I like to make Saturday mornings my long run days. I prefer to use Sunday as a complete rest day. It’s the one day a week I take off completely. Currently, I run four times a week and do low impact cross training, like the elliptical, two times a week. I’m able to work out each day during the work week, so I prefer taking Sunday off completely to spend with my family.
I’ve been building my base before I start my 12 week half marathon training program for the upcoming New Jersey Half Marathon. I’ve been mixing in runs on the treadmill, roads, and up at the high school track.
This Saturday, I tried a new route and ran for 8.05 miles. I started out running on the road for half mile up to the high school. I then ran a half mile around the track and went back to the road. The next mile was all up hill. I then ran into the park were it’s mostly rolling small hills. I love being able to take in the beautiful park scenery, seeing others walking their dogs, or running.
Side note, isn’t it the best to pass other runners on the road? It’s like a family. I always make sure I wave and smile at other runners, no matter how I’m feeling during that run. I get an extra jolt too. It’s really kind of Runspirational :o)
Back to the run. I came out of the park and had a steady uphill to conquer on the course. Such a great feeling to make it to the top and hit a flat part. It sucks while you’re doing it, but it’s so worth it.
I was feeling great and approached the high school around mile 5. I decided to do another lap around the track. It was nice to do .75 miles on the softer surface.
Back out to the road and I hit the final steep but not that long of a hill. I hit it and felt like my speed wasn’t what it could be. I said to myself, come on, you got this. It’s not that long. The fastest you go, the fastest it’s done. It’s amazing the conversations we have with ourselves when running.
When I hit mile 6, I could feel it in my legs. I think my legs are used to runs ending around 6 – 6 .5 miles. Last Saturday, I ran 7.1 miles. That was the longest I’d ever run prior to this Saturday. It’s amazing how our muscles and mind can be so conditioned and you just need to change things up and push them to the next level.
I was able to dig deep and kept pushing. I kept checking my pace as I didn’t want it to dip to slow. When I hit the last .15 prior to my house, I really kicked it into high gear. I try and train to always add a sprint kick at the end so when I race, I know I can push it for the last, short distance to the finish line.
The weather was kind of blah, but the temp was good and it wasn’t snowing or raining. Very good running weather if you ask me.
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