10.5 miles

I've resigned myself to just finishing the half marathon in a few weeks. I'd hoped for about a 2:15 finish, but after today's long run, I'll just settle to finish. It's been a busy few months and I just haven't put in the time necessary to do well. That said, I'm okay with it. :)

Today I did a 10.5 miler, much to my own surprise. I'd mapped out a run at 10.3, but somehow got turned around a bit, so I rerouted on my own. I thought I might have only done about 9-9.5, but when I remapped the route I actually took, I was surprised to see 10.5. Yay! Here's what it looks like.
http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/tx/highland-village/588125830713335446

Starting temperature - 68. Breezy south wind. Above average humidity. New shoes (1/2 size larger because of rubbing with the old ones).

I always hate the first mile or so of my long runs. It takes a while for stuff to stretch out and settlle into a good pattern. But by mile 2-3, it feels great. This is a new route I've been wanting to do to really change up the scenery. It's perfect for at least the first 5 miles or so. There are rolling hills through the Highland Village area, miles 3 through 6. Some of these hills kick my butt. I store this info so that I use routes through here in training for the half IM next year. Kansas is hilly.

For the most part, I feel pretty good through mile 5. I take a couple of Clif Blox at the 1/2 hour point and they kick in about 10 minutes later, thankfully. The wheels started coming off around 5.5 miles. I was getting tired from the hills and running straight into the wind. There was construction, so no sidewalk, but luckily, a good portion of the road was closed and hard-packed dirt. I stayed there. Downed a vanilla Gu at the 1 hour mark. I thought I'd missed a turn so I thought my route was cut about a mile short at this point. Dangit.

Miles 5.5 to 6.5 were the busiest for traffic around the mall and because of a narrow, busy road with no shoulder. I'm going to have to work around that area again, unless I do it early in the morning. I walked a lot through this time, partly due to the traffic, partly just being exhausted. My Gatorade was nearly out and I couldn't find anything open to just refill with water. Ugh.

When I hit the light at Morris/Valley Ridge, I considered going straight home, but then turned right to adjust the course a bit to make up what I thought were lost miles. At this point, I figured I'd finish at about 9 miles. I forced myself to pass up another shortcut and continued on to College Rd which would give me 2 options on mileage and getting home.

At about mile 9 (which I thought was less at this point) I started to feel a little light headed, probably from the humidity, climbing temps, and not enough water. I decided to cut the run a bit and turn onto Kirkpatrick to come home, rather than go all the way to Garden Ridge. It was a good decision as it turns out. Had I continued on like I thought about doing, it would've added about another mile to the route. I was hot and light headed. It was good to be almost home.

Finally I turned onto my street and made it home. I was disappointed with the time (right at 2 hours) for 10.5 miles. I did walk several times for about a minute at a time. I think the gel and blox were done at the right times, but I wish I'd had more water/gatorade. I kept thinking I needed to just fill up with someone's hose. Next time I probably will.

Next week is 11+, then "taper" for the race. Whew! I can't wait to call the Lufkins to see how theirs went.

We Will, We Will Rock You!

What a great run today!

I'm in the 3rd week of training for the Rock-n-Roll Half in Las Vegas in December. Today was my first five miler in a long, long time. I remember when five was an easy run; now it was my "long" run for the week.

I was a tad worried this week wouldn't be as good. I hadn't gotten in any of my regular training runs for this week since I was a little distracted finding out I got a new job (starting soon). My long run from last week was delayed until Monday, so I figured I was way behind.

I plotted out a course on www.mapmyrun.com to make sure what I was planning to do was about 5 miles. Thankfully, it turns out it's 5.25! I'll take it! I grabbed my new iPod stacked with a running playlist and headed out the door.

I've done this route several times before, but always counterclockwise and usually in the dark, early morning hours. I decided to run it the other way to shake things up. About 1/4 mile into it, I got a sharp side stitch and walked for a minute or so before going again. I decided that I'd make it to Morris Blvd before taking a walk break, roughly 2 miles or so away.

Mist and drizzle mixed with sweat as I warmed up. I made it to Morris for the turn and still felt great so I spotted a traffic light and aimed for it, thinking I'd take a quick break then. And after passing that mark without walking, I aimed for the Valley Ridge turn. I swear this route is uphill the whole way. I was going at a nice even pace; the temps were good; and stil felt like I could run forever.

I continued without stopping, then looked up to see the final turn to the house just up ahead. Holy cow, where did the miles go and how the heck did it feel so good still? As I rounded the corner and neared the house, Queen came on with We Are the Champions and I rocked it to the house! What an awesome run.

Week 1 - 79 days to go

To some of you, this may sound silly, but today I ran 3 miles. Granted it was still on the treadmill but the milage is done. No walking. It's a small accomplisment, but for me right now, it's huge! I'm excited.

This week, I officially started my half marathon training for the Las Vegas Rock-n-Roll Half in December which I will be running with my fabulous friends, Greg and Deeann. It's just what I needed to keep me going since I deferred my Toyota Triathlon entry until next year.

I did about 2 minutes of walking, then kicked the belt up to about 5.8 for the first 1/2 mile. After that, I'd increase by .1 each 1/4 mile up to 1.5 miles. Then I upped the speed by .1 every 1/2 mile so I ended the last 1/2 mile at a 6.3 (9:21-ish pace). I like these workouts as it leaves the speed for the end. I think I'll start doing more speedwork on the treadmill in a few weeks, but don't want to risk more damage for now.

This weekend, I need to get in 4 miles. I don't think it will be a problem. Yay!