The weather was finally pleasant for today's run. Sure, there was still a cold wind in one direction. It wasn't nearly as bad as it has been though. The temperature when I started was 40 degrees. I need more of those days.
I was wearing a long sleeve top, but just shorts on the bottom. I kept the gloves and headband at home. That was nice. I actually would've liked to have ran in a short sleeve shirt and compression sleeves, but I didn't expect it to be this warm, so I didn't bring either to my parents house.
I wanted to run to Lafayette College and back, but that was too far to go without water. I opted instead to run to the high school again and add on after that. Because of the warmth, I started out easy, but posted a speedy first two miles (around 7:45 each).
My legs weren't dead, but didn't feel that great either. I ate a sandwich about an hour before the run and that didn't help me out. I ended up burping a few times because of it. I managed to get up the hill by Gracedale with relative ease.
Getting into town and to the school wasn't too difficult either. I ran to the new middle school (behind the high school), to see if the track was plowed. It wasn't. This did add an extra half mile to my route.
My IT band acted up a little on the hills around the school as well as in town. I think running on the hard uneven concrete sidewalks was bothering me. The crown of roads doesn't help when it comes to that aspect either. About 7 or 8 miles in and it was already fairly sore. The wind was again brutal as I ran downhill past Gracedale again.
I hadn't even hit the halfway point and I was already feeling it. I knew I'd finish, but wondered how. This often seems to be a theme. I really struggle in the middle portion of these long runs. I keep battling though and recover.
I added on a short loop at a nearby industrial park. By the time I got off the main roads and to my parents house, my IT band was becoming very bothersome. This was about the 10.5 mile mark. I stopped at my parents, drank some Gatorade and was on my way.
Originally, I was going to do another loop on some busy roads, but with the IT being such a pain, I decided to just do some neighborhood loops. I did my favorite 4 mile loop that I've often trained on. On the way out, the wind really got to me. I was wondering how I'd finish 6 more miles.
I did so by focusing on the next mile. That's a really great technique. Just take it a mile at a time. This part was still very hilly, so it wasn't easy. Running with the wind at my back on the second half was a big help though.
The IT band actually did recover pretty well once I got to these normal neighborhood roads. It was only the last two miles or so, that it came back and bothered me. It was never too bad. The rest of my legs were starting to fall off at that point too.
I added part of a short out and back by some new houses and then a loop around the front of the elementary school next to my parents house. It's amazing how not too many months ago, that neighborhood loop was tough for me. Now it's just a simple, short segment of a very long run.
I finished up a little sore, but overall not feeling too bad. I'm just so much stronger than I was during my first marathon training. My legs can handle miles much more easily. This run was already longer than my 2nd longest training run the first time around and I'm only starting week six of this program (out of twenty). I'll be much more prepared for this marathon.
After the run, I took an ice bath. That is almost unbearable. I made it through 10 minutes though and felt pretty good afterwards. Hopefully that'll speed up my recovery.
I'm thrilled with how today's run went. I ran easy and yet still posted a pace of just over 8 minutes per mile. I feel as though I'm right on target with where I need to be. I couldn't certainly ran faster and pushed it more than I did today. I should only get better as it warms up and I don't have to battle the wind at all.
Tomorrow is an easy 6 mile run. I'll likely run around my parents house, before heading back to Philly. I'm not sure which route I'll take yet. Tuesday will an interesting hill repeats session. I look forward to it.
17 miles - 2:17:07 (8:04 pace)
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