14-Mile Struggle

NSP Community Center 14 mi in 2:01:22, pace 8:40 average. It was hard to maintain this modest pace today. The “perceived effort” felt more like an eight-minute pace. Every time I looked at my watch I was a little bit disappointed. Glad it wasn’t a marathon day. But we got ‘er done, and better days will come. In fact this one was free of pain both during and after, plus I got to run with my sweeties again, so what the heck am I complaining about? *grin*

A very recent Runners World article reminds us that our best days are indicators of our genuine capability as runners, and our worst days are nothing other than bad days. And I know why this was a bad day: (1) Not enough food yesterday (too busy to eat!); and (2) not a lot of sleep. Plus I’m a little stressed about health issues I suppose. Plus I battled setup problems on a new Windows Vista laptop half of the day yesterday, the subject of an upcoming post you may be SURE! Grump grump.

Splits: 8:50, 8:27, 8:47, 8:30, 8:51, 8:29, 8:58, 8:29, 8:51, 8:26, 8:56, 8:29, 8:52, 8:27. Water after each even mile, gels at 2, 6, & 10. I’ve always used Clif Shot, partly because it’s organic, but I’m liking GU also because it isn’t quite as thick and therefore is easier to swallow while running and breathing hard. Now that the run is over, I feel GREAT as usual.