Saturday Casey and I tackled the 10 mile distance for the second time, and....drumroll... succeeded! Last weekend we tried for 10, but barely got through 8 due to me apparently coming down with a cold. We did the same route, and wow what a difference it was traversing the same paths and feeling great instead of like I could fall over and fall asleep.
It always takes me a while to get warmed up and settled in to a rhythm with my breathing and pace. I coughed and coughed for the first few miles. I was a little nervous that my chest was going to tighten up like it did Tuesday at track, and that 10 wasn't going to be possible again. But I wasn't tired, so as long as I could manage that, I would be fine. I was very much determined to get the 10 in, even if I had to suffer through it. I didn't want to hold Casey back again.
Eventually my coughing subsided and breathing was normal. And our pace was a little over 10. I was pretty shocked at that. I felt great! I still coughed every now and then, and my head would pound a bit. But it was very manageable, and I had so much energy otherwise.
We sucked down our gels around 6 miles. For the last almost 4 miles home, I was pretty much on a high. I felt super-strong and quick and light. The slight hills we went over still made my lungs work hard and I slowed down, but I would recovery pretty quickly.
For the last about .3 miles, we picked up the pace and pushed down Townsley. I am shocked I had that in me.
The Aftermath.
My knees ache. They ache as they always ache after a long run though; it's nothing new or concerning. Casey seems to have some pretty bad knee pain and has been icing. I hope the icing helps. We've talked about the schedule and how we can do another cut-back weekend. From my experience and all of the training plans I've looked up to develop what we're following, we are certainly in good shape right now. We've covered 8 miles 3 times. And now we've run 10 very well and both felt strong during it, which is awesome. As long as we run 12 miles two weeks before the race, we are very properly trained!
My Own Personal Results.
I suppose most, if not all, of this entry is from my own personal perspective. But, I have to point something out. The 10 miles ran Saturday is the fastest 10 miles I've ever ran. I checked my Log Your Run entries from last year around the marathon training dates. I was never even close to that pace for my long slow distance runs. Closest is 10:30 for 8 miles. But my 10 miler and everything else over 6 miles was in the 11:00 - 11:45 range. And, as I remember, those runs at that pace were very rough. This 10 miles at 10:17 pace average felt great. That means a few things. One is that all this belly aching I've been doing about my slowness is dumb. I get so caught up with comparing myself to one moment or one person that I miss the big picture and the fact that I am getting stronger. A second thing this means is I'm thinking this is going to be the best half marathon race I've ever had - though I can't really say any of them have been good. All four have had issues: Old shoes = debilitating knee pain, sickness, way too fat to run a half marathon on top of being sick, and horrifically undertrained. That is my half marathon record. So! This is shaping up to be a great experience! And one final thing it means is I know I am benefiting from training with someone. I've always done the majority of my running solo, which is fine. But it lacks a lot also. The part Casey is playing in the training is crucial and invaluable. I'm pushed, motivated, distracted, inspired and strengthened. Thanks, Casey!
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