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.