I knew it was going to be tough. But marathon training isn't supposed to be easy, otherwise it would be a marathon of watching Netflix (which to me sounds as good as a 16 mile run). Between 5:30 p.m. Friday evening and 11 a.m. Saturday morning, I ran 24 miles. One run of 8 miles and another of 16 miles. One at easy pace - between 9:02 and 9:41 pace. One at long run pace - 8:42. I'll give you $5 if you figure out which one was easier?! I'll give you one hint...it was half the distance of the other. As I still figure out routes in Bristol, I am discovering that it is very difficult to go more than two miles without having to run up a hill. On Friday evening I went out four and back four. It was all going great until the sidewalk literally ended and I found myself running on the side of a major road (s*** happens lol). That was going fine and I even knew where I was -- thank you Bristol Half Marathon -- until I got startled when a dog barked out of a car when I was in a trance running strong up one of those annoying hills. I probably jumped three feet in terror. It took me 1:17 -- average pace of 9:38 (right in the target zone) and I only had to stop for 2:42 for stop lights. I felt really strong afterwards and had definitely hit a runner's high which I was hoping would translate to a great run on Saturday. If I kept that pace -- and I felt I could have gone even faster, but wanted to conserve for Saturday, I thought I could run the 16 miles schedule in 2:30 or less. I made sure that I foamed rolled really well, ate and hydrated properly well since I knew it was a quick turn over. Saturday morning was the perfect morning for a run -- not too warm, the sun was out and you could smell fall coming in New England. I was going strong for the first four miles (I had run them before) but I was running blind -- not knowing the topography of what I would encounter -- for the next four before I wanted to turn around. I suddenly found myself in Burlington, CT and on a "scenic road." A little hint, Connecticut scenic roads are roads that have a lot of hills and curves and when the fall foliage takes effect look amazing. Today, it was road that was kicking my a** and I was worrying about getting hit by cars taking the curves a little sharply. To go out 8 miles, it took me 1:18 and to get back it took me 1:20, I really struggled on some of the hills I hit between miles 8-12. I'll do the math for you, that is a total of 2:38 for 16 miles -- an average pace of 9:55 which is about a whole minute slower than I was aiming for. I also had 9:29 of rest time between traffic lights, taking some pictures and struggling up some hills. I learned some important lessons though on the Saturday morning run. 1) I need to find a way to bring some form of hydration on my runs or gel chews. 2) I am not a strong runner when running blind. 3) Connecticut is beautiful. 4) Thank goodness I only have two more 16 miles runs left -- but I can improve from here. 5) Seeing as I believe that I will have to have these tough turnarounds for the rest of training, my bed will be my new best friend. Even with as hard as both runs were and they were also rewarding, I got some cool pictures for you to enjoy below and allowed me to realize how much I really do love this crazy sport. Even if I can't feel my quads.
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Megan FloodMegan is 29 and a 14-time marathoner. She is hoping to Boston Qualify one day. She doesn't know exactly how this blogging will go, but she is giving it her best shot! Archives
June 2019
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Marathoning Megan