I Give It a Ten, a Ten!

The Stats: 3/17 - 3/23
3/21: 10.0 mi; 1:24'34"; 8'27" avg. pace

This half marathon training has called for progressively longer runs every weekend. Last week, I spied the weather patterns and decided that Friday evening presented the best temperatures for a long jaunt. That meant having to get mentally psyched for it after a day of work. It also meant missing an hour of first round NCAA tournament basketball (No!), but I went forward with the idea anyway.
I stretched out and hit the road with a good pace, about 8 minutes, before dialing it back through the fourth mile. I wore out the flat surfaces of Kanawha City, all the way to 57th Street before turning back for the downtown portion of the run. It was a lovely evening with temperatures in the upper 60s. This showed in the number of fellow runners and bikers moving around. And the car traffic had me jumping off road quite a bit. This is why I like to run toward oncoming traffic, I don't trust drivers to give me a lot of room, but I know I can always hop into someone's yard for a second while they pass me. And despite what race organizers would lead you to believe, I can hear my surrounding environment just fine with headphones on and music playing.
The 35th Street Bridge was as windy as ever. I hugged the fence as a girl passed me on her bike, made it across the river, and giggled my way down the loopty-loop descent. The bridge slowed down my sixth mile to nearly 9 minutes, but on the Boulevard I increased the pace back near 8'30" and held it fairly steady. I had a funny encounter between miles seven and eight as a car honked into the void. Instinctively, I raised a hand to wave at the oncoming mini-van. Inside was a nice looking Muslim family, the women having their heads wrapped in Hijabs. I put my hand down and looked onward to see a girl in a similar garment walking towards me. I audibly chuckled and told her, "I think that was for you."
After that moment of levity, I crossed the Boulevard and ran down Hale Street. Then, I ran over the South Side Bridge taking in the river from above one last time. By mile eight I had noticed a pain in my right calf. Nothing seemed pulled or injured, but it was sore every step of the way from there on out. Despite this, I was determined to make my last mile the fastest mile, per my recent trend in long runs. So I must have looked rather awkward, dragging my sore legs down MacCorkle at a quick pace. Nevertheless, mile 10 was my fastest on this day. Huzzah!

Now that I have caught up with Ashley and Jessica in terms of distance, I will increase my long run by 0.5 miles each week until race day. I am a little nervous about what will happen when the Harmon siblings travel to Peru in a couple weeks. But maybe the high altitude will give my lungs an element of training. Wishful thinking? Yeah, probably. All the same, Pittsburgh is shaping up to be a great event.

Nine Times

The Stats: 3/10 - 3/16
3/15: 9.0 mi; 1:15'23"; 8'22" avg. pace

Saturday of this week was a beautiful day, one perfect for a nice long run. I was determined to take advantage of it before what would probably be the last snow of the year in Charleston on Sunday. Mapping out the distances before running is crucial when doing these long runs. Thankfully, Nike+ has a very accurate mapping service that allows you to follow the roads, or take your intended path off-road to estimate distances. When mapping out 9 miles, I found the best way to do the bridge-to-bridge route was to add an extra mile to the Kanawha City portion. A half mile further out and a half mile back would add a mile to last week's eight mile course.

I started out a little uncomfortable but with a good pace. The first mile was slightly over 8 minutes. Each mile thereafter, until mile 6, got slower. I got slower by an average of 9 seconds for every mile with the slowest mile being the fifth at 8'41". 50th Street was my turnaround point in KC. Then, I headed back to the 35th Street Bridge and crossed it during my 5th mile, hence the slowest mile split. I got into a good stride on the Boulevard and reduced my split to 8'30" on the 6th mile.
After that long straight stretch on the Boulevard, I was ready for the change of pace that came from getting on the South Side Bridge. My 7th mile was impressive, 8'29", for having to go uphill on that bridge. The legs felt so sturdy coming back down MacCorkle on the home stretch that I sprinted some on the last mile. It was my fastest mile at 7'55". I can only hope that continues as the distances stretch out in this half marathon training. And spring weather should be a welcome boost!

Eight Is Enough

The Stats: 3/2 - 3/9
3/9: 8.0 mi; 1:10'29"; 8'47" avg. pace

A couple opportunities to run during the week did not pan out. Then, on Saturday the PTR crew opted for skiing instead of running. You gotta burn calories one way or another. The crucial question was: can we do a long run after the return trip on Sunday? The answer for both Ashley and I was: yes.
Moving up my distance by a mile each week led me to run an 8 miler on Sunday. Ashley had already finished half of her run and stopped for a break at my house. She said, "I only have 4 miles to go." To which I replied "That sounds like a lot." She looked at me with shock and said "You're supposed to be trying to encourage me." Oh, right, haha. This goaded me out of a wimpy attitude toward the run and got me out the door.
I started with a nice 8'20" first mile, but then cut back the pace on each of the next three miles, conserving energy. I trotted down to 45th street on Virginia, about 2.5 miles, before coming back towards the 35th Street Bridge. I high-fived Ashley who was all but 2 miles from her total of 9 on the day. Then, I mistakenly started to summit the 36th Street Bridge before realizing there was no sidewalk there (Again? Really?!). I ran down to the bridge I could cross and gave Ashley a two-armed wave. She was almost finished, I had only just begun.
Across the Kanawha and onto the Boulevard I went. The sun was setting to left of the river and I had forgot my sunglasses in Mike's car. That was a mistake. I ran most of the Boulevard with my left eye closed. Occasionally, I would glance towards downtown and then look back down at my feet to make sure I stayed on the sidewalk. By mile 5, I started to increase the pace again. I wanted to get over the South Side Bridge and not be facing the sun anymore. I darted across the Boulevard not long after mile 6 and went over the bridge. I kicked the pace before the bridge's incline to build up some momentum. This felt really good, despite all logic.

Love the bright green sections

From there it was a mile and a half sprint back down MacCorkle to the finish line. As was the case last week, my final mile was my fastest at 8'02". That means I am setting a good pace as the distance grows. Some stretching after the run to prevent soreness and we're well on the way to 13 miles. Jump on the half-marathon bang-wagon 'cause its rolling along smoothly.

Longer and Longer

The Stats: 2/23 - 3/1
3/1: 7.0 mi; 59'50"; 8'31" avg. pace

The weather is moving back and forth between being tolerable and unruly. At least it stayed dry enough to get in the long run this week. My plan is to increase my long, weekend run by a mile each week until I do a 10-miler. So far so good. Ashley and her friend Jessica outran me by 1.5 miles on Saturday, but I knew not to try and match them. Getting the muscles and bones accustomed to long distances is best done incrementally.
We couldn't have asked for a better day on Saturday. Cool and dry, at about 42 degrees, we trotted from the 35th Street Bridge to the South Side Bridge. There was an unleashed dog on the boulevard presumably following his owner. Then, I got distracted by construction equipment sitting in a barge in the Kanawha. It looked like they are building up the bank with huge rocks. But I digress. I kept the pace slower than I needed to for the first three miles. I wanted to make sure I could summit the South Side Bridge effectively. Once that section was complete, I felt okay to open it up a bit more. MacCorkle is a boring stretch, but there is the fear of oncoming traffic to keep you alert. I ran that bit and back behind UC. The legs started protesting somewhat around mile five. Still, I felt like I could have done between 8 and 10 miles by the end of the run. I turned around at Memorial and ran my fastest mile back home. Finish strong.

My pace for the run was 8'31", and I happened to mention to the girls that I expected a 8'30" pace before starting. So I am on track both mileage and pace wise. Now I have to keep boosting the distance until we hit 13 miles in May.