Long Run Speed Fun

Sunday's run was a 13 miler in attempt to drop the mileage way back to give my body a little break. On Saturday I had the idea of making my long run a little more focused than usual. For most long runs, all I ever think about is my route, attire and fuel.

It's rare that I worry too much about pace before I start running. I mean, what if my body feels like hell that morning?

Well, this weekend I opted to do the following:

15 min warm up (9 min pace)
30 min marathon goal pace (8:20-8:30)
20 min tempo pace (attempting 7:45, but was closer to 8:00 most of the time)
32 min mgp (8:20-8:35)
10 min cool down

How did it go? For the most part, it went really well! It was nice to have a pace to aim for and maintain that steady pace.

I usually think I'm pretty aware of what pace I'm running at any time, but it's surprising how much that varies. At some parts of the run for example, 8:15 pace felt easy, while at other parts it felt really hard.

And tempo pace? Forget about it! It was a serious effort to hold 8 min pace and I noticed that after some time in each pace range, it became easier to go faster as the muscle fibers got warmed up(?). By the end of my tempo section, I was finally at 7:45 pace.

Oh and my warm ups and cool downs are never slow enough. I guess I just get too excited to start the run (or finish it). 

13.13 miles - 1:49:33 min

Thanks to dailymile, I realized today that March was my highest mileage month ever - 171 miles! I just picked up a new pair of my Brooks Adrenalines so I could have a fresh pair for race day. It's crazy how quickly I go through running shoes.

Anyway, I just thought I'd share my first time at truly focusing on paces for a long run. Has anyone else made a workout out of your long runs?

Cute photo of the day: Jonah Bell passed out before I left for work one day