Saturday, September 1, 2007

A brilliant run

This morning I went out for a long run in preparation for the half marathon Sept 16. The end result was quite good in my opinion. I intended 9 miles and I did 9 miles. That is great in my mind. Recently I have been out trying to do long runs but have ended up with not as much distance or with poor times when it was all done. I had intended to average about 14:00 miles over 9 miles. Not too lofty, but with my plantar pull and a hamstring pull to contend with, I was looking for steady eddie not Carl Lewis.

Mile 1: 14:12
Mile 2: 13:42
Mile 3: 13:55
Mile 4: 14:01
Mile 5: 13:47
Mile 6: 14:10
Mile 7: 14:01
Mile 8: 14:07
Mile 9: 13:47

I know it doesn't look like much but I averaged just under 14:00 a mile which is exactly what I set out to do. I am not looking at setting any land speed records only to get through 13.1 miles in one piece. I will gladly accept blisters and exhaustion as part and parcel of the process. At the end of the run I still had a few more miles in me which was nice. So I think I will be able to get through this half marathon. Which is a nice feeling. I did have to push myself to keep the pace in the troublesome 5, 6, and 7 mile marks. It seems my body wants to slow down after I hit 5 miles. I think I have conditioned this response. But as long as I keep watch on my performance is should not be much of a problem. My only concern is slowing down my neighbor Jack on the run.

Cross training Notes
Today was my belt test as well. I went from 9 miles on the roads to the belt test not a swift move on my part. However, I did pass so that was nice. It seems that I am making progress on this front as well. I just have to keep at it. The thing about working on it every day is that you can never say I will do it tomorrow. That excuse just evaporates.

Up next.... Sunday 5 miles

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great job Rob! That last mile was super speedy! - Under 14:00! Don't you love it when it all starts coming together. For me, as soon as I get to 9 or 10, the miles don't seem easier but they don't seem as hard as going from 4-9. Have a great holiday!

pengo said...

Great work, congratulations! You obviously have an excellent grasp of what you are capable of, and how to execute that. You will make 13.1 miles in style.

Unknown said...

congrats on the 9 miles!! that's awesome! keep up the great work!

Robert Barker said...

Thanks alot for everyone's encouragement.

Anonymous said...

hey there! wow! 9 miles and still some energy left in the tank. thats great! thanks for the reminder on my blog; i appreciate it! have a great day off, how'd you do on the belt test? laura