Fitness Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 36:13
Pace: 9:02 min/mile

Comments: So I'm a wee bit excited this afternoon due to the national championship game. I got off work and right out the door on this run before the anxiety could get it's hooks too deep. It helped a little.

I thought I would be a bit more fatigued and sore after yesterday's long run but I was incredibly dialed in for this effort. Started strong, hit a solid and consistent pace for the middle two and upped it a bit for the end.

I've planned an off day tomorrow but if I continue to feel this good I might shift that to Wednesday. As always, I want to avoid injury due to pushing too hard too soon.

Long Run

Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1:13:31
Pace: 9:11 min/mi

Comments: So I got all impulsive last night and signed up for the Cowtown Marathon on February 28. That's a short seven weeks to get up to 13 miles. I've felt pretty strong the last two weeks so I figured I had better give myself a little test today.

The plan was six miles but eight if I felt I could manage it. It started off cold and unpleasant. I waited until after noon when temps got out of the 30s but it was still damn brisk getting started. This played into my plans on the second half of the run.

After the very un-fun first two miles I started warming up and getting into the rhythm of the run. At the 3.5 mile point I felt eight miles was realistic and began concentrating on that goal. I honestly felt pretty good the whole way but the last mile or so was certainly a challenge to my conditioning.

Still the splits -- except for the first mile -- stayed very much around the nine-minute mark; no more than ten seconds either way. Which is the most positive sign for my hopes at actually doing this race thus far.