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Impromptu Long Run

February 24, 2011 by Kristy 11 Comments

2/24/11

13 miles

1:56

8:55 avg pace

So what prompted me to knock out 13 miles after work on a Thursday?!  Let me walk you through the inner dialogue I had with myself this morning (don’t be scared)…

OK, long run on Friday morning.  Need to check weather.  Crap, 100% chance of rain all day and lots of wind.  Well maybe I can run 13 miles on the treadmill?  Oh that will really suck.  I could barely stand 8 miles on Wednesday.

I can’t move the run to Saturday morning since I’m going to Sarah and Aidan’s basketball games (my niece and nephew).  I could run after the games but I know that will set me up for a bad run.

I could do it really early on Sunday morning and come home, shower super quick, and head to brunch (I have plans to go to brunch with my friends).  But I want to sleep in on Sunday…

WAIT.  I can do it today after work.  13 miles is practically a short run these days.  Weather is perfect too.

And there you have it.  Please tell me other people think this much about their running schedule!

I had a really good run.  Which was surprising, given my dislike for running after work.  My training plan called for 9:00 average pace but I really wanted to keep it under 9:00.  I’m pleased 🙂

This is a drop-week in my training plan, meaning my long run (and thus overall mileage) is decreased to allow my legs to rest.  The intensity is still there – I still had a speed and tempo run this week – but the mileage is lower.  It’s very similar to tapering before a race.  But it’s back to business on Monday.

For the rest of the night, I’ll be doing this:

Matt took this picture after the Philly Rock n’ Roll Half last September.  You would have thought Hawk ran the race too!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: 13 miles, half marathon, long run, speed, tempo, treadmill

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ruth says

    February 24, 2011 at 7:30 pm

    This really hits home for me. The conversations in my head are at least as long or longer. I listen to the weather and look at the calendar 5-7 days out from today and plan whether it’s a weight-lifting day (heavy rains, wind, snow) or a running day (sun being a big factor here). The trick is to lift every 3-4 days without giving up a good weather day to being inside. I often wonder what my brain would do with all the free time it had if I didn’t need to plan and constantly re-adjust my running schedule!

    Reply
  2. Meggie says

    February 25, 2011 at 2:54 pm

    I definitely do think about my running schedule that much. Are you running Jersey? I am too! And also trying to run sub-3:40…

    Reply
    • Kristy says

      February 25, 2011 at 3:13 pm

      I am running Jersey! I’m trying for a 3:50. You are speedy 🙂

      Reply
      • Meggie says

        February 25, 2011 at 3:16 pm

        Well, you can call me that AFTER I run that fast…haha! It remains to be seen if I can actually do it! I started running 2 yrs ago and did a marathon 1 yr ago — 4:09. My best half was this past Oct, which was 1:48:56. So, 3:40 or anything better than that will DEFINITELY be hard for me! Maybe I’ll see you there! I’m hoping it won’t be super hot like it was last year!

        Reply
        • Kristy says

          February 25, 2011 at 3:57 pm

          WOW…that is a great time for your 1st marathon! It took me forever to break 4 hours!

          I did read about the heat last year. I see that it’s a great race but the weather can make or break it. It’s so hard to predict shore weather in early May.

          Reply
  3. runninfromthelaw says

    February 25, 2011 at 4:41 pm

    Ha! I have these very same conversations. Plus some. Mine always involve something similar to yours, but also I different level of planning. “If I get up early and do my long run tomorrow, that means I can’t do my speed workout the next day. So maybe I should do my speed workout tomorrow, because I can do speed before a LR. But that would mean I’d have to . . . .” and on and on and on!

    I sort of drive myself crazy with all the thinking and planning! If only I didn’t have this job thing that keeps interfering with my running!

    Reply
    • Kristy says

      February 25, 2011 at 5:01 pm

      Cindi – you took the words right out of my mouth! The whole job thing totally interferes. If only I were an elite then running would be my job!

      Reply
  4. Ashley says

    February 26, 2011 at 4:07 pm

    Good work on 13! If I can run my first half in that time I will be so happy!

    Reply
  5. Claire says

    February 28, 2011 at 7:07 am

    I definitely think at least that much about my running schedule, always trying to fit everything together like a big puzzle! I’m impressed that you did that after work – sounds like we paced similarly! 🙂 Nice job!

    Reply

Trackbacks

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