I mentioned before that Janice had signed up for the Wine Country Half Marathon in July. Her scheduled called for 13 miles on Saturday. She asked me to run it with her. She was more than a little concerned about this distance. She had only covered this much ground once before at the Fontana Days Half, with the down hill advantage. I was sure she would be fine but was happy to run with her. I figured I would let her set the pace and that would keep me under control.
We met at the Santa Ana River Trail along with about a dozen of the CA Cruisers. Most of the group was planning on 10. The plan was to run south on the trail. This is good because of the dirt path next to the bike trail for much of the way in this direction. We had met at 6:30 to avoid the heat, forecasts were calling for a 100 degree record breaker. We were fortunate in that the day dawned overcast, no sun in sight. We all ran the first mile together. It was fun for me to have Janice meet some crazy running people. After the first, Jesse and Michelle broke away, followed by me and Janice then the rest of the group.
We made it to the turn around point with Janice feeling strong. We just ticked off the miles at a nice easy pace, at least for me, between 9:30 and 10:00. Janice was doing great. At the 9.5 mile point or so she asked me whether we had hit 10 miles yet. She was beginning to get tired. She and I both recognized this as her "10 mile wall" when she mildly panicked at Fontana. At 11 miles Janice asked for a walk break and took a whole 30 seconds before she started running again. Although she was getting tired, she was still running strong. She did not drop the pace as the run went on. The sun came out just as we hit the 12 mile mark. We couldn't have asked for more. Our final time was 2:08, not that far off from our downhill half marathon finish of 2:05. Janice was worried that she would be a lot slower without that advantage. The Wine Country Half is rolling, so she has some concerns about that and about running it alone. I'm confident based on todays run, that she will be awesome that day.
Saturday - 13 miles in 2:08 or 9:51 pace. My slowest pace in a long time where hills weren't involved.
Sunday, I went back over to Bonelli. I was supposed to meet Terry there, but she backed out last minute. On the drive over (<10 minutes) I debated with myself whether I should run a flatter road route or run my normal Sunday morning hill route. I finally opted for the hill route and vowed to take it very easy, especially on the uphill. Well, I was successful at that. My time was 57:06 for 5 miles, 11:25 pace. I can't remember running that pace since I first started running.
I'm hoping the slow miles are a part of a good taper program. But, I fear in the back of my mind that the slowness will continue. Well maybe not so much in the back of my mind! I'll be the first to admit that I think about this way too much!
During the next two weeks the mileage decreases and I get an extra rest day. Woot! On another "happy" note the temperature in Bellevue, WA is a sultry 86°F, with a heat advisory for the area. Lets get this over with and then get back to normal averages come July 9th (I told you I think about this too much, LOL!).
Miles for the week: 38
8 comments:
Since your still doing some decent milage during your taper mode... just becareful that your pace isn't too slow. Your 9:51 pace is a good pace for your sub-4 goal marathon pace.
I don't know how many no running days before the marathon you take (I take 2 full rest days) but you may want to consider an extra day.
Have fun in the taper!
Hi Darrell. Good to see you've been keeping busy. I hope the weather cools off for the upcoming marathon. That heat must hard to run in.
I have to say, Darrell, that you seem to be the perfect running buddy -- always there to help pace a friend and raise their confidence level.
I like to do some brief runs at marathon speed or slightly faster during the taper, just so your legs remember that "pattern" of movement. Usually just some brief pickups during an otherwise slow workout is enough, or maybe 3 sets of 1 mile.
Otherwise, don't worry about total mileage. You've done the work.
i love that you wrote "My slowest pace in a long time where hills weren't involved." haha. btw, thanx for recapping for alex my grossness post 13 miles and bug storms. punk. j/k. thanks for running with me deej!
Ah, how nice to know someone else who obsessess over temperatures :-). Do you want to borrow my digital thermometer to set out in Bellvue that morning??!!
"Taper Madness" they call it...you're in good shape. The easy 13 miles two weeks out is a fine thing. Enjoy the time...you will be well set!
have fun tapering :)
way to go Janice!
it's taper time, you have to obsess over *something* right?
I wouldn't worry about the temperatures too much. This is Seattle after all. It is supposed to be back into the 70's starting tomorrow. Hopefully that doesn't mean we'll get another heat wave after the cool down though.
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