Guess my 20 miler time: I ran 6.29 miles in the first hour + highest mileage week in a year.

This was not a set up for a good long run today:

  • I had a mid-back spasm in the first mile of my 5-miler yesterday morning that was still bothering me this morning. [Managed to fight for a 9'22" pace yesterday]
  • The first hour of the run didn’t break 9:30 pace, the second hour was still about 9:12 pace.
  • It poured rain for at least the hour of my run this morning, making my shoes incredibly heavy until the water mostly emptied after about 12 miles.
  • I was wrapping up my highest mileage week in a year–75 miles–after 70 miles last week.
  • I was wrapping up my highest mileage month ever [312 miles].
  • I had two gels for a 20-miler [I usually use at least 3, but I take 5]
  • My last two 20-milers together averaged well over 10 minutes per mile, but my target was sub-9 [under 3 hours for 20].

The results were considerably better than expected.  I stopped for a potty break before mile 10, but also had to fight through running on the side of Hurstbourne Parkway that didn’t have a sidewalk.  No, I didn’t run on the road; I ran in the un-mowed uneven weeds at were at times knee-high.

My first 6 miles were okay, but slower than I expected, at a 9:34 pace.

My second 6 miles were more respectable, at a 9:15 pace.

It was at the 2 hour mark that I decided:  I only had 7.2 miles to go, and 8:20 [7.2 mph] is a comfortable “cruising” pace for me. Therefore, I should be able to finish in 3 hours.  At that point, my mental will recovered from 4 months of not caring and leaving my legs with no support.  Not only did I hit three hours, but I also had sub-8 splits a couple of times in the last hour.

Negative 6-mile splits

Enhanced by Zemanta
Blog Traffic Exchange Related Posts
  • Progressive Long Run (16 miles) while watching the game #twit2fit #running One of the things that's great about football season is that you can easily do a long run on the treadmill while watching the game.  I did mine today at home on my Sole F80 at a 1% incline (watching the UofL-UK game). I've been doing my long runs at......
  • At a medium pace... 5.7 miles in 47:32 (8:22 pace) #twit2fit #running After weeks and weeks of building mileage and mostly running slowly, I'm ready to start testing the waters a little bit on what my legs actually have in them. If my mileage stays steady, it looks like my legs currently have roughly a comfortable 8:30 pace in them.  After a......
  • I get more miles in before sun up than most people get all week #running #twit2fit I ran 12 miles (just below 10-minute pace), mostly in the dark, on a clear morning in Fern Creek this morning.  When away from main roads, I could clearly see more stars in the sky than I ever did growing up in my old neighborhood.  The sun came up by......
  • Streak, Day 5: 2.81 miles in 27'01" #twit2fit Yesterday was a "tempo" day--a 1 mile tempo.  Maybe that's an interval.  Needless to say, I thought I could run a 7 minute mile, but I lost the pace at about 4/10 of a mile and struggled to keep a 7'20" mile. Coming off of that effort with a little......
  • 2 days x 2 runs x 6 miles. Daily doubles #running #twit2fit Monday morning/lunch: 6.27 Miles in 1:00:00 6.01 Miles in 54:35 Tuesday morning/lunch: 6 Miles in 55:30 6.02 Miles in 57:33 I finished my second consecutive day of 6 mile double runs.  I'm aiming for 70 miles this week, and I'd prefer to do 5x10-mile days and 1 20-mile day, but......
  • My planned running schedule for this week - 75 miles #running With my schedule this week, it looks like the following schedule will be how my attempt at 75 miles will happen: Monday: 7 miles AM - Recovery (9'30" pace or slower) Actual workout:  nice and easy.  Legs are hard to wake up. 6 miles PM - Easy (natural, full stride,......
Blog Traffic Exchange Blog Traffic Exchange
This entry was posted in workout commentary and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.