Engaging My Brain

OBJECTIVE
2 mi. warm-up @ 8:37-9:47/
12 mi.@ 7:17/mi.
2 mi. cool-down @ 8:37-9:47/

ACHIEVED
dynamic stretch
12 mi.@ 7:14/mi.

5:48 AM 71° 93% 0 mph

I wasn't sure this run was even going to happen. Yesterday as the day progressed, I felt more and more like I was coming down with something. By the time it was 8:30 pm, I was running a low-grade fever and had a headache. The group was getting together this morning for a 21-miler. Knowing that I would be running shorter and not knowing my condition, I decided to stay closer to home and to my car in case I needed to bail out on this run. I didn't sleep well but when 5 AM rolled around I got up and felt like I'd give it a go. I drove over to the Y, stretched and started running. I skipped the 2 mi. warm up and 2 mi. cool down - frankly, because I forgot about them. But my mileage is already higher than scheduled so it's fine that I skipped it.

Over the first half mile, I was having some trouble finding the pace. Once I found it, I just figured I'd try holding it for as long as I could ... and see what happens. I was just on this same route on Thursday for an 8.5-mile tempo run that ended up being at 7:13 pace so I was really having a hard time imagining 12 miles at 7:17. I kept reminding myself to "stay in the mile". In other words, don't get ahead of myself thinking about how far I have left or how far I've been. This was good practice for the marathon. When I've had good marathons, it's because I've "stayed in the mile".

The miles rolled by. As long as I locked my mind in at 7:17, my brain knew exactly what to do. It's in charge on a subconscious level and is able to put my legs on the prescribed pace. I can't explain it any better than that. I'm sure there's a bunch going on but I don't know the details ....

I tried to break the run into segments like I will the marathon. The marathon breaks down to 10, 10 and 6.2 miles. The first segment I'll run "with my head" (in other words "don't go out too fast!"). The second segment I'll run "with my legs" - e.g., find a comfortable rhythm and stick with it. The third segment is racing time and is run with my heart. I tried to follow the same scale for today's run which meant the segments were roughly 5, 5, and 2 miles. I didn't blow out the last two miles because I am in taper mode.

Overall this is one of the best runs of the run. It was a real confidence booster and there's no way I could have anticipated that going in.

Now it's time to rest and fight whatever my body is trying to battle. Even though I logged this very solid run, I'm still not feeling quite right. Fortunately, it was never an issue during the run.

PRE RUN
weight=161.5
oatmeal w/brown sugar & skim milk

POST RUN
SlimFast
Later, water, multivitamin, chocolate milk (skim) & Kashi GoLean cereal w/skim milk