Big 18 miler today. I debated back and forth about indoors or outdoors and finally decided on out. Not a bad day weather-wise, decently sunny, cold, but bearable.
The run started off well, and the first 8 flew by at my goal pace (9:27, 9:27, 9:30, 9:28, 9:30, 9:31, 9:33, 9:32) . 9-11 a little slower (9:45, 10:21, 10:22), but still reasonable, hit some bad road maintenance here and was annoyed. 12-14, whew, tougher and slower (10:41, 10:44, 10:36), 15-17 ugh (!), just finish (11:08, 11:15, 11:14) and 18 pulled it together a little bit to finish with a 10:36.
Totals
Mileage: 18.00
Time/Pace: 3:02:49/10:09
AVG HR: 155
T/W: 13 (WC3)/sun
Now on to the Good, Bad and Ugly
GOOD: Town of Tonawanda road maintenance. Bravo, boys! Clear roads very little snow and ice, even shoulders clear. Excellent!
BAD: Buffalo road maintenance. WTF. Horrible. As though they didn't even plow. My original intention was to run to Delaware Park via Buffalo side streets, but bailed on that shortly after entering city limits. I feel bad for the residents of Buffalo who can't get decent road work done. I understand it is a tough job, but if Tonawanda can do it, Buffalo can certainly do it too.
UGLY: MY splits! I am a very competitive person, which is weird, because I not really that good at anything. However, when I set a goal and miss it, I'm hard on myself. Like today, I was well of my goal pace of 9:29. However, I really need to focus on the fact that I finished this workout of 18 miles, something I've never done before. I've only run a handful of times over 10 miles, so I guess I shouldn't be too hard on myself. I keep trying to tell myself, I'm still new at this, but regardless I find myself pushing hard to get to my goals.
I also ran 3.04 miles yesterday and I'm looking forward to a day off tomorrow!
10 months ago
I just wanted to mention that I ran track and x-country for Binghamton University in the late 70s (yes, I'm old), so I am familiar with good running routes in Binghamton. If you haven't yet, you should do some of the hill runs behind the campus. Very scenic and very hilly, so plan on your mile pace being slower, but spectacular views when you get to the top! Mark Raybuck (from the Mark and Eric's running blog).
ReplyDeleteThanks for the suggestion. I actually looked those trails up awhile back, but for whatever reason I forgot about it. I will hopefully get out there soon.
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