Long Run and Marathon Pace Run

I had a 9 mile marathon pace run and a 19 mile run back-to-back last week.  Today I had a 10 mile run and then a bunch of other stuff to do, so here's all the post about them that I can muster.

Marathon Pace Run Friday, August 12
Somewhat successful, with an overall 8:22 pace.  Splits were 9:10, 8:37, 8:49, 8:51, 8:18, 7:53, 8:03, 8:00, and 7:28.  I remember feeling really triumphant that the last mile was near marathon pace (a 7:27).  Too bad the other 8 were not!  My friends and I who are marathon training have had SEVERAL conversations about how much time we can tack onto our runs due to the heat.  30 seconds a mile?  A minute?  It is so baffling to me that I can easily run a 7 something pace in a marathon, but on my own it feels impossible.  I also find it strange that I am having trouble finding the 7:27 pace, but that I can go faster (in races and even in speedwork) and, obviously, I can go slower (and do, most of the time).  I liked this day because it was very foggy.  I kept seeing my friends along my route but had trouble telling who they were, even from pretty close by.

Long Run Saturday, August 13
An interesting thing about this long run is that I found a York Peppermint Patty and used it to fuel before the run.  I think it worked well, and it was so tasty!  I DO NOT enjoy running in the dark.  It is hard to see where I am going, and every noise makes me jump out of my skin!  Just being real here, I almost turned the Garmin off and just called it a day around mile 3.  I think it is SO weird that I can start fast in a marathon, no problem, but in training, I start SLOW.  And then I take forever to warm up, during which time I think, "Maybe you should just stop now.  Can't you skip this long run and just run next week?  Your time is going to be SO slow."  So that happened for awhile, but I pushed on.  I have to remember that there are LOTS of ups and downs during a long run.  You might be feeling terrible at mile 3 or mile 13, but if you keep going, that feeling turns around. 

I met a friend for miles 4-10, and we were able to whittle my pace down (It helps me to actually picture myself with a block of wood just whittling it away with a chisel).  I finished much stronger than I started, and I felt GOOD.  That is the best part.  I only had a Gatorade bottle to hydrate with.  Not a good idea in this heat, when you are literally wringing your shirt out from sweat.

Overall pace: 9:17
Splits: 10:17, 10:03, 10:24 (thought about quitting), 10:10, 9:39, 9:15, 9:27, 9:44, 9:33, 9:32, 9:37, 8:43, 8:50, 8:51, 8:44, 8:17, 8:41, 8:17, 8:11 

Today was a COOL day (60s).  Running felt great.  I can't wait to see how I feel once the cooler temperatures hit.