NYC Marathon Training Week #14: Tuesday LR

Tuesday LR

I ran with my buddy again at 6am. I had a lot of reasons to cancel this run this morning, but I didn’t.  It rained last night. It was darker and colder than usual. I wanted to stay warm under my toasty blanket. I was up four times last night looking to see whether it was time to get up yet. When finally I got to sleep peacefully, my phone alarm went off at 5 am. Brutal reality set in, it was time to run. Maybe it will rain and maybe my friend wouldn’t like to run in it.  That would be my out. I could run at lunch.  Oh no, I couldn't—Heidi is taking me to lunch. It’s my birthday! My 45th! Maybe after work? Oh no, Tuesday evenings are devoted for Little Bit’s soccer. Arghh! I have to run, right now, otherwise I would lose my window of opportunity. After all, this is my birthday run.  So I decided to greet October 4th with a bang!

Our pace for the whole run turned out to be 9:28 min/mile.  This has been our normal Tuesday pace. However in last half, we dropped the pace to 9:09—that’s my marathon pace!  That’s another pleasant surprise. I pushed pace aside since I was anticipating a slower time especially after running the trail run this weekend at MDO.  I was not sure whether I’ve fully recovered from the long run yet. My lower legs particularly the Achilles and the tendons by my right ankle are still sore. However numbers today tell a different story.  It’s always good to start out slower and pick it up at the end but without realizing it, I’ve dialed into my pace.  With the negative split, the first half was 9:46 min/mile and the second at 9:09 min/mile. We shaved off 37 seconds per mile in the last 3 miles where it was all uphill. How cool is that?  I’d like to think that after 14 weeks of training, maybe, just maybe I’m beginning to see the fruits of my labor.

I mentioned this newfound realization that I am feeling stronger to Hubs and he said he better not hear any such story like a side-stitch after I come home from NY.  Yes, him and me both!

Happy Running!