This weekend was back to normal with a Saturday morning long run. I realized it has been quite a while since I prepared for a long run from home with just me, it brought back memories of marathon training. Not sure I miss that.
While the temps were nice 67*, it was certainly warmer than what we have had recently, add in 97% humidity, and it was the perfect run to prepare for summer, I still can't decide if I prefer cold or hot running, I think 50* is ideal.
Long run was supposed to be 10 miles, with 7 @goal pace. Goal pace being my goal pace for gate which is kind of scary, but very doable. I gave myself a few back-off miles which helped tremendously, and overall I felt really good after this run.
11 miles- 1:37:33, 8:52 average pace
Mile 1- 9:26
Mile 2- 8:34
Mile 3- 8:31
Mile 4- 9:28
Mile 5- 8:47
Mile 6- 8:37
Mile 7- 8:11
Mile 8- 9:06
Mile 9- 8:31
Mile 10- 8:45
Mile 11- 9:37
So pretty much the most amazing long run I have ever done, actually, that had the makings of the most amazing half marathon I could have ever had if I had kept going. My goal pace for Gate is approx. 8:41, not that I've checked or anything, and while a couple miles were a little higher, I really can't complain about the performance I put up. I *hope* that another run like this this upcoming weekend will be enough to give me a good race.
After my run I had to hit the road, I had a bridal shower to go to Saturday afternoon.
We celebrated this girl who is getting married in about 6 weeks. It was a St. Patrick's Day themed party, so I did my best to get into the spirit....
We had some snacks, played a game, and then got to the good stuff....
Several times at the shower people kept reminding me that I was next, yikes! It was fun watching her get into all these fun presents, there was a lot of fun stuff in there that I made mental notes to make sure I put on our registry ;)
Sunday, John and I ran errands and decided to embrace the beautiful day and went out for a long bike ride. I gave it a little more effort than I usually do on our leisurely Sunday rides and managed to average about 15.5 mph for our 25 mile bike ride.
On to Monday...A million wedding things that I had to catch up on, phone calls and emails to return and I found myself quickly at the end of the day.
I had a hill workout planned for the afternoon, what I did not plan for was 84* and 20mph winds. It literally felt like my marathon all over again, and I was SO happy I was only doing 5 miles and not 26.2.
Like literally the same run, up and over huge bridges, lots of wind, and sun, it was like de ja vu- crazy!
Since Gate has a HUGE bridge at mile 7.5 I went to do 3 bridge repeats, the first bridge is shorter, maybe 6/10 of a mile from one side to the other, the 2nd is a solid mile, maybe a little more from start to finish, and the last has a .5 mile climb and a .15 mile downhill, so a little funky.
5 Miles- 45:23, 9:05 average pace
Mile 1- 8:40
Mile 2- 9:08
Mile 3- 8:51
Mile 4- 9:34
Mile 5- 9:10
A successful run and no itb pain, thank goodness! I didn't realize how excited I was going to get about this race, but it is such a big deal here in Jacksonville, and it is the one I have really wanted to do since I started running and I haven't, so I am excited about that, plus I have lots of friends running it too!
Is there a big race on your radar that you haven't had the chance to do yet? If so, which one???
Great run! Great blog too! What are you training for?
ReplyDeleteNice long run! You're going to do great in your race!! I always find it SO hard to run in the wind.. That must have been torture!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the 11 miler! You are going to rock the half.
ReplyDeleteAnd look how cute you are at the shower! :)