A Few Good Runs

I've been out of town on business, so it was hard to keep my mileage up. Still, I got in a few good runs.

Tuesday: Carlos and I ran the hilly, rocky trails at Pigeon Creek, near Mountain Home, AR. We ran for about 70 minutes, and I'm guessing we did about six miles. It was a difficult run because I felt bloated the whole way, and I couldn't breathe very well. I think it's because I ate too many peanuts the night before at Colton's in Poplar Bluff.

Wednesday: Carlos and I ran for about 55 minutes at the Springfield Nature Center and on the Galloway trails. We ran for about 55 minutes. When we were on the paved trail, there were markers painted on the asphalt every tenth mile, and we were going at about an 8:15 pace there. I'm sure we were going much slower on the dirt and rock trails at the nature center. This was a much more pleasant run than Tuesday. The trails were not as rocky and not as covered by leaves. I still had some intestinal issues, and I was glad to get to the restroom at the end of the run.

Friday: At noon I did a 4.3 mile tempo run. I ran from downtown, through OSU Tulsa, and north on the Osage Trail to Pine Street and back. Average pace of 7:47. Friday evening I rode Saturday's route on my bike and chalked the course, marking every 1/2 mile.

Saturday: This was supposed to be a marathon pace run of about 16 miles, which we did by running two almost 8 mile loops. I was hoping to keep the pace between about 8:10 and 8:15 per mile. I ended up averaging 8:08 per mile for the 15.6 miles. Here are my mile splits:

Mile 1 - 8:00
Mile 2 - 7:50
Mile 3 - 8:07
Mile 4 - 8:04
Mile 5 - 8:30
Mile 6 - 8:01
Mile 7 - 8:21
Mile 8 - 6:09 (this was really 0.8 miles)
Mile 9 - 8:21

Mile 10 - 7:54

Mile 11 - 8:13

Mile 12 - 7:46

Mile 13 - 8:43

Mile 14 - 8:15

Mile 15 - 8:19

Mile 16 - 6:18 (this was really 0.8 miles)

It was a windy day, and there were a few hills, so that explains why there is so much variance in the pace. For instance, mile 12 was pretty quick, and I remember thinking we were going too fast, but then when we turned back into the wind, I realized why. And then mile 13 was dreadfully slow, but I don't think the effort level was any less than for mile 12. I was pretty satisfied with the run, but I am still having doubts about trying for 3:35 in the marathon. It would be so much easier just to shoot for 3:45, which I am pretty confident I can do.

Running miles for the week: about 32