From the Couch to a Full Marathon: 18K :):):):):)

Saturday, September 25, 2010

18K :):):):):)

2:17:28

Pace 7:38 min/km

Very very very happy. :)

First, I decided Friday a.m. after a very poor night of sleep that I would not run. I had been planning to try to catch up on the days of running I had missed, but hesitated because of my scheduled long run on Saturday (today). What was more important to me - getting the mileage in for the week or doing well in my 18K? My lack of sleep helped to determine this for me. :(

It turns out that this was likely the best decision for me as I ran 18K today and it went very very well! ALL my splits except for the 16K were in the 7:30 min/km zone which really excites me! I ran with Kim and Wallace, who were great running partners, and the weather was perfect for running (10 degrees C, overcast). I ran into some issues with an ALS Walk in the park - the very large group of walkers blocked the majority of the footpath so I spent a great deal of time stop/starting at one point and running on grass/dirt along the side of the path in order to get around the walkers. In an odd sense, this might have helped me run better, in that I was concentrating so much on getting around everyone, I did not concentrate on my pace or my running much.

I think I am surprised to see that, even with the minute of walking every ten minutes, my pace is still comparable to my running pace in shorter runs. It is feeding my secretive hope that maybe I can run my first half marathon closer to 2:30 than not. I am still fascinated by how long 18K is - it blows me away that I am running all the way to Springbank Park (Byron), all the way around it, and then all the way out to Gibbons Park (North London). Wow wow wow. :) :) :)

I need to register by this Wednesday for the Niagara Falls half marathon if I REALLY am going to do it. Ben is gone for the weekend, but this is something we will need to discuss tomorrow after he gets back. :)

It helps that when I woke up this morning and put my running clothes, I suddenly noticed in the bathroom mirror how my hips have shrunk! :) :) I thought that it bode well for my long run.