Long Run

Distance: 20 miles
Time: 3:52:16
Pace: 11:37 min/mi

Comments: I knew I wanted to get a 20 miler in at some point this New Year's weekend but I was undecided on the exact day. I was doubtful about my readiness today but with ideal temps and the possibility of rain over the next two day forced my hand.

I knew it was going to be rough and so it was. I started extraordinarily slow and I focused on keeping my pace down the whole way. A lot of this run was mental and it was a battle the whole way.

The last five miles were unpleasant to the extreme. No need to regulate the pace at that point; I took whatever I could get. The fatigue was relentless and every step of the last mile or so was its own little death. Ironically, since walking would be as agonizing as running, I really had no reason to stop.

Got it done with a reasonable average pace. Hopefully this is a building block for better things to come.

Training Run

Distance: 6 miles
Time: 56:03
Pace: 9:01 min/mi

Comments: The goal this week is the routine. I got a strong night of sleep and felt pretty good when I woke up. I got out the door and eased right into this one without a lot of hesitancy and apprehension.

Not surprisingly, the run went rather well after that. I started at a nice pace to warm up and slipped into a very good rhythm after that. I let my mind wander a bit more than I should but never needed distraction to handle fatigue.

It's very clear the strength is still there despite the inconsistent schedule recently but I can't afford to let the conditioning slip.

Training Run

Distance: 4 miles
Time: 38:04
Pace: 9:31 min/mi

Comments: The goal this week is to get fully back into the routine. I know what I want to get as a long run next weekend but that's not the focus. Three runs during the week is the priority.

This one started a little slow but I warmed up rather well and was doing a nice clip toward the end. The temperatures have been unseasonably warm and humid this week so I prepared for it to be a slog.

It turns out the cold front came through while I was out there so it was actually a few degrees cooler on the second half of the effort. Not sure if it helped but it kept things from sucking so bad.