Well it's Sunday morning and normally I should be planning out my long run. I decided a few days ago to move things up by a day to free up my Sunday.
My total mileage this week was 40k, down 24 from my max a couple of weeks ago. Half of my mileage was the long run yesterday, accounting for half of my weekly mileage.
This time I decided to go to Halifax and run the 2nd half of the Bluenose route, well almost all of it minus 1k. My coach told me to run 20k, thats what I did. haha! The reasoning behind all the runs on the Bluenose route is that a) to build confidence and b) i read somewhere that you run faster on routes that you're familiar with. It was a perfect morning for a run, sunny and about 9C when I started at 8:30 am. Unlike last week, I did not run at MP ( marathon pace) for any of this run. I got my hand slapped for doing it last week and I had no intentions of doing it again. lol
I gotta say that it's so nice to see a lot of runners out in the city and especially Point Pleasant Park on such a nice day. That doesn't happen very often where I normally run. You'd be lucky to see one other runner out on a run. Sad to say but Sackville must be home to a lot of lazy people. Or maybe running is just not their thing.
At around the 7k mark of my run, a lady passed me, saying "hello" as she went by. As I watched her slowly distance herself from me, it was obvious that she was doing the same run as me. I checked the ego at the door and let her go. This isn't a race, right??? Anyhow, at 10k I picked up my pace a little to give me the negative half splits (finishing the 2nd half of a run faster than the 1st) I was aiming for. At around the 13k mark, I noticed I was gaining on someone familiar. lol I caught her just before Serpentine Hill in Point Pleasant Park, saying "hello" as I passed her this time. If you're reading this, I'm sorry you started too fast. lol
The rest of the run went without a hitch, no joint pain, just a little muscle soreness. I got back to the car in 2:01, spent about 10 minutes walking and then stretching, got changed in the car (no small feat in a tiny car) then proceeded to get a cupcake for myself and Stacey at FRED. After that I went home, mowed the lawn and followed it all up with an epsom salts bath.
Other than 3 runs this week totaling 18k, all my long training runs are finished. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this. I'm happy to have made it this far but also a little sad that all the training is ending. I know that with such short runs this week, I'm probably going to go stir crazy. I'm also excited for the Bluenose marathon next week! I remember last year I was scared shitless. Not so this year, I just want this week to get over already so I can get out there and erase my last marathon result (the Valley Harvest 5:22 meltdown). My goal time this year is under 4 hrs which would be 48 minutes faster than my 2011 Bluenose results but if I can finish without any injuries, I'll be happy with that to. My strategy is to start near the back of the group and see how many I can pick off over during the run. No 1 minute walk breaks this year, just walk long enough at the water/gatorade stations so i don't spill the stuff all over me. And definately no walking to talk someone through their "wall" this year, its a race and I have no intentions of holding someone's hand to help them, thats up to them to deal with, just like I had to back in October.
This will be my last entry until after next weeks race. If you're around the town clock in Halifax next Sunday between 11:45am and 12pm. Stop by at the finish line and say "hello". Barring any unforeseen incidents, this will be when I'm crossing the line.
Onward and upward!!
No comments:
Post a Comment