15.5-mile run went so much better than last Sunday's. Not only did I actually finish it all, but I made much better time than last week. I am sure some of this has to do with the fact that my body is remembering how to do this whole running thing, but paying attention to my heart rate is making a difference too.
I started out with run/walk intervals of 1:00 and 1;30, respectively, because that's my favorite interval if I have a long way to go and/or am apprehensive about finishing a distance. My friend Ellen introduced me to those intervals in 2015 when I ran my first Louisiana Marathon while I was still taking a Z-pack for some sickness I picked up the week before the race. That year, I needed to redeem myself from the Great Bus Ride at the 2014 Marine Corps Marathon, so I was not skipping the Louisiana Marathon. I ended up having a great race and beating my time from the Chicago Marathon in 2013, my only other completed marathon at that time. I have done run 2:00/walk 1:00 most of this year, but I can still move pretty well with the 1:00/1:30 intervals, even when I am walking more time than I am running. It's funny how that works.
After I did 1:00/1:30 intervals for half of the run (7.75 miles) and was keeping my heart rate down without any trouble, I changed my intervals to run 1:00/walk 1:00 to pick up the pace a bit and see if I had a little more in be. The switch went just fine. At 10.25 miles, I ran into Ellen (the same Ellen from earlier in this post) who was out riding her bike and looking like a champion. We chatted for a few minutes, and I caught my breath enough to finish my run on a positive note. With four miles remaining, I returned to my 2:00/1:00 intervals and didn't have any trouble. I stopped my watch during the chat time, but I finished my run with a negative split somewhere in the neighborhood of 7:00, so I think I would have had a negative split even without the pausing. That's how the game is played.
I rolled out of the house at 8:20 am, which was later than I wanted, armed with 20 oz handheld bottle and a 2-L hydration vest, all filled with diluted Tailwind. Despite drinking all of that fluid, I managed to lose 2.4 pounds while I was out running. I was covered in sweat and not smelling like a fresh flower when I returned. I also got a little bit of sun on my shoulders (oops), but other than that, I felt great after the run. Around 5:00 I crashed for a nap, and now I'm doing a bit of reading before I retire tonight. It's not quite going to bed by 10:00 pm, but I'm excited to be in bed by midnight tonight.
Something that made today great: Picking up Scooter from Camp Bow Wow! We boarded her yesterday since we knew we would be gone for a long time, but I missed her.
Time I woke up: 7:34 am-- not bad after a late night!
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