strides worked in w/a new pair of Brooks Launch.

Very satisfied w/today's race.  It's been a rough year for me with nagging injuries- achilles and blister issues.  Finally turned a corner today.  Went into the race with low confidence, yet high determination.  Ended up w/a 1/2 marathon pr on a fairly challenging course- 1st half downhill and 2nd half uphill on a trail.  Of 400-500 runners, I came in 12th and 2nd in my age division.  A more detailed race report will come later...

Mile 1:  6:18 (downhill, so just took what the road gave me)

Mile 2:  6:25 (still downhill, so continued to coast)

Mile 3:  6:31 (continue the downhill, but a little slow due to entering the trail)

Mile 4:  6:36 (leveling out a little, yet still a comfortable pace...feeling blister a little)

Mile 5:  6:32 (able to stay focussed, slightly down)

Mile 6:  6:47 (the trail was blocked from trees, so we had to veer around- probably lost 10-15 seconds due to this...yet so did everyone else)

Mile 7: 6:33 (happy with this mile because it was pretty flat)

Mile 8:  6:46 (starting the slow climb up...had to work hard for this mile)

Mile 9:  7:00 (getting steeper and more aware of my blister)

Mile 10:  6:57 (this mile was my strongest effort of the run...determined not to go over 7)

Mile 11:  7:05 (well...there's the 7- still going uphill)

Mile 12:  7:09 (never lost concentration- just telling myself the pain will soon be over)

Mile 13:  7:01 (moved from the trail to the road, the hill was much steeper, yet the road was easier for picking up speed)

Last .1:  5:38 pace (my garmin actually measure it out as .15 miles)

Total:  Ran 13.1(5) in 1:28:35- new pr for me in the half marathon.  Great confidence builder for Philly in 2 weeks.