Sunday was our long run day. My goal was to do 13.1 miles in under a 9 minute mile. I did it.
It was tough!
I ran 13.14 miles in an 8.58 pace. I don’t know how, but it was a personal best for me. TJ ran 18 miles at a 7:18 pace – how does he do that??? I am totally amazed what he can do.
Now to a question. Why is it so hard for me to run in the morning? I guess it is because I run in the afternoon 5 days a week and only run in the morning on weekends. But this is crazy. At mile 3 of my long run, I felt like I’d been hit by a truck. My legs hurt, my hip hurt and I just wanted to stop. This was mile 3!!! I have been running 5-6 miles a day for a long time now and don’t have much of a problem doing that. I don’t know if it is the thought of going 13 miles that is my problem or if it is the fact I get up and eat some eggs and grits and then go out, but I have to figure this one out. Most races are in the morning and I don’t want to get into the middle of my half marathon and feel like I can’t go on. To be honest it was a miracle that I made the mileage yesterday. Most Sundays I try to run about 10 miles, but with the race coming up in 3 weeks I figured it would be a good day to give the full mileage a try.
It was a victory to finish under a 9 minute pace. And once again, TJ continues to amaze me. We’ve only been running about 10 months and he is burning it up on long run days.
Today is our off day. I am thankful for that. Then Tuesday it all starts over again.
I love running, but I don’t know why some days.
278 to Boston 
Wow! That is a pace I could only dream about. Eating impacting running – that is something I identify with. I prefer morning running, but then I don’t eat much (or don’t eat anything) before going out. Afternoons I feel much more sluggish. What would you usually eat and when, and what time would you usually run in the afternoons?
Thanks for the reply and encouragement. I say the same thing about TJ’s pace.
Years ago I used to only run in the mornings, but now I get up at 4:00am and get to work at 5:30am, so unless I want to get up at 2:30… Don’t think so . When I started running again in March, I choose afternoons for that reason, but now after 10 months, that is what I am used to. Not bad in the Winter, but in the summer it gets up to 110 degrees – ugh.
I try to run about 2:00 – 3:00 in the afternoon (weekdays). I eat basic foods during the day. That is left over from when I was dieting. I eat eggs and grits at 4:30ish in the morning. Then around 8:00 I eat a protein bar, at 11:00 I eat some rice cakes and then about 6 oz of chicken about 12:00. That is it, other than dinner. It is crazy I can run 40 miles a week and I still can’t get my weight below 190!!!
One thing I do is try to drink 100 ounces of water a day. That really helps. I can run most runs and not be thirsty.
Anyway, maybe I need to eat differently on weekends when I run in the morning. I just eat eggs and grits and then run about an hour later. Yesterday I thought my legs were going to fall off!!! It was rough.