Woke up at 4:50 and that is always a bummer...10 minutes before the alarm. I just staggered around and tried to get moving. It was sooo dark. I was finally on the road about 5:25 ready to push for 10 miles. I wasn't sure which route to use so I took a chance and headed to Holliday Park for some loops. It was pretty chilly considering it got up in to the mid 80s later today. I actually put on my sleeves to help keep my arms warm. Need to start getting used to the cooler weather. The goal for today was 9:15 after the warm up mile and then 2 fast finishing miles.
The first few miles were pretty decent if uneventful. On the backside of the park I passed a street sweeper which is a little unnerving in the dark because even with my headlamp on I was not sure that he saw me. Heading back up Central was a little rough on the single path. Lost my footing a little bit on some holes that I just didn't see. I forget how different the lamp is to natural sunlight. I am sure within a couple of weeks I will be used to it.
The second time around the perimeter was very much like the first time with the tiniest bits of sunlight starting to come up. I was feeling pretty strong and had been hitting each pace almost exactly where I wanted. I like that feeling.
Once I completed the second loop I took off up the path into the park itself and saw all sorts of people out moving early in the morning trying to get some exercise. I had no clue that the park was that well attended around 6:30 in the morning. Something to keep in mind.
The last two miles as I headed out of the park I punched up the pace a bit. I was started to feel tired (and hungry...shhhh...keep that between us) but I still kept going. The traffic was really going by the time I was on Pershing and headed the final mile home. It was really busy and it made me keep focus on all the vehicles moving towards me even though I was on the sidewalk. Kept my mind off the exhaustion until the two decent hills towards the end of the mile that really took what I had left to keep pace.
Arrived home and did a little core work and leg stretching. I was feeling happy about this run the whole day. Feel like I am truly headed in the right direction. I decided to sign up for the half-marathon portion of the Boulder Marathon race this weekend. DailyMile friend David offered to run it. So I think I am going to show up and run an hour then do the half. I hope....hope to make this a true marathon pace effort. We will see how that goes. Thanks for reading!
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/50879429
Have a great time with Dave this Sunday. At this point in your training, I would think an MP half would be pretty straightforward for you, but if you are going to run for an hour beforehand, maybe not so much. Why not just do a regular warm-up and RACE IT???
ReplyDeleteIt is a very good point...but I didn't hit 20 miles two weeks ago and I think from a mental standpoint I need to do the distance more and more. 20 still worries me when I run it, I would like to gain that feeling that I can do 20 strong a few times with my pace mixed in.
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