Wk11/D4 - Return to Cloud 9 ... 14K with a sub-7 min/km Pace !!!!

14K @1:37:57

Avg. Pace 6:59/km

Avg. Moving Pace 6:53/km

Wow wow wow !! :) Happy happy day! Today's run contained several milestones and went a loooong way in making me feel very optimistic about half marathon training this fall. :) :)

But just to back up a little ... Friday night we have overnight guests. I was hoping to make it to Kundalini yoga before their arrival, but they arrived much earlier than expected so I skipped yoga in order to be a good hostess. I really, really wanted to get up early the next morning to run my scheduled 13K before we went out for breakfast, but it just wasn't feasible, so Saturday (yesterday) ended up being an additional rest day. I didn't want to alter my training schedule, but it is what is so I am going with the flow and considering the extra rest day a benefit. And I was determined to go out first thing this morning to get my LSD 13K done.

After a second poor night of sleep, I woke up thinking that my run wasn't going to happen today. I was feeling so tired and really needed a few hours of good, solid sleep before taking on the day. This is when Ben, who is ill this long weekend with a bad head cold, gently prodded me to go. It was the encouragement I needed to get dressed and head out the door with Wallace in tow. :)

Although I was scheduled to run 13K, I wrote in an earlier post that I was aiming for 14K. I have had a few good 13K LSD runs during this training cycle so I felt "ready" to take this next distance on. When I was training for my half marathon last August, I experienced a brutal 14K. This was when I had finally acknowledged that I couldn't complete a half marathon without incorporating a run/walk method, and my first attempt at it was when I was scheduled for a 14K distance.

So today was the day I wanted to run 14K from start to finish!

I did not eat breakfast as it was too early. Instead, I drank a Vega sport powder, changed my Garmin to three settings: "Distance" was the largest display on top, with "Time" and "Avg. Pace" completing the two bottom displays. I also lathered Wallace's hind thighs with "Body Glide for Women" because the poor little guy has been chafing from running. :( We were ready to head out for our warm-up and run ...

And then it started to rain ... I'm not kidding!

But you know what? I welcomed it. :) I consider LSD runs in the rain my default weather now! So my run was completed in continuous soft, warm rain. I didn't even noticed it that much because I have grown so accustomed to it now ...

Around the 3K mark, I checked my average pace and saw 7:02/km. Good. And I kept running.

At the 6K mark, I started to feel my glute muscles a bit. I am not sure if this is a residual from my hill workout and tempo run earlier in the week, or due to hauling wheelbarrows full of dirt and gravel around my yard Thursday night and Saturday. :) They weren't painful, but just making me aware of them. I also checked my average pace display and saw that it was still at 7:02/km. Odd. Had I really kept this pace that consistently? Or did I inadvertently set this display wrong?

All is good. I feel strong, I feel consistent, and I am not feeling tired or sluggish.

I check my average pace at the 9K mark and see 7:02/km yet again. At this point, I am convinced I set my Garmin wrong and think, "oh well!" I will check it when I get home to see what I did wrong ...

I feel my pace pick up a little at around the 11K mark. This makes me smile because I am still feeling good at this point. However, I start thinking that perhaps I should watch myself now to ensure I have enough energy to make it to 14K. And I can't help myself ... I look at the average pace window again on my watch as I am checking my distance recording ...

7:01 / km

Holy crap! It finally changed AND it decreased! I was suddenly forced to believe what I had been refusing to accept throughout this entire run ... my average pace HAD been that consistent and I was on track for running not only my first 14K without walking, but setting an outstanding pace for me at the same time !!!!!!

Now I had to go faster! I was so close to achieving a sub-7:00/km pace! In my first 14K of 2011!!

So I ran! In the last km, I had to choose between running up a steep but short hill or running long up a gradual hill. This is where my sub-7:00 pace goal faced jeopardy. I chose the steeper hill, willing myself to run up it as well as I could, and with the hope that the flatter ground at the top near the Children's Museum would give me enough distance to bring my pace back up for a fast finish.

And it did. :) And I am still filled with joy !! :)

Upon looking at my splits before writing this post, 10 out of 14 km were sub-7:00/km. :) :) My fastest was 13K at 6:42/km. My slowest was 3K at 7:08/km.

As I write, I am very tired. :) I may need to nap this afternoon. A great way to remember this Victoria Day long weekend! :)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• I ran a very short 1.37 km on Friday as a method of getting home. My pace was 6:47/km, which made me happy. I am hoping that running as transportation becomes more commonplace for me. :)
• Approximately one year ago, on May 21, I ran 5K in 39:45 with a pace of 7:41/km
• On July 17, 2010, in 1:36:11 (comparable to today's time), I ran/walked 12K at a pace of 8:00/km.

Brutal Run

14:04K - 1:59:57

Pace 8:32 min/km

I am going to post my learnings from this run in a separate post. I was feeling down about my run when I got home, but now, as I sit here at my desk, analyzing my splits and reviewing my run, overall, I am feeling better about it.

Brutal run. It was hot, humid, and I walked a lot. The first hour went well, which I think makes sense, since I can now run for an hour, but the second half did not go as well. I felt crappy before I left for the run, and as I completed my warm-up walk to my starting point. I kept telling myself that I would feel better once I started to run. The first km felt crappy, but thankfully, by the time I hit the first walking point, I had warmed up and started feeling good. My pace was good (so I thought), and it made me think that this 10:1 run/walk would work for me.

However, by the time I reached the far end of Springbank Park, my halfway point, I started to feel it. I was going through my water reserve quickly. I am still surprised by the number of runners who are not carrying any water with them because I always need water! During last Sunday's race, there were two water stations, but I did not use either one of them. I used my water belt and this is because, when I have dry mouth or I am in need of water, I don't want want to waiting for the next water station, not do I want to start focusing on how thirsty I am. Is this a weight thing? Do I need so much more water frequently because of my size? Or is it an age thing, maybe? Anyway, by the time I reached the hill beside Storybook Gardens, I needed to walk a lot of it, but at least I was able to get in some significant running between the top of the hill and the new Community Centre where the former Guy Lombardo Museum used to be situated. This is the first time that I have stopped mid-run, but I really needed to - I was out of water - so Wallace and I filled up on refreshing water (cold water out of a fountain - marvelous!) before heading home. And on a side note, I was surprised by how "heavy" my refilled water bottles felt! Maybe the runners without water make pace/time more important than being weighted down by water?

I did not run through Greenway Park; instead, we took the same route home, up Riverside Drive hill (walking) and back into the neighbourhood where I continued running so I could make it to 14K on my Garmin.

I feeling, literally, bagged. I am noticing a trend with my long runs now - I am so tired in the afternoon that I need to lie down for a nap!

The good news ... I DID IT !! It was tough and hot and crappy, but I completed 14K! 7 more K to go! I am more than halfway through a half marathon by running 14K so yay me! And it is only by going through these types of days that I learn what to do and what not to do. This is what training is all about, one of the many reasons why training is a good thing. :) I couldn't run 14K at this point last year - I could not even run 10K. Will I be reading this one year from now and smiling because 14K is my "easy" run by August 2011? :) :)