A story of going from being a non-runner to planning for a marathon in three years...

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

In the Zone

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Last night I attempted my longest tempo run so far in this training cycle.

What did the training plan say? 1.25 mile Warm-up, 5.5 miles at 9:11, 1.25 mile cool down. I set it up this way so that I could run 8 miles with the running group (on Monday nights you can either do 5.5 miles or 8 miles). However, I didn't really want to rely on the running group for the entire 8 miles. Some nights no one wants to run 8. Some nights only the super speedy people run 8. And I've never actually run 8 with the group so I don't know that part of the route. So, instead, I decided to run TO running group, run WITH the group for 5.5 miles, and then run home. Distance to and from running group? 1.5 miles. Total mileage? 8.5 miles. That's a lot for a Monday night (at least for me)!

The run to the meeting spot was good. I felt nice and warmed up by the time I made it to the store where we start. I was really bummed, though, when I realized my running buddy wasn't there! I worried a bit that I wouldn't be able to sustain my tempo pace all on my own. I also worried that I'd be all alone at the back. Well, it turned out I was all alone but in the end it was a good thing. While I kept the rest of the group in my sights, I was able to run at my own pace and not have to worry about talking to anyone. The first mile kind of sucked because I started out too fast and I felt like there was an elephant on my chest. After that, though, I found my groove. It was weird. For the first time in a very, very long time I knew I was pushing it but it didn't feel that hard. I'm not saying I could have gone faster, but I was definitely in a zone.

Dear Zone, I would like to find you on all my runs. Do you think you could make that happen? Thanks.

Once we reached our finish point, I stood around chatting for a bit with some of the group members before taking off for home. The run home also felt glorious and I actually surprised Jason with how early I came in the door. The Garmin was being a little flaky which is why the Bones in Motion splits show that mile 8 was done in 16:40. So, I've included my Garmin splits as well.

Garmin Splits:

Mile 1 - 9:33
Mile 2 - 9:21
Mile 3 - 8:59
Mile 4 - 8:56
Mile 5 - 9:03
Mile 6 - 8:41
Mile 7 - 9:00
Mile 8 - 9:26
Mile .56 - 9:32 pace

Look at how freaking consistent that is!!! Even my warm-up and cool-down were almost identical to each other. Oh my god, if I could make that happen on half-marathon day I would be THRILLED.

I wish I knew what I did to make the run so great. To be honest, during the last few miles I had to go to the bathroom and I was a little worried. I was sort of regretting the chili I'd had for lunch. But even with that it was still such a great run. Who knows why that happens?

**********************

Activity
Route:--Elev. Avg:626 ft
Location:Forest Park, ILElev. Gain:+0 ft
Date:03/22/10Up/Downhill: [+49/-49]
Time:06:02 PMDifficulty:2.4 / 5.0
 
Weather:Partly Cloudy
 44 F temp; 39% humidity
 44 F heat index; winds N 20 G 24
Performance

Distance: 8.56 miles
Time:1:18:22
Speed:6.6 mph
Pace:9' 09 /mi
Calories:1017
Map
 
Elevation (ft)
 
Pace (min/mile)
 
Splits
MilePace (min/mile)Speed (mph)Elevation
Gain
actual+/- avgactual+/- avg
19' 25+0' 166.4-0.2+4 ft
210' 21+1' 125.8-0.8+6 ft
39' 01-0' 086.7+0.10 ft
49' 02-0' 076.6+0.1-9 ft
59' 04-0' 056.6+0.1+13 ft
68' 49-0' 206.8+0.2-3 ft
78' 51-0' 186.8+0.2+3 ft
816' 40+7' 313.6-3.0-9 ft
end9' 33+0' 246.3-0.30 ft
Versus average of 9' 09 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

That really was a great run - LOOK at those splits! Those are like textbook splits. :-)

I wish I knew what made runs good and bad. I swear, I feel like I could get the same amount of sleep and eat the same things, yet they still vary so much. I guess that's what makes running interesting, though?

kilax said...

This is foreshadowing for the race :)

Maybe having to go to the bathroom gave you an extra boost? :)

kilax said...

P.S. I hope you know that this title has made the Autozone jingle stuck in my head. THANKS A LOT. :P

Unknown said...

Those are fantastic mile splits! Congrats!

Lacey said...

alone and in the zone!!!!!!!!!!! i love when that happens. well i'm almost always alone, but i'm not always in the zone :) you rocked it! way to go!!!! long tempo too :) woo wooooo!

Bayjb said...

If you connect to the zone about getting in there, please let me know, I have a letter to be delivered too.

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