Okay, maybe it didn't happen exactly like that. What actually happened was Lance Armstrong's voice came on my iPhone (via the Nike+ app) at the end of my run today to congratulate me on logging another 250 miles on that particular device. Well, I guess that counts for something.
Today was my long run. 12 miles. The last time I ran that far was the Chicago Half-Marathon last September. So it's been a little while, but I was fairly confident that it would be okay. And it was. As I have been doing the past several long runs, I broke it up into chunks. I spent the first 5 miles on the indoor track (which is 12 laps per mile), then I moved on to the treadmill for the next 4 miles, where I inserted a 3 mile long hill of varying grade, and then finished out on the track for the last 3 miles. Mixing things up like this keeps the workout from getting too painfully boring, and makes the distance seem more manageable when all you're thinking about is "I only have 1/2 mile to go on this god-forsaken treadmill!"
I don't mind doing my long runs indoors, but I have to say, I cannot wait for the weather to warm up a bit so I can do my long runs outside. The cold is not my friend. Although, if you want to look for the silver lining, all this snow piled up everywhere makes a great instant ice bath. Knees aching after your run? Just kneel down in a snow drift!
So, who wants to see my run graph? Since I think my Garmin footpod was fairly well calibrated today, I'm going to show you my Garmin graph. Not only does this graph show my pace, but it also shows my heart rate. As you can see, it peaked around the end of Mile 7, because that was the steepest part of the hill I ran. The random spikes in pace I attribute to dodging crazy people on the track. You'll notice there aren't any spikes like that between Miles 5 and 9, when I was on the treadmill, except for a few seconds where I walked to eat some Sport Beans (I have not yet mastered the art of opening and eating a package of Sport Beans while running). So here it is:
The very end was my walking cooldown, thus the drastic reduction in heart rate and slowing of pace. Average pace, including the cooldown, was 11:49. Not that it matters. The long run is not the time to set land-speed records. Running the long run slow makes it easier to recover from. And I am feeling pretty good right now, almost 5 hours after finishing my run. A little stiff in the legs, but otherwise fine.
Now, my husband also managed to run 12 miles today, despite the fact that he was only supposed to run 10. Not very good at following directions, that one. However, he did great and came out of it mostly fine (except for a chronic black toenail issue - ewwww). If he keeps running the same mileage as my friend Niki and I do (we are both training for marathons), he may as well run a marathon. We have both told him this, but he brushes us off and says he's not interested. I don't know... I think we'll make a marathoner out of him one of these days. Y'all wanna help me? *insert evil grin here*
Peace. Love. Train.
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