Any marathon runner knows that September is a big month for fall marathon training. Today is the 19th, and already I have more miles this month than in any full month so far this year. Of course, this year has not been a model of overtraining, but it has been a big month even so. I have completed three long runs this month, and each had its own, definite character.
Saturday, September 4. 7:10pm. This was my "impromptu" long run, in the sense that I originally planned to do this run the following morning. In fact, I spent a part of the afternoon prior to the run with a couple of beers and some ghost peppers. Still, when 7pm rolled around and all three daughters were in bed for the night, it seemed like a great opportunity.
This run was, to some extent, all wrong from the start. I went out at a stupid pace for such a run - my pace didn't rise above 8:19 until mile 9, and there were a couple of sub-8:00 miles thrown in just to make things interesting. After that, I only hit a sub-9:00 pace for three of the remaining miles. There was even a 12:00+ mile at the end, after I had submitted to my aching stomach and legs. Ugly run, and a good lesson that it is tough to fake an 18 miler.
Total distance 17.95, total time 2:44:25, 9:09/mile average pace.
Sunday, September 12. 6:00am. I tried to apply my lesson learned from the prior week's 18 mile run and go out at a more reasonable pace, and succeeded hitting paces in the mid to high 8:00s for the first 10 miles. Mile 11 was slow, yet interesting, as I made my way from our local "River Greenway" onto a golf course and spooked three white tail deer. Running on a few fairways certainly helped ease the impact on my feet and legs, but did slow me down considerably. Other than another 10:00+ mile at mile 18, this run finished uneventfully.
Total distance 21.02, total time 3:12:05, 9:08/mile average pace.
To be honest, after two runs in a row without averaging a sub-9:00/mile pace, I was a bit disheartened. I try to keep perspective about training runs, since they are just that. Still, my AA+ goal for the Grand Rapids Marathon in October is a Boston qualifying time of 3:15:59 or less. Using a conservative rule of thumb, my long runs should be coming in at no slower than 8:57/mile. Although 0:10/mile is not a lot, particularly on a training run, these two runs shook my confidence not just slightly.
Sunday, September 19. 6:20am. After the last two long runs, I needed this. Everything about this morning's run just felt better. I got out of the door about 20minutes later than I wanted, but didn't feel the need to push the pace. The run was scheduled at 22 miles, with 19.5 miles at "base" pace and the last 2.5 miles at "marathon" pace. I ended up in my driveway about 0.5 miles earlier than I had planned, which led to the shortened total distance for the run.* I also did not quite hit a true marathon pace for the last two miles. Still, it felt good to push myself at the end, and it felt even better when my legs responded.
Total distance 21.43, total time 3:06:58, 8:43/mile average pace (last 2 miles at 7:49/mile average pace).
* No, my trusty Garmin 405 did not mislead me into a shortened run. However, I do blame the Garmin, or at least my reliance on it. Because the Garmin records my every step for later full review, I no longer plan out my runs. Instead, I usually decide to run a loosely defined route that I estimate will meet my distance need for the day. As I run, I find myself estimating at various turns about how to navigate enough road to hit the full desired distance. Sometimes, like today, I overestimate the distance back to my house from whatever point at which I make the fateful decision to head for home. Today, I cut out a tour of the golf course from last week's run, which would have gotten me at least the extra 0.5 miles.
