Distance: 17 miles
Time: 2:28:51 minutes
Pace: 8:45/mi
Comments: A long, tough run but a good effort, overall.
I did some stretching before heading out and walked at least half-a-mile to the start point as a warm-up. I knew I wanted a better pace than last week but not so much it made the run impossible.
The weather, overcast and a touch chilly to start out, was perfect for this run. I just concentrated on the pace and keeping things under control. Knowing the route helped a great deal, I must admit.
Overall I felt good almost the whole way. Early on I had some feelings of wanting to give in, but that seems to have been laziness rather than any specific problem.
So now it is a pull-back week and, after that, preparing for the 10K race in Phoenix. Then I have a half-marathon a few weeks later. So this run is the longest distance I will run for at least a month.
Conditions
Hour: 8:30 a.m.
Surface: concrete/asphalt/dirt
Weather: overcast
Temperature: 60 to 70 degrees
Humidity: 40 to 28 percent
Wind: 4 mph
Location: Chandler/Tempe, Arizona
Sin Musica
Injury update: Nothing major throughout the run. Points of tightness that have become somewhat commonplace but little else.
I did have a recurrence of the bleeding on the tip of my left middle toe. There was a fair amount of blood in the sock but there was no discomfort or pain at all during the run. Weirder, I can't exactly figure out where the cut is. Right now it's a nuisance but not much else but I'd like to get it taken care of on the short week lest it become a real problem.
I also treated myself to another ice bath after the run and it was as wonderful as I recalled. I gave it 20 minutes today which broke down to one minute of searing agony, five minutes of extreme discomfort and the rest comprised of endurable but less than enjoyable waiting. I did feel like a bit of the edge was gone from the soreness afterward but I'm still not convinced of its effacity. But if it proves effective in preventing injury during training, I will consider the pain of the thing worth it.