What a week! We ran an pseudo-half marathon last weekend. Pseudo only because it was not an official race, it was still a 13.1 mile run. The team members were to run at or close to their race pace in order for them and the coaches to judge progress in training.Thursday we had quite a rainstorm, over 2" in about 3 hours. I ran to the track for speed work and back home for a total of 8 miles. My average pace was 8:45 per mile! I now really love to run in the rain. After that run I was personally brimming with confidence! My assignment was to run a 10:00 minute pace as one of the "markers" for the training team. Heck 8 at 8:45 on Thursday, 13.1 at 10:00 on a flat trail on Saturday should be no sweat.
At 6:30 sharp off we went. It took a couple of miles to get my pace in the groove. It was hot. It was HUMID (over 90%). The second half became a struggle, my sports drink wasn't helping, my GU (nutritional) didn't seem to do a thing. I decided to fluctuate my pace, run about 10:30 for a quarter mile to get some rest, then pick up to 9:30 for a quarter to average out the 10 min pace. The final 4 miles were some of the toughest I have done since the heat of Chicago in 2007. Throughout those last miles I forced myself to focus: "hips forward, lean into the run, heel lift, drive the knee through......" Thanks Brandi for all those hours we spent training and breaking down the stride into its components!!!!
This IS a mental sport, Saturday was wonderful training. While I can't say it was enjoyable I am glad that I was able to meet the mental challenge. It felt so good when it was over! By the was my time was 1 hour 11 minutes, that is 131 minutes which divided by 13.1 is EXACTLY 10:00 per mile :))).
Now for some fun: Welcome to my new theme song: Enjoy and realize that someday all too soon you will understand.
Click below to view video:
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