Saturday, May 14, 2011

9 miles

Just finished my longest run to date- 9 miles! I ran a new route and absolutely LOVED it! I started near the airport at Spanish Landing and ran 4.5 miles to Embarcadero South and turned around back to the car for another 4.5. The weather was nice and cool, which was awesome. I actually hate running with the sun beating on me! Around mile 6.5 it started to sprinkle, but had stopped by the time I got back to the car. I was not expecting the sprinkles at all, so I felt a little caught off guard at first, but after looking at my splits, it actually looks like the rain helped me!

Mile 1- 10:45
Mile 2- 11:45-- really needed to go to the bathroom
Mile 3- 12:00
Mile 4- 12:07
Mile 5- 12:03
Mile 6- 12:01
Mile 7- 11:19-- rain
Mile 8- 12:02
Mile 9- 11:54
Total Time- 1:46:04- Average pace of 11:46

At the halfway point, I looked at my average pace and it was at 11:40, so the second half was slightly slower than the first half. I wish I could go into full detail about the bathroom experience, but let's just say that I almost wished I was in a porta potty. There were no doors on either of the two toilets and I just thank God that nobody walked in while I was in there. THAT would've been a sight!

There are some things I want to say about my pace. First of all, I know I am slow. But I was actually surprised that I ran faster than Smart Coach recommended for the half marathon. I entered my best 5k time on their website and they recommended a 12:27 average pace for the half. Maybe I shouldn't be comparing today's long run to the half- because who knows how much harder those additional 4 miles will be- but I was happy to see that my pace today was half a minute faster per mile compared to Smart Coach's recommendation. I can't wait for next weekend's long run of 10 miles, so I can compare it to this run! I actually am planning to do the long run on Friday because my fiance's parents are coming into town on Friday night for the weekend! Oh and I have my Girls on the Run 5k on Sunday- so I'll have a day of rest before the race!

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