Ten Miles

Another week of training in the books, and this one was the best of the year so far. My two weekday runs went well: each at 45 minutes and over 5 miles (5.1 and 5.2 respectively). I decided against doing the Elk Grove Run for Hunger 10K based on the high temperatures we had at the end of the week. May have been the wrong move as it was coolish when I got up Saturday morning.

Things were still cool when I got going after walking the dogs. Although my original plan for the day was to run 85 minutes, I decided that if I felt good enough that I'd go for 90. With that in mind, I added an extra loop around the 2.5 mile mark of the run which would mean that I'd hit the long climb later in the run (and that I'd have a longer climb). I got off to a good start, and I completed each of the first five miles in under 9 minutes (my best mile was actually the third at 8:50). I slowed a bit as the climb wore on me, but I don't think any of my miles were over 9:30 (and I'm not sure any went over 9:20). I ended with a faster pace than last week's 80 minute run (9:05 this week compared to 9:15), and I completed ten miles in 90 minutes and 45 seconds. As such, I completed over one and a third miles more than last week.

It's good to have completed a ten mile run already. I was looking at the schedule for the Urban Cow Half Marathon, and if I wanted to work up to a 14 mile run two weeks prior to the race, I'd need to hit 10 miles by July 25. Now that I've hit that mark four weeks early, I have more confidence that I'll be in half marathon shape in time.

80 Minutes

After my disappointing breakdown last weekend, I knew I needed to repeat my distances from last week and hopefully make it through the long run on Saturday. The weekday runs were relatively "easy": for both I completed 4.5 miles in the 40 minute run. I did then on my regular schedule of Monday and Wednesday, so I went into my Saturday run with my normal rest.

For Saturday, I started around 9:30 as normal. It was warm, but I think it was a bit cooler than last Saturday. I felt good as I was going, and there was no mental message of stopping. I felt pretty good after making it through the bulk of the hills and felt myself recharging during a slight downslope. In the end, I completed my 80 minutes of running and covered 8.65 miles for an average pace of roughly 9:15 per mile. I'd like to get that average pace down to 9 minutes per mile, but that's going to take time. I think this pace (especially considering the hills) is respectable.

I'll bump up my weekday runs to either 43 or 45 minutes for this coming week and will target 85 minutes for the weekend run (unless I decide to run the Elk Grove Run for Hunger. I'm still undecided on that most likely my decision will come down to the forecasted weather for Saturday.

Mental Breakdown

A couple more weeks of training are in the books. I set a new long for the year last weekend covering 7.8 miles in 70 minutes. I am progressing nicely towards getting the distance I need to be able to work up to half marathon training. I only did one training run in that previous week (35 minutes) due to socializing on my run day.

This past week, Monday was quite a hot day (and it didn't really cool down), so I deferred my run from Monday to Tuesday. I had planned to do 38 minutes, but I picked my course incorrectly, so rather than having a longer than desired walk home, I ran for 40 minutes instead of 38. I decided to also push my Wednesday run to Thursday, and on Thursday I decided to again do the 40 minutes. I was a bit concerned about cutting a day of rest before my long Saturday run, but I figured I'd be ok.

Saturday was another hot day, and my 9:30 start time did not do me any favors. A few miles in, I started to mentally bail on the run, but I was able to keep myself going. There's a good deal of climbing on my weekend long run, and unfortunately, most of it is not shaded, so I was getting the full impact of the sun beating down on me. I was able to make it through most of the hard climbing, but once I got through my "recovery" mile of downhill, I saw that my pace was still getting slower, and I figured there was little reason to continue to push through. So the run that I had hoped would be 80 minutes and almost 9 miles (more realistically 8.5 with the heat) was stopped short at 62 minutes.

I hate giving up mentally since it feels like (and is) a failure, but I don't think pressing forward really would have done me much good. Walking the mile and a half home wasn't any fun either.

This week I hope to complete what I set out to do last week. I'll keep the 40 minute weekday runs and go for 80 on Saturday. Here's hoping it won't be as hot.