Sunday, April 29, 2007

SF10 TR #17, Loving Life

SF10 Miles Trained To Date: 107.25

Yesterday morning I again managed to postpone my longrun. But this time I was up, prepared, and even had my running clothes in hand. The next thing I knew, I had taken a three-hour-nap with my husband. "Oh well, there's always tomorrow," I thought. He had to go into work yesterday, and I had a few errands ahead of me. My first "errand" came in the form of a summons for help. My friend Kim had a surgery this week, and yesterday afternoon was my time to "relieve" her mom so that she could go for more supplies for Kim. So I got to enjoy a few hours with my on-the-mend friend while watching TV, talking, and looking at magazines. It was very nice. It reminded me that in today's world we are often too "busy" to sit and lounge with a friend.

I feared that my long nap would make me unable to sleep last night, thus postponing the run even more. well that did not happen! I went promptly to sleep when I needed to (so I must have needed that three-hour-nap, logic tells me). It almost felt like pre-race sleep; I woke up every few hours to look at the clock! I was determined to get up, I tell ya! I needed to complete the run and be back home by about 9 AM today so we could visit a new church. So, I woke at 5:15 (err... make that 5:23) and had my breakfast and water. I left at 5:50 to drive to the high school to run what I'm calling a "mock 20K." You see, the Arkansas 20K starts and ends at the Benton High School (in conjunction with the Arkansas Marathon, to be held on September 29th). Since I needed to run 12 miles anyway, I thought I'd do it on the 20K course.

I started the Garmin at 6:06 AM. Just driving over there, though, my morning-person senses were renewed. I just LOVE getting up early and getting things done in the early morning. I will probably run after work tomorrow (since I just ran this morning), so I will view it as a fun challenge. It's all about the attitude, right?

The course was hilly in the beginning, and then near the out-and-back turnaround point. I had run all of these roads before... but never at one time. Even though my splits were all over the place, I did very well overall. I suppose that's what's important.

Mile 1: 11:27
Mile 2: 10:53
Mile 3: 11:28
Mile 4: 13:09 (I think this is a mistake!)
Mile 5: 12:31
Mile 6: 11:42
Mile 7: 11:22
Mile 8: 11:19
Mile 9: 11:51
Mile 10: 12:27 (getting tired)
Mile 11: 12:04
Mile 12: 12:41 (finished at last!)
Total: 2:23:03
Average: 11:55 per mile, 168 beats per minute

I had some victories on some of the hills, especially early on. I was proud!

The Toad Suck 10K is on Saturday 5/5. I am aiming to run it at a 10:35 pace. At this point I'd say it is possible... but I really need to work on visualizing that this week. That tactic certainly worked for me on marathon day, so I'm not stopping now. It's just 6 little miles... I CAN DO IT. (and it is flat!)

6 comments:

jeanne said...

Nice time overall, and good work on the hills!

Maddy said...

Great job on your run today!
You'll do great next Saturday! I'll be looking forward to reading the race report!

MarathonChris said...

Wow, fantastic run for you!!! You are going to rock on that 10K next weekend. I will be thinking of you while I run the 5K with my daughter!

Kevin said...

12 miles? 12 MILES?? Now I need a 3 hour nap!! :-D

I agree with Chris. That 10k will be a walk in the park, uhm, RUN in the park. If you need help with that visualization, just close your eyes and say to yourself.. "BE THE TOAD, BE THE TOAD, BE THE TOAD". ;-)
Glad I could help.

Jonathan said...

12 miles in the early morning, wow, I cannot even fathom it. Sounds like it was a great feeling, and you have a great attitude! Those early-morning hours are pretty special, even a night owl like me can appreciate that. Congrats on making a good time!

ShirleyPerly said...

Good job getting out there early in the mornings. I need to start doing that myself now that the warmer weather is here.

Good luck at your 10K next week!!!