As you may have guessed from this morning’s post on surviving long runs, I did a long run today!
I am running the National Half Marathon in Washington DC at the end of March, and today was my first double digit run since I ran a marathon in October. I was a little nervous, but also excited. I really love long runs – the way they feel during and after, too.
Plus, the weather was gorgeous earlier – not too hot, a little windy. I started to sweat after a mile (and I was rockin’ a sleeveless shirt!). My aim was to maintain a steady pace that was a little slower than my goal pace (I hope to run a sub-2:00 hour Half or MAYBE a 1:55).
Around Mile 4.0, I stopped off at the store to grab fuel:
I was tempted by this $1 beer though… Heh. Can you imagine? I knew a guy who drank a beer at Mile 24 of a marathon (he vomited his way across the finish line). I know it’s not a good idea; however, it did sound REALLY refreshing. Maybe later!
Here are my splits:
- Distance: 10.0 miles
- Duration: 1:38:10
- Mile 1: 9:38
- Mile 2: 9:36
- Mile 3: 9:42
- Mile 4: 9:47
- Mile 5: 10:01
- Mile 6: 10:06
- Mile 7: 9:32 <— glucose from the Gatorade kickin’ in!
- Mile 8: 9:59
- Mile 9: 10:00
- Mile 10: 9:47
I cannot imagine running another 3.1 miles in the space of 17 minutes! But hopefully, I’ll be able to do it under race conditions.
Pre-run breakfast was a Grilled Banana Sandwich:
And afterwards, I made this incredibly easy bowl of pasta. Would you believe this whole thing took 4 minutes after the water started to boil?
I cooked Somen noodles (Japanese whole wheat, very thin), drained, put back in the pot, added white bean and basil hummus, added some tomatoes, chickpeas, and spinach, and gave it a good stir. Tada! Creamy vegan pasta. Topped with sunflower seeds.
I had about 1.5 servings of pasta in the bowl. I’m sure my hunger is going to kick in strong after such a hard workout, but it usually takes a few hours to catch up with me.
Psst – This morning, a producer of a major morning talk show (can’t say which one, but it’s cool!) contacted me and asked me to put a call out on my blog. Are you overweight or obese according to BMI charts and been denied health insurance because of your weight… despite the fact that you live a healthy lifestyle? If so, shoot me an email at caitlinjboyle@gmail.com. You could be on TV!
Off to Girls on the Run! 🙂
You go, girl! I love reading about your half-marathon training adventures because I’m in the midst of training for one too! Mine’s in April, so my long run is only about 8.5 miles now, but I’m getting there. And I’m also shooting for that sub-1:55 time 🙂 Great tips about overcoming that long run – it’s surprising how far pre-run pep talks will take you!