Today's run called for 9 miles at race pace. It's hard to figure out race pace when you take walking breaks, so I cut out some of them. After a one mile warm up, I picked up the pace and ran strong. A little too strong--miles 2,3, and 4 were under race pace. Even as I was running it, I knew I wasn't being smart. Part of me was thinking, "Damn, I'm good!" (roll eyes) The other part was remembering Coach Higdon's warning that "Anybody can run the first 6-9 miles of a marathon at a fast pace. The secret is to run the last 6-9 miles of the marathon at that same fast pace."
The successive miles were over race pace. Not too much over, but over. Some of it was due to walking breaks; also I had to wait at a stoplight and then the trail was blocked so I had to run on the grass. Hey, it all adds up! :-)
Still, it was a pleasant run. The weather has cooled to a tolerable low 70s and no humidity! I ran around the city lakes, the same route I ran on Tuesday, and I noticed some of the same people were there today, like the dog who wears a sling to hold a tennis ball, and the little old lady who looks to be about 4'11". I usually change my routes so that I don't get bored, but you don't get to be one of the "regulars" when you do that.
These are the splits:
Mile 1 13:30
Mile 2 11:43
Mile 3 11:56
Mile 4 11:32
Mile 5 12:16 (it's all downhill from here)
Mile 6 12:34 (whoops!)
Mile 7 12:22
Mile 8 12:15
Mile 9 12:25
If you have any tips for how to stay on pace, I'd appreciate hearing them. I notice when I don't take walking breaks I don't hydrate. That was always my cue to drink. Should I reduce my walking breaks to 30 seconds so that I drink but don't slow down so much?
Tomorrow's a long run and the weather is supposed to be cool--high in the 60s. That's the good news, the bad news is it's supposed to rain all day. Groan; 19 miles in the rain. Oh well, what's a summer marathon training run without getting wet? I'll let you know how it goes.
9 comments:
Thanks for stopping by my blog! I can't give you any tips for pace... as I am a slower runner.
P.S. I don't know if I will be doing the Nike HM or the Fargo Marathon... a sore knee as a result of a 7 mile run a few weeks ago has kind of set that asside for a while... :)
Heck, I don't know how to do it either. It either happens for me, or it doesn't. I'm still taking my walk breaks, and like you, use them to hydrate/fuel.
Good luck tomorrow with the 19 miler!
Nice job, Dori.
Nice job, Dori!
Don't worry about staying on pace. Just keep the miles coming.
Listen, I don't have any advice on how to stay exactly on pace, but I want to give you major props for such a great 9 miler!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I have yet to figure out how to do an even pace when running outdoors. I have a pace feature on my wireless run tracker but I've yet to use it. The treadmill at the gym is the only way I can set a pace and stick with it, but only at not peak gym hours, since there's a time limit on cardio equipment... Like Juls, I alternate between usning a fuel belt and camelbak type hydration pack. The straw mouth-piece clips to your shirt (or what ever) to make it easy to find. Happy running!
19 miles already, whew! I taught myself to carry a half liter bottle of water (16.9 oz, about a pound) that I swig on the run. On long out-and-backs I'll stash another bottle with an unbroken seal in a bush or tree two or three miles down the trail and take a short break as I retrieve it.
Interested in hearing how your run in the rain goes. It really really did rain. We didn't hear any thunder though; that's good. We are.... thinking about a long run tomorrow... forecast:rain!
Happy drying off afterward to you and congratulations.
Keep on running, Dorine! You're inspirational!!!
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