I decided to ramp it up a little on my last vacation day before heading back to work. My plan was to run with Darin and Dave at 7:00AM for 7 miles, then run some more on my own. I got a flat tire on the way to Darin's so, I got there as they finished. So, my run today was solo.
I'm running a 15K race on Saturday, so decided to go run the course -- twice. First time, forward, second time in reverse direction (not running backwards -- but running forward from finish to start :) I made a wrong turn and ended up adding almost 2 miles to the first 9.3 miles (7:54/mi for 11.25 miles). I stopped at the car, downed a bottle of water and a Honey Stinger, then headed out for the second pass. I was making mental notes of various distances (2 miles, 1.5, 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25) from the finish line (just in case I have some kick left on Saturday..so I'll know exactly how much real estate I have left to cover) I did quite a bit of walking on the the second 9.3 miles--especially when my total got above 17 miles. (keep in mind that my last marathon was June at Utah Valley---and my last run over 15 miles was at the end of July 2011 - El Scorcho). I had forgotten that stiff/tightening feeling -- and the sore feet. I guess there's a reason we ramp up for marathons. I took it easy -- today was about finishing the 20 miles, not about speed. I have about 7 weeks to be ready to run a 3:40 marathon at Cowtown (I'm pacing for the 3rd consecutive year...and it's not a gimme this year!) :) 45-53F, partly cloudy, light wind
AP: ~9:00
|