This morning, I was supposed to run with Jessica, but she canceled because she had some stuff going on at home. So I changed my plan from doing 4 miles at a 10:00/mi pace to doing 4 miles at my 'A' goal race pace. I wanted to see if it would even be possible for me to hold that pace on my race Sunday.
I don't know where I got the number 9:14 from yesterday--but to finish sub-2:00 on Sunday, I'll have to pull a 9:10/mi pace. I set my Garmin to beep an alert if my pace became faster than 8:50/mi and slower than 9:30/mi. I chose such a wide range because I didn't want it to be beeping constantly, and I wasn't sure how well I was going to be able to hold my pace.
I didn't realize that by changing these settings, my 'auto lap' feature would be turned off--which means I have no idea what my splits were for each mile. I only know my average pace for the whole run.
Anyway, I headed out for my run, and I tried my best to keep my pace as close to 9:14 as I could without going slower than that (I later learned this should have been 9:10). I think I finished the first mile in 8:58 or something, so I tried to slow down. A few times, I found myself spacing out and getting into my "zone" for running, and when I glanced down at the Garmin, I was at about a 9:07 pace.
So I think (I hope!) that my comfortably uncomfortable race pace for the half-marathon will be less than 9:10. But I'll really have to push it. My heart rate was about 160, which is uncomfortable, but sustainable. My average heart rate at my previous half-marathon, in Indy last May, was 161 bpm, and I ran a 9:59 pace. So my heart rate is the same when I run a 9:06 pace now, which means I'm getting more conditioned. Of course, I only did 4 miles at that today).
I know I'm putting WAY too much thought into this stupid race. I was thinking of it as a training run all along, but now that there is a possibility of getting my sub 2:00 half-marathon, I'm tempted to go for it.
I was dreading writing about this, but I know I need to. My weight has gone up about 5 pounds since I started getting into the double-digit runs :( I know this is actually pretty common in marathon training, due to a number of factors...
A tiny amount of it could be from the increase in glycogen stores from my increase in mileage (when your body stores glycogen, it stores water with it). But I know deep down that the real cause for it is due to my trips to Whole Foods or La Pita after our long runs. I've been using the calories burned during those runs as a license to eat much more than usual.
So in order to keep this 5 pounds from turning into 20 pounds, I'm going to have to nip this in the bud. I'm going to get my eating back to normal at least 6 days a week. On my long run days, I'll allow myself an extra treat--something I've been craving, or going out to eat with Jessica.
I'm going to go back to my "Wednesday Weigh-Ins" where I post a scale picture, and my body fat percentage, and my waist measurement. Hopefully this will keep me accountable.
I have a big day tomorrow! Our new carpet is getting installed, and I'm going to the movies with my dad to see The Hunger Games. I started re-reading the book yesterday, hoping to finish today. I have about 100 pages left, so I better get going on it!
I didn't realize that by changing these settings, my 'auto lap' feature would be turned off--which means I have no idea what my splits were for each mile. I only know my average pace for the whole run.
So I think (I hope!) that my comfortably uncomfortable race pace for the half-marathon will be less than 9:10. But I'll really have to push it. My heart rate was about 160, which is uncomfortable, but sustainable. My average heart rate at my previous half-marathon, in Indy last May, was 161 bpm, and I ran a 9:59 pace. So my heart rate is the same when I run a 9:06 pace now, which means I'm getting more conditioned. Of course, I only did 4 miles at that today).
I know I'm putting WAY too much thought into this stupid race. I was thinking of it as a training run all along, but now that there is a possibility of getting my sub 2:00 half-marathon, I'm tempted to go for it.
I was dreading writing about this, but I know I need to. My weight has gone up about 5 pounds since I started getting into the double-digit runs :( I know this is actually pretty common in marathon training, due to a number of factors...
A tiny amount of it could be from the increase in glycogen stores from my increase in mileage (when your body stores glycogen, it stores water with it). But I know deep down that the real cause for it is due to my trips to Whole Foods or La Pita after our long runs. I've been using the calories burned during those runs as a license to eat much more than usual.
So in order to keep this 5 pounds from turning into 20 pounds, I'm going to have to nip this in the bud. I'm going to get my eating back to normal at least 6 days a week. On my long run days, I'll allow myself an extra treat--something I've been craving, or going out to eat with Jessica.
I'm going to go back to my "Wednesday Weigh-Ins" where I post a scale picture, and my body fat percentage, and my waist measurement. Hopefully this will keep me accountable.
I have a big day tomorrow! Our new carpet is getting installed, and I'm going to the movies with my dad to see The Hunger Games. I started re-reading the book yesterday, hoping to finish today. I have about 100 pages left, so I better get going on it!
