The road to 13.1: Uncharted territory

I woke up in Flint on Thursday morning (19 February), but that didn’t prevent me running.  I had packed all my running gear, so I dragged myself outside and started my run about 0550 hours EST on that cold, snowy, windy morning.

Run #16:  4 miles, 41:58, 10:29.6/mile

There were a couple of negatives about this run.  I didn’t pace myself well, and I paid for it.  My first mile was my fastest, and each mile got progressively slower.  I didn’t find much of a kick at the end.

Despite the disappointing elements, there were some positives.  Overall, it was a good time (for me, anyway) for 4 miles, and it was a rather hilly course.  Perhaps the biggest positive is the fact that, when that run concluded, I had completed one full month of race training.  I haven’t broken anything.  Granted, but for the grace of God, I should have broken my ankle during that 4-mile run.  I hit a pothole; fortunately, my toe and heel hit the edges of the hole, and I remained upright and running.

***

The cold, snowy theme carried over to my long run on Saturday.  Those of us at Borgess Run Camp did our thing through a winter storm.  My training schedule called for an 8-mile run today; however, I extended that a little bit.  On the first Saturday in April, when my training schedule says I should run 13 miles (?!), I’m going to run 14 (??!!) to help me get ready for the River Bank Run 25K (15.5 miles) in May.  With that in mind, I knew I needed to stretch out my distance a bit, and today seemed like a good day.

Run #17:  8.88 miles, 1:40:24, 11:18.3/mile

I would like to have managed a better pace, but I won’t complain too much about today’s run.  The course would have been challenging in clear, dry weather, but the snow made it much more complicated.  It took a lot out of me, but … sheesh, I burned around 1,500 calories today, and I ran farther than I’ve ever run in my life.  Ever.  That’s good stuff.