Day 10 of 88

9 miles.

My legs are sore, very sore. I don't ever remember my hamstrings hurting like they have been since mile 7 of the run. The run went great, many of my miles clocked at just over 8 minute miles. Mile 6 for instance was 8:05. I have learned an important lesson and built confidence.

The lesson learned is that I should not run 8 minute miles on such a long run (at least not yet.) I've read that a runner should go 1 or 2 minutes above their intended pace on the long day. I never heeded the advice because I never had a problem before. Running faster burns your legs in a way that running a 9 minute pace never did.

Overall, my confidence is up because I was knocking off fast miles without too much trouble. This is only the beginning of the third week of training and I believe may have a chance to meet my goal.

One funny thing happened while running. In the summer I would run and pass just about every person on the trail. Now that the weather as turned cold, just about every runner passes me. Not just passes -- they fly by in large groups and disappear within minutes. It's crazy because I'm trying to run fast!

I'm going to begin adjusting my times to account for the extra distance in my first and last miles. In addition, I'd like to point out that my times are calculated point to point. This means that I'm not stopping the clock to drink, for stop lights, etc.

Total Time: 1:17:48
Average: 8:38

Adjusted Time: 1:13:48
Adjusted Avg: 8:12

posted by jim @ 7:49 AM Permanent Link |