Day 6 – this is the day for that once a week long run. While it was a balmy 11 degrees outside with spots of black ice, it camaraderie among the Saturday morning crew more than makes up for it! We are a group of a dozen or so with the common purpose and goal of enjoying running. We have different paces, distances, methods but at the end of the day (run), its all about sharing the self satisfaction among us. Sometimes we head out to the local joint for breakfast but today was just too cold for that.
For me, the long run is about pacing myself. The object is to maintain the same speed throughout the entire run; to save as much as possible for the end. As boringly slow as it seems, it does work! Here were my splits…
|
Split
|
Time
|
Distance
|
Avg Pace
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | 1:53:00.5 | 12.01 | 9:25 |
| 1 | 9:30.7 | 1.00 | 9:31 |
| 2 | 9:07.8 | 1.00 | 9:08 |
| 3 | 9:43.4 | 1.00 | 9:43 |
| 4 | 9:38.7 | 1.00 | 9:39 |
| 5 | 9:16.5 | 1.00 | 9:16 |
| 6 | 9:31.3 | 1.00 | 9:31 |
| 7 | 9:27.8 | 1.00 | 9:28 |
| 8 | 9:26.5 | 1.00 | 9:26 |
| 9 | 9:24.6 | 1.00 | 9:24 |
| 10 | 9:25.5 | 1.00 | 9:25 |
| 11 | 9:25.8 | 1.00 | 9:26 |
| 12 | 8:58.1 | 1.00 | 8:58 |
| 13 | :03.9 | 0.01 | 9:01 |
As you can see for mile 12, I was able to “sprint” that last mile. And I didn’t even feel winded at the end of it. The other purpose of the long run is to be able to get my body to conserve energy and practice hydration. No, I didn’t stop at someone’s house and guggle from the garden hose. I had what is called a fuel belt – four small bottles on a waistband filled with HEED. Every mile, I took a couple of sips. However, today was more of a challenge. It was so cold it froze into slush.
As an added bonus, I actually felt so good I headed to the new YMCA, did some weight lifting, abs and stretching, swam 30 laps in the pool and played hoops with Mike. The day finally ended with an evening among a 100 or so other runners at the Checkers Holiday party, at the Hotel Lafayette.
Day 7….Today! A totally completely rest day. A good time to tackle the honey-to-do list of finishing the ceiling since last June and getting a cabinet ready for painting.
Sentiment of the day – this past Friday would have been Steve Prefontaine’s 62nd birthday. To honor him…“You have to wonder at times what you’re doing out there. Over the years, I’ve given myself a thousand reasons to keep running, but it always comes back to where it started. It comes down to self-satisfaction and a sense of achievement.”