I can definitely tell we are getting closer and closer to winter. Our Thursday night LVRR Group Runs have never been strong, but they keep getting weaker and weaker. Last week, it was just the two group run leaders, Akshay and I, plus Tim who leads the Sunday runs. Today, it was only me.
I waited and waited and waited, but no one else showed up. A woman pulled up and ran alone. A group of three guys got out of the car and ran together. Our group runs were light last year, but I don't think I ever had to run alone. I know it was just Akshay and I one time. I'm used to running alone, but it was depressing doing so on a day when I planned to have company.
It's still light out when the run starts, but it is getting dark quickly. It is a shame that no one came out because the weather was beautiful. The colorful tree leaves provided a nice background while it was still light.
Before I started out, I saw my friend Tim (not the same one as above). He was running with someone else. I should've told him to loop around and that I would join him if no one else showed. I'm not feeling so strong and he's pretty fast, so that probably wouldn't have been a great idea anyway. I certainly didn't want to go hard today.
I was actually looking forward to the run. I was hoping at least one of the slower people that usual comes would show up. I wanted some pacing practice for my upcoming half marathon.
I decided that rather than run my normal pace, I would attempt running at the pace for the half on Sunday. Usually I run about an 8:22 pace. For the half, I'll need to run a 9:55. I have run even slower in the past on these group runs, but it still takes some getting used to. In those runs, like the race, I'll have others around me going slow.
My legs feel awful as I started out. It was like I was barely moving. At one point around half a mile, I saw that my pace was around 11:00. I couldn't believe I could even run that slow at all. Once my legs warmed up, I ended up going a little faster. In this early stretch, I saw a kid running alone. I've never seen someone that young by themselves before. He couldn't have been over 12 years old.
Whenever I would start to speed up a little, I would tell myself it is time to slow down. Staying consistent over the hills was a bit tough. I love plowing up hills, so it was very hard for me to go up them slowly. I managed to though. My first mile came in at 10:08. Not too bad of a start.
The second mile was very flat and I went way too fast. It felt quite easy, but it was still 9:32. By the end of those two miles, I was close to goal pace with a 9:48 overall.
Although I looked at my watch a lot to check my pace, I didn't find it as boring as I usually do. I was so focused on nailing my marks. That really kept my concentration.
Getting up the long hill near the Fish Hatchery was tricky. I tried to go up it easy. I was fairly successful. Usually when I've gone up it slowly, I've struggled. Maybe that was just due to the heat of the summer, because today wasn't difficult.
I came down the hill nice and easy too. I passed a lady would was running with two dogs. After the hill, it is flat and I sputtered along. When I've run over a 10:00 pace in the past, it almost felt like I was walking. Today, it was very slow, but at least kind of felt like a jog. I came through this 3rd mile at a 9:47 pace. That was nice a solid.
I bumped into Tim coming this way and he told me that another friend, Aaron had some health issues. Good to hear he is back running though. He's come to the group runs in the past and really pulled me along.
Again, the hills messed with me on mile 4. They slowed me up just enough that I was at a 10:00 mile again. Overall though, my pace was close to target at this point. It was getting tricky at this point because it was almost pitch black. I couldn't see my watch without lighting it up.
The last mile is flat and again I was too fast early on. I kept having to tell myself to back it down. It worked this time, as I came through at 9:47. Overall, my pace ending up being 9:51. That's very close to my target of 9:55.
Maintaining pace with the hills thrown in was a little challenging. I'll probably need to run this way during the race anyway, to account for people who normally run like this. The other big challenge of the run will be the curves. Not running tangents always causes me to run additional distance. Running a 9:51 pace by my watch's standards might be right around a 9:55 actual race pace. It's something to really keep in mind. I have to pay attention to the mile markers on the course, not just my watch.
I'm surprised that my quads were still sore even after this easy outing. I guess they really need some full rest. I'm just going to give them the next two days off before the race. Maybe that will help. I know I pushed them too far, so I can't complain too much. It would just be nice if they would come back around for my half marathon in the beginning of November. Although I can still run fast because they don't bother me much while running, I'd like to think I could be a lot faster if they would start feeling better.
5 miles - 49:16 (9:51 pace)
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