Today was a great day for a run. On the schedule: 22 miles starting around 8:00/mile and accelerating to marathon pace (~6:45) after about the half way point. My car's digital thermometer read 49 degrees at 9AM when I started on the NCR Trail, my absolute favorite place for long runs. I didn't feel 100% beforehand, just a little "off" mentally. However, the name of the game all year has been to get it done no matter what; "no excuses and nothing held back" as they say.
This was actually my first solo long run in about 4 weeks. I only did 13 the week before to be fresh for a race, an easy 20 before that, Reach the Beach the week before that, and finally, a 22 miler the week before. That probably explained my lack of sleep Saturday night; I had not done a long progression run in quite a while!
Splits: 7:55, 7:23, 7:14, 7:07, 7:07, 7:02, 6:49, 6:48, 6:31, 6:30, 6:33, 6:27, 6:30, 6:32, 6:33, 6:29, 6:35, 6:34, 6:35, 6:30, 6:32, 6:30.
My stomach felt "off" for most of the run. I drank all the water I wanted, but only consumed about half the sports beans (carbs/electrolytes) that I usually do. I really didn't want to hit 6:30s by mile 9, but once I got down there I couldn't get myself to downshift. I call it the runaway train effect, and I have no idea what causes it or why I just can't slow down!
By about Mile 13 I was feeling rather terrible. It wasn't really my legs, or the pace. I had some cramping but it wasn't a big deal, and I wasn't really tired either. It just generally sucked to keep running. Nonetheless, I continued going and despite feeling progressively worse, I stayed on 6:30 pace like a metronome. For a good 5 mile stretch during the worst part I did a really good job at dissociating from the pain. It was a really strange feeling. It was as if my mind just disconnected from my body and my legs kept churning at the same pace. I don't listen to music while running, so I usually end up with interesting mental states during these runs.
Despite the struggles, I still felt awesome after it ended. My legs are not nearly as sore as I was expecting, though we'll have to see how the delayed onset soreness goes tomorrow. This will be a good run to look back on the next time I struggle in a race. It is days like these that define a runner.
Weekly Mileage: 77
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