Tough Long Run
After travelling back home yesterday, and spending the better part of the afternoon once we got back unpacking and cleaning up, I was totally wiped and looked forward to a good night of sleep. Once again, however, I ended up totally awake and exhausted at 3am, unable to get back to sleep. So, once I finally got out of bed at a late 8:30am, I had a headache and was not looking forward to my long run.
The weather, though, was perfect. No humidity, a nice breeze, and sunny. I told myself to just get the distance under my belt and that pace really didn't matter on this day. The long runs, or so I am told, are the most important to do during marathon training since they prepare both the body and the mind to stay out for a long period of time running. Eventually I will have to stay out there for well over three hours, but today would be the first time during this training cycle (and only and third time ever) that I would be running for over two hours non-stop.
I strapped on my two bottles, one with Gatorade, the other with water, and finally got out the door a little after 9am. I decided to just run and not think about what was to come: the pain, the mental agony and potential boredom, and all that. I do not run with any music and find that the less "stuff" I have to bring along the better. Even two water bottles was more than I would have liked to carry along, but I had no idea if I would be passing by any water fountains on my way.
I ran down to the Don Valley Trail system and headed south with the idea of running out onto the Leslie Spit since the 10 miler I will be racing next Sunday includes this loop. I didn't know if it would be open given that Toronto is currently experiencing a major strike among all outdoor and indoor City workers, but when I arrived at the entrance I was pleased to see that it was indeed open. The run was tough, as the title states, but I tried my best to stay positive and just keep running. Once I completed the loop I had a pretty long uphill climb on the way home and this was definitely the toughest part of the run.
In the end I managed to complete the 24km in 2:14:12 for an average pace of 5:35/km (8:59/mile). The average heart rate ended up at 145bpm, which was good. I passed the Half-Marathon point in 1:57:44.
Also, I achieved a new mileage milestone this week completing 51km. It's crazy to think that I managed only 64km in all of May, and yet I am now closing in on that in a one week period. Next week I will drop the distance a little bit I think as I head into the Toronto 10 Miler. I will try and use the race as a tempo training run and will have to think hard about the pace I want to achieve. I'm thinking 4:54/km, which is the theoretical marathon pace that I should be able to achieve based on my 10k best time. We'll see...
Garmin don't lie.
The weather, though, was perfect. No humidity, a nice breeze, and sunny. I told myself to just get the distance under my belt and that pace really didn't matter on this day. The long runs, or so I am told, are the most important to do during marathon training since they prepare both the body and the mind to stay out for a long period of time running. Eventually I will have to stay out there for well over three hours, but today would be the first time during this training cycle (and only and third time ever) that I would be running for over two hours non-stop.
I strapped on my two bottles, one with Gatorade, the other with water, and finally got out the door a little after 9am. I decided to just run and not think about what was to come: the pain, the mental agony and potential boredom, and all that. I do not run with any music and find that the less "stuff" I have to bring along the better. Even two water bottles was more than I would have liked to carry along, but I had no idea if I would be passing by any water fountains on my way.
I ran down to the Don Valley Trail system and headed south with the idea of running out onto the Leslie Spit since the 10 miler I will be racing next Sunday includes this loop. I didn't know if it would be open given that Toronto is currently experiencing a major strike among all outdoor and indoor City workers, but when I arrived at the entrance I was pleased to see that it was indeed open. The run was tough, as the title states, but I tried my best to stay positive and just keep running. Once I completed the loop I had a pretty long uphill climb on the way home and this was definitely the toughest part of the run.
In the end I managed to complete the 24km in 2:14:12 for an average pace of 5:35/km (8:59/mile). The average heart rate ended up at 145bpm, which was good. I passed the Half-Marathon point in 1:57:44.
Also, I achieved a new mileage milestone this week completing 51km. It's crazy to think that I managed only 64km in all of May, and yet I am now closing in on that in a one week period. Next week I will drop the distance a little bit I think as I head into the Toronto 10 Miler. I will try and use the race as a tempo training run and will have to think hard about the pace I want to achieve. I'm thinking 4:54/km, which is the theoretical marathon pace that I should be able to achieve based on my 10k best time. We'll see...
Garmin don't lie.
Labels: running
posted by Vava at
1:11 PM
6 Comments:
So the map makes that look like a pretty incredible run? Out on the water? Good times. No body of water bigger than my kids' wading pool within 100 miles here.
I sometimes think the tough runs really prepare us for marathon day. You did great.
Congrats on the weekly mileage and long run milestones! You'll be seeing many of these this summer!
I've often wondered and now I'll ask. Do you know what your resting heart rate is?
Andrew: 45bpm.
Thanks Vava. I'm always interested in the heart rate stuff and your heart rates are always quite close to mine.
My RHR varies between 47 and 42 depending on how much running I'm doing.
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