Salvaging

My run today went really well! I was surprised.
I didn't get much more than 5 hrs of sleep last night after my evening shift. I used to think it was the coffee at work that was keeping me awake, but more and more I think it's the sheer exhilaration of finishing the shift. Not that the work is horrifically bad, especially since I usually get into a good rhythm/autopilot...but finishing is sweet, though!

Anyway, I woke up, dragged myself to another job, and then home. Studied for a few hours, and then had a nap, and then it was time. It was drizzly...it was feeling pretty good. I wasn't feeling good, though, but not especially bad, either.

The dog looked at me with such longing that I had to take him for the first bit. The run, which I'd missed yesterday, was about 28 K...8 k easy, then 10K just below marathon pace, and then 10K at marathon pace. So I figured I'd run around with the dog for about 4 miles, toss him into the house, head over to the Canal, and then cruise for the remainder.

The dog jog was ok, but the clouds parted after a couple of miles and the sun came out and it was so sickly damp, I broke out in an ineffective sweat within minutes and it was dropping off me, even though we were going pretty easy, about 9:30/mile--4.12 miles in about 39 minutes. I got pretty mad about the sun. What lousy timing. I really needed that nap, though.

Fortunately, it clouded up again. Dropped the dog off, choked down a banana and chugged some liquid, and I was off. My first 1.22 miles were slow, @ 9:40-50...I wasn't feeling that good. I had stomach cramps. I'd eaten too quickly, probably. But, hey, this would make the run even better preparation for race day, during which something's bound to go wrong too.

So, dutifully, I picked up the pace.

8:50
8:45
8:40
8:37
8:26
8:17
8:13
8:06
8:11
8:11
8:07
7:52
.46 mile @ 7:51. Run total was about 19.09 miles with the 5ish miles before and the cool down.

The first two miles were sort of sluggish, but I figured I'd take it easy and see what I could do, and I gradually picked it up when I felt better. The only hard point was about after 10 miles or so...I had something tighten up in my right hip flexor, but I tried altering a few things and eventually it loosened up and went away. I've had this problem before--it's a remnant of an old injury, not the injury itself but a compensation one--but it's getting less and less prominent. I guess I should revv up resistance exercises. And I definitely need to stretch, do yoga, and take the stick to my legs more often. I've been getting sloppy with that stuff, and I'm beginning to feel it.

Anyway, I was surprised at how good the run felt. I wasn't pushing it. Near the end, I was starting to slow down at the effort I was going at, if that makes sense, but I tried to hang in there without pushing it too much more. True, the temps were a bit lower than they have been, about 16C as opposed to 20+, and that helped.

At any rate, I'm really glad I got this run out of the way. I was nervous about it. And it was a huge boost to feel how easy marathon pace is, and how I have room to start off more slowly, if need be. I was going faster than MP on average, actually, but it was fine. What was neat too was to see my time for a 1/2 marathon at 1:51:XX...this was including those 1.2ish miles to get to the Canal. This is a few minutes off my 1/2 PB, but I wasn't trying for a 1/2 PB...just trying to feel comfortable at marathon pace. At the same time, though, it made the possibility of going sub 8:00/mile at the Army 1/2 more tangible. That has been my 1/2 goal for about a year, and I haven't managed it yet.

Oh, yes, when I had one more mile to go, I passed a guy and he said I was fast. That was nice. I yelled over my shoulder "I have one more mile to go." He asked out how many, so I told him, and he said "You rock." That was a good boost and made the rest of the run go by pretty quickly.

Interestingly enough, having the banana really helped. I didn't eat or drink anything during the run except for a few mouthfuls at a water fountain. I didn't want to stop or carry anything. Admittedly, I would have brought a gel or two, except that I have run out. And, yet, I felt perfectly fine. I might try bringing a banana to my next long run.