Runner WIth a Reason

Saturday, August 7, 2010

The Long Haul

So I woke up about an hour and fifteen minutes later than I wanted, but I decided to get out there and get things moving. Checked the weather online only to see that the temp was 59 degrees, much to my surprise at 7:15 am! After stretching and filling the camel back I headed outside to get going.

Started out a little slow, but picked up the pace gradually. The first two miles were about 10:20 & 10:05, but I settled into a rhythm around mile three and maintained a nice 9:35 until somewhere around mile 7. From there it was mostly uphill and the pace slowed severely. By the time I reached the crest of the second big hill I was running at a 10:53 pace. Since the course home was flat with a few declines I was able to pick things back up and finished the last five miles. All told I put in 16.07 miles in 2 hours, 40 minutes, 45 seconds which translates to a 9:57/mile average.

I feel really good considering this was the longest I have ever run at once. However, as I was about 200 yards away from the house I came to realize that come October 10th I will still have an additional 10.2 miles left! For now, I am pleased with today’s run. No long run next weekend due to the Bethel 10k, which I am hoping to beat last year’s time of 58:30 and would like to post a time below 55 minutes. The following weekend will be another scheduled 15 miles, but I may increase that to 17 or 18 based on how I’m feeling. Until then, keep running and sharing my experiences with family & friends. And don’t forget, I am running the Chicago Marathon to raise awareness for and funds for autism research. You can donate through OAR, and all proceeds go towards autism research. Thanks for stopping by!

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