In case you don't remember, I am doing Hal Higdon's Marathon 3 training program. The main reason I picked this plan is so that I don't fall out of love with running. This plan has me running just 3 days a week and allows plenty of room for biking and other cross training. The other reason I really like this plan is because every other week is a step back week. So after last week's 15 miler, this week was a bit easier.
My long run (which I did on Saturday before Nicholas' birthday party) was just 12 miles. I don't mean to say "just" 12 miles because, trust me, 12 miles is still a long way for me. It's just that it is not as hard to wrap my head around. At this point, up to 15 miles seems pretty doable. Any more than that is getting a little hairy. Nonetheless, Saturday's run called for 12 miles, so 12 miles it was.
I decided to meet up with some girls that I met through the blog world, Amanda and Jennifer. I'm not really sure how they came to follow along with the adventures of Mom Swim Bike Run (ladies???), but they did. I met Jennifer last year at the Dukes and Daisies 5K. It was the first time anyone had ever come up to me and said something about my blog. I'm not going to lie, it made me feel special. I met Amanda this summer at a local baseball game by coincidence. We had been trying to hook up at several races including the Austin Marathon and Cap 10, but it just never worked out.
Anyway, it was long overdue to meet my "blog girls" and I was very excited to see them and finally do a long run together.
 |
| Jennifer and Amanda |
Of course the ladies were gracious and allowed me to set the pace. To be honest, I had no idea what type of long run I'd have. My runs have been so unpredictable and my legs have continually felt tired. I did take two rest days last week and tried to hydrate throughout the day on Friday in hopes that it would help. I really just wanted to have a good long run for me and not bore the girls too much.
Something happened to my Garmin during the first mile. Once we hit the one mile mark my watch was showing an 8:15 average pace. Let me just tell you, if I had just run an 8:15 pace for a mile, I would have known it because I wouldn't have been able to breath. Clearly my Garmin was wrong and A&J's Garmins proved it (all stats from Jennifer).
Mile 1: 10:32 (I liked the 8:15 pace better)
Mile 2: 10:16
Mile 3: 10:13
After the third mile I generally get in a groove and feel pretty good. I actually feel my best from mile 3 to mile 10. This run proved to be no different and the miles were ticking by pretty quickly.
Mile 4: 9:56 what???
Mile 5: 10:01
Mile 6: 10:04 ----> Gu
Mile 6 was the turn around (obvious) and I started to worry a little. I didn't know our EXACT pace because my Garmin was out of whack, but I knew I was running a quicker pace. I had a little mental talk with myself and reminded myself of the time I ran 13.1 miles at a 9:40 pace. I COULD do this and I didn't have to let fear creep in. So I just pushed on and tried to listen and not talk. Ha!
Mile 7: 10:08
Mile 8: 10:09
Mile 9: 10:18 ----> hill!!!!
Mile 10: 10:06
After the completion of mile 9 (which also happens at the top of the biggest hill on the "course") I was really starting to feel tired. It wasn't easy peasy for me and I was trying to keep pace. The ladies clearly had a lot more to give and I didn't want them to feel like this was a cake walk.
I think I grunted and groaned a couple of times, but I've felt a LOT, LOT worse on long runs before. My body wasn't hurting, I was just working hard on a hot day. The good thing was, the miles really were flying by with my new company. We had plenty to talk about and it was never a dull moment. In fact, I wish the run was a little longer because I feel like we didn't talk as much as I would have liked. Don't get me wrong, we talked the whole time, it just wasn't enough.
Mile 11: 10:04
Mile 12: 9:57 ----> where'd that come from?
Total: 2:02
Average: 10:07
I was really happy with that pace. It has been a LONG time since I've run that quickly for so long. I think the extra rest I took last week really paid off. Well that and A&J pushing me to do my best.
I'm so glad to have finally met up with these ladies and wish there was more time left for me here in Texas. I planned to do a Marathon Relay with them this fall and then the Texas Independence Relay with them next March. I'm really bummed about missing out on both of those opportunities. More so, I'm just bummed that I missed my chance to get to know each of them a lot better. It so nice to connect with like minded people who share similar hopes and lifestyles. I'm sorry we waited so long ladies and I hope you'll continue to follow along in my adventures. You can pretend I'm still 20 miles away and not 1200!
0 comments:
Post a Comment