I've been both happy and disappointed with my training this summer. I'm thrilled with how I'm training. I'm putting up a lot of mileage and working hard through some tough heat. I'm happy with my speed from an easy effort standpoint. I'm just disappointed that anything more than a moderate effort is a challenge right now, especially when I go longer and longer. Breathing is so difficult, even though I've adapted fairly well to the weather.
Because of the above, I'm not very confident that I can run a sub 3:05 marathon on Friday evening. I'll give it a shot though and see what I have. Today's run did give me a little bit of a shot in the arm.
I couldn't get up to run with Mertz in the morning yesterday. I was busy most of the day and tired by the afternoon. I elected to make it my off day, rather than today. That meant that I'd head out there today. It was before 3 PM when I started this run from my go to place, Riverview Park. The plan was for 10 miles.
The temperature was in the low 80s. The humidity wasn't the best or the worst we have had this summer. It was pretty manageable, as summer running goes anyway. Breathing was still a little tricky. I notice that whenever I come up from behind, people can hear me breathing. That doesn't happen during cooler weather or the winter.
I came into this run in the right state of mind for a change. I have to go to Syracuse for some court stuff on Wednesday. While I'm dreading that part of it, I realized that I can go to Ithaca on the way home and run some trails. When I started looking into it, I found some amazing trails there and what looks like an awesome 5 mile loop. It could end up being the best place that I've ever run at. I'm so pumped for it! That got me excited going into this run.
I started off going toward Easton. Usually, the legs aren't all that great after a day off. That's why I wasn't sure whether or not I should take the day off before this marathon. However, they felt good and rest is clearly just what they've needed. I haven't felt this fresh in a long time. Mile 1 was an 8:11.
It is nice to have the canal drained and no geese around. I nearly stepped on a turtle. That was neat to see. I was going nice and easy during this one. It was a little hot, but not too bad. I added some Nuun to my drink and I think that helped a lot.
I came through mile 2 at 7:45. I wasn't looking at my watch too much. I was just enjoying the run. I passed some people walking dogs. One woman had stopped in the middle of the trail to give the little dog some water. There were a few bikers through this section too.
I wasn't sure how far I wanted to go out. I kept on going though, as long as I felt good. I came to the Forks of the Delaware. I passed another dog walker here. I then headed south on the D&L.
I don't care for this section too much. It is loose stone. I figured that I could stay on it a short while though. I was on it for just about half a mile each way. I hit mile 3 with a 7:39. I decided to go out to 3.33 miles before turning around. That would get me 1/3 of the way through the run.
I couldn't wait to get off this section and back on the pavement. I had passed a couple before, but didn't see them now. They must've wandered down to the river. I then came to the dog walker and her new friend. They had three dogs total and I had to slow a little to get through them. Both of the girls were cute.
I was thrilled to be back onto pavement. I worked on getting to mile 4. That mile was a 7:35. I still felt good.
I guess the pavement helped a lot. I didn't feel like I was going faster, but my times did get quicker. Maybe my legs were getting into a rhythm. I was shocked at a 7:12 mile 5. The pace was getting quicker and quicker.
I kept focused on making it back to Hugh Moore Park. I figured that that would be around mile 6. I passed the other group of dogs again. They weren't a problem luckily. I got back to the park and decided to run the loop. Mile 6 was a 7:18.
The loop was nice. I also added on the out and back and the end of it. When I got back to the canal path, I turned around. That added some distance. I now knew I'd be over 8 miles when I got to the car.
I felt like the heat was slowing me, but it wasn't much. Mile 7 was a 7:22 and mile 8 was a 7:18. I came to that right before the bridge over the river. The short uphills were kind of tough, but luckily, there weren't many of them.
I was back to the car at about 8.60 miles. I needed a short out and back to finish up. I felt like I was slowing a little, but I guess not. I thought about pushing toward the end of this run, but it was still hot, so I didn't want to take a chance.
Near Riverview Park, I ran passed a family of bikers. That is always hard to do when I know they should be faster. I came up to a slow woman too, but she began walking as I got to her. Mile 9 was another consistent 7:21.
I turned around at 9.4 miles. I headed back and picked it up ever so slightly. I still had a bit left in the tank. I was flirting with a 7:30 pace overall. I got just under that at the end, with a 7:17 final mile.
I never pushed this run and surprised myself with how quick it was. I finally feel fresh and ready to go. Hopefully, I can feel this good on Friday and run even better. The temperature should be about 10-15 degrees cooler at night. It looks like it will be slightly more humid up there, but not too bad. Maybe the conditions will be good enough for me to run a sub 3:05. I know for sure that I'm in much better shape than that right now. I just need halfway decent weather. If it doesn't work, I should be able to pull it off in the fall.
Tomorrow, I'm looking to run 7 miles. I'm not sure yet if it will be with Kristin or not. I'll take it easy again. Wednesday, will hopefully be in Ithaca on some beautiful trails. That will be about 5 miles, but challenging. Here's to hoping for a good week.
10 miles - 1:14:57 (7:30 pace)
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