1 down, 12 to go

My second half marathon is 13 weeks away.  Even though I am training for the Tri for the Cure I need to make sure I get in one long run a week.  13 weeks, 13 long runs (lucky number 13 will be the race).

Monday was the first long run.  I haven't actually done a long run since the Colfax Half Marathon on May 15th.  So for two months my longest run has been 4.25 miles.  I wasn't sure how well I would do or how far I would go.  And I definitely didn't know how fast I would do it.  I made a general plan to run 7 miles. . .slowly.  The other plan for the day was to run flat which means a drive out to the Mary Carter Greenway (flat runs are hard to come by here).




It was a beautiful morning.  Sixty-seven, cloud cover, light breeze.  Perfecto!  I gathered the ipod, the uber dorky (yet totally necessary) hydration belt, the Newton's, a hat, and I was off.  I told myself that I would try to do 7 miles, but if I needed to do fewer that would be fine.  It was my first week after all and the if I did 4 I would still be on track with training.

I have decided to use my heart rate monitor for training this time.  It had been malfunctioning and telling me I had a heart rate of 60 then 250 then 23 then 210.  What the heck??  Either I need to see a cardiologist or this thing wasn't working.  It is no longer possessed and seems to be working correctly so I used it for my long run.  I wanted to feel comfortable the whole time so I aimed for a heart rate around 150-170.  I know this is a range I can sustain for a long time.  Lower and I am not working hard enough, higher and I will burn out.

I am pleased to report that the run ended up being quite fantastic.  The temperature was great, my heart rate was good, and my legs were hanging in there.  When I got to the point where I would turn around I thought, what the heck, I'll keep going!  (I am sure the fact that my kids woke up super grumpy and were already fighting with each other had absolutely no influence on this decision.)  The way back was a little slower and my legs really began to feel it.  But I knew I would make it and I did just that.  9.4 miles.  Not bad for my first time out.

I must admit I was a little slower than I wanted to be.  It took me 91 minutes (9:40 pace).  I was hoping for faster but I am overall pleased with my starting point.  I will have to put in some serious work if I want to average 9 minute miles, but dang it I want to have a sub 2 hour time! 

12 more runs and 12 more chances to run it faster!