Well, I know I said once I did a 16 miler I would be signing myself up for that marathon...2.3 more miles tonight, and I would have been there. That said, I'm guessing it's probably not that smart to run 10.9 miles on Sunday (longest run in ~a month and a half) and then run 13.7 miles on Friday. I just don't really know if that's a good idea...but I did it, it was an accident, and I feel pretty badass.
I ran the first 7.5 miles with two of my runner girls from the WTC, which was just awesome - the miles absolutely flew by, and running together kept us at a reasonable pace (ie, NOT SUB 8 when we are running double digit miles!) After a quick bathroom stop (my stomach was not happy with me in the slightest...did that have something to do with going on a brewery tour this afternoon? Maybe...but anyway...) I kept going with Claire, who was doing 10 for the day. I eventually split off with her at the Capitol, and of course once I was running alone was when things started to get crappy. The last 3 miles or so were just a giant festival of suck (and at the time, I was still thinking I was only running 12 miles...which made me even more depressed as I kept looking at my watch). I just wanted to be done - dear God, I had been running for almost 2 hours, with stomach problems, and I was at the point where my legs were starting to give out on me too. And that was the point where I was just like OK...shut off your mind, and run. So I stopped paying attention to things, stopped really thinking, and just was like...keep going. (Although I did have to laugh when a couple in their 50s or so came running along and the man was like "Hey look! Another person as crazy as us!") Somehow "I Would Walk 500 Miles" got stuck in my head...but mostly just the obnoxious BA DA DA DA! part...I guess the weird song stuck in head thing hasn't happened to me for awhile since I've been running with my iPod, but my mind likes to grab on to random fragments of songs and just put them on repeat...kind of annoying, but it was enough of a distraction to be helpful tonight.
I finally made it home and mapped out the run....my idea of 12 miles had actually ended up being 13.7, oops!! This is actually my second longest run ever (the longest being 14.1) so I'm pretty impressed. Pace ended up being 8:17, which is faster than marathon goal pace...is that a good thing, or no? Or should my marathon goal pace be faster? I really have no idea how to approach this. If I run it (and let's face it...I obviously want to...) I think obviously as a first-timer my goal just has to be to finish, but realistically I'd say I would be satisfied if I broke 4:00, happy if I broke 3:50, but my real goal would be to break 3:40:59 and thus, qualify for Boston. Since I'm going to be living there, that just makes sense, right? I don't even know.
Wow, my life is thrilling. I feel like I've been posting a lot, and about every run I do...clearly, I'm kinda boring. :P So some insight into the rest of my day today: I woke up at 5:15, was at work by 6, played with a whole bunch of golden doodles and bloodhounds and labs and mutts all day, and was head butted by a vizsla named Maverick leaving a lovely bruise on my shin. Then I ended up going to the Capital Brewery tour with the BF and his sister, who just turned 21. Again, fabulous long run prep, am I right? The tour there is really fun, only $3 for a really interesting tour of the place and 4 samples of different beers, plus you get to keep the cute 3 oz mini mug. It was extra fun because 3/4 beers we tried I had never had before, so that was exciting. Tomorrow the BF and I are planning on going to the farmer's market, and hopefully going kayaking on the lake if the weather is decent...and then Sunday is the Capitol Mile, which I'm still debating running in. I'm definitely not in mile shape, so I'm not sure if it's worth the money, but then again it does support my club, which has done so much for me in the past 4 years, so it might be. Either way, I'll be volunteering.
I'm starting to actually realize that in 3 weeks I'm moving out of this crazy, fabulous town I've been living in for the past 4 years and on to new adventures...I'm a little bit sad/scared but excited/happy all in one! I'm sure there will be a post coming in the future about the gloriousness that is Madison...but in the meantime, I'm all signed up for the Madison Mini Marathon 1/2 marathon...so I'll at least have one last hurrah on August 29! :)
2 comments:
That pace is awesome! You could def. run under 4 hours with that time. Congrats on your longest run yet!!!!
i think you can handle a sub-4 too, with maybe just a touch more endurance work. i know people vary, but i ran a 4:03 with my longest run being 14 miles... (yeah i trained REAL well!) lol. so, i think you could def do it.
in my opinion, you don't need to be so concerned about long runs being at marathon pace or better. you can make them a workout with a few miles easy, a few miles at goal mp (or threshold, or half/10k/etc-pace), and a few miles easy to cool down. you should also do some of the long runs strictly-easy -- goal mp + 1:00 (or more). while they seem counterproductive, they are forcing you to get in time on your feet - increasing your endurance in general but also to get your body more used to being out there longer. chances are you won't ever go on a 3hr40min training run. you throw in another speed day or two mid-week to work on the need for speed and keep the rest of the runs easy. that's just my basic formula though... i know it's not "the" rule.
Post a Comment