Big surprise.
The numbers (my days are all switched around to the real schedule, but whatevs):
Tuesday: Plan was 7 tempo with 5 @7:51, Actual was 8:26, 7:13, 7:22, 7:16, 7:18, 7:12, 7:58
Wednesday: Plan was 6 easy @9:12, Actual was 6 @8:57
Friday: Plan was 16 LSD @9:12, Actual was 16.12 @8:04, splits: 8:13, 8:10, 8:17, 8:15, 8:01, 8:13, 8:07, 8:03, 8:08, 7:57, 8:12, 7:56, 8:02, 8:04, 7:42, 7:50, last .12 @6:57 pace
Tuesday I got new shoes (Saucony Mirage 3). And new gels (Hammer Tropical & Orange).
I tried on Newtons and while I love how soft they felt, I decided that this might be an annoying feature after a while. I liked that the Mirage fit similarly to the Wave Elixir and went with that.
Totally didn't realize that they are much more minimal of a shoe that the Elixir. And then I went on a too-fast-tempo in them. Oops. Probably should have eased into them... hahahahah, like I ever ease into anything...
Tuesday night, I went over to a friend's house. I brought chocolate with peanut butter cream cheese frosting ghost cupcakes:
Loopette HJAdams had sent me a baked good package as a thank you for the shoes I sent her. And it really just fostered my need to make more things with cream cheese frosting. Ah, bakespiration...
Anyway, I made chili too. 'Cause my friend was working all day and I was just putzing in the kitchen.
I hope I never get too old to enjoy scooping the guts out of a pumpkin. It's delightfully gross! My friend carved the one in the center. I did the ones on each side. I somehow have been suckered into carving Adam's pumpkin each year. Doh!
Thursday, of course, was Halloween. Time for me to drink beer, hand out candy to the trick-or-treaters, and make my dogs dress up.
Friday morning, I did my day-off long-run routine. Sleep in, eat some Cheerios, read the newspaper, get caffeinated, and prepare all my stuff.
I wore my Garmin, but I didn't look at it the entire run except when I had to stop/start at a stoplight and at the pit stop/turnaround point. I was pretty stoked when I saw the numbers. I ran the first 10 at a 50% effort pace. I knew I was much faster than the 9mm I was supposed to be running, but I felt like I was going closer to 8:20s. The last 6 miles I was pushing it and the last 3 were definitely at tempo effort.
It was actually pretty warm outside and I was feeling the heat. Probably mid-70s. I was in a tank top and shorts. I'm hoping cooler temperatures will help me feel a bit more comfortable. I mean, it looks like fall...just doesn't feel quite like it yet.
Even though I'm training well, I'm training hard. I'm not sure how much faster I can run while racing. 'Cause these are not 'easy' long runs.
I'm hoping that a combination of good temperatures, a relatively flat course, better and longer training, a Loopfest, and sheer willpower will carry me to my 3:34:59.
But I every time I think about trying to run 8:12 for 26.2 miles, I admittedly have a lot of self-doubts. What's that all about?? I've come a long way in having confidence in myself, but like the great Alberto Salazar said once (and is one of my favorite quotes), "I had as many doubts as anyone else. Standing on the starting line, we're all cowards."
Only 20 more training runs left!
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