It took a lot to kick my butt outside and give up the safety of the treadmill. Lucky for me, I have some sort of compulsive oppositional behavior-- I won't even listen to myself. I called Coach B. and asked him whether I should go outside. He said I could stay on the treadmill if I wanted to, so of course, I said I would run outside. I must have been awful as a kid.
The scheduled run was 13 miles on a hilly course. Brian said not to worry about pace, because of the wind, just go by feel and effort. I ran over to Llewelyn, to South Mountain, then ran my 5K course once or twice before heading back and running up Ridgewood. Very hilly. I was amazed that 1) I didn't stop at all. Just by coincidence, I hit every traffic light. I didn't have to stop for anything or anyone 2) I fought off stomach cramps for the first time ever. I felt them coming on at mile 4.5, there was no bathroom around so I slowed a bit, turned and headed back toward Glen Ridge and home. Then, after another mile, I forgot all about the cramps and unconsciously picked up speed. I didn't even think that was possible! I wonder if the probiotics I started taking recently are actually benefiting my stomach? and 3) I ended up with an average pace of 8:50 for the 13 hilly, windy miles. That made me feel fantastic! I wish every run can be like that one.
So now I'm trying to figure out why some training runs can go so well, but I tend to freak out in actual races. I think fairly even pacing (after the first few miles) and starting off slower, relative to the last half, were the key elements.
My splits were:
8:46
9:15
8:58
8:40
8:26
9:09
8:45
8:35
8:48
8:53
8:52
8:44
8:51
The second half was fairly even, for me.
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