Saturday Morning Long Run

Once again, I'm back on track for my Saturday morning long runs.  Today was a 9 miler through Old Towne Gaithersburg.  It was a bit on the chilly side - 26 degrees when I left the house at 6:45am - but not unbearable.  I made sure that I did not go out too fast and convinced myself that I would eventually warm up - and I did, of course.

The first mile was tough.  I couldn't get into a rhythm.  I'm not sure what was going on, but I felt kinda choppy and not finding a comfortable groove.  It kinda sucks when after the first mile of a 9 mile run you're asking yourself "when is this going to end???".  Luckily, I started to feel good rather soon - as I don't remember wanting the run to end anytime after that.

The final stats were:  9.02 miles (same in Running Ahead as my Garmin - wow!), 1:37:22 = 10:48/mile pace.  Average HR 154 / Max HR 170.

My final mile was my fastest - 10:14/mile pace...and I was actually trying to get myself to slow down and relax during the last mile :-)  So, although I'm not in tip-top shape to PR a Half Marathon right now, I'm in good enough shape to finish - and likely to finish strong.

Tomorrow is a rest day and then I'm going to try to get my running schedule to be Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.  This makes the most sense for my current schedule of other activities (mainly Israeli Dancing where I'm up later on Tuesday night).  Hopefully, I can stick to this and not get sick again!