Long Run Blues

Well, as a result of being stuck at work all day long on Saturday (AKA the most perfect NYC day for a long run ever), I was forced to push my long run to Sunday this past weekend. I knew it was supposed to be rainy and gross out all day, but sometimes you just don't really have a choice, you know? Once I finally got home on Saturday night, I sat down to a dinner of whole wheat penne pasta with home-made pesto (yes, my boyfriend does things like make home-made pesto for me). As I ate, I carefully searched for a few podcasts that would make for appropriate listening material on a rainy Sunday morning long run. All of a sudden, there it was . . . buzzzzz buzzzzz! My blackberry vibrated. With dread, I picked it up, typed in my password and soon thereafter came to the disheartening realization that I would not, in fact, have Sunday off as I had originally thought. No no, I would have to be in by 11:00 a.m. to supervise a couple of contract attorneys who had decided to come in. UGH.

I tried to be positive. "That's okay! It's about time I learn how to get my butt up early and get my long runs over with earlier in the day! Before too long, it will be so hot that I'll have to do it anyway. Might as well start getting into the habit now. Plus, think of all the gear you can buy with the six additional hours of double-time you'll make! Life is great!" I finished my dinner, mixed some gatorade, pulled out the clothing I wanted to wear the next day and set the coffee-maker to come on at the crack of dawn. I looked at the clock and realized it was somehow already approaching 10:30 p.m. It was time to hit the hay. I set the alarm for just before 6:00 a.m. and headed off to bed.

I waited . . . and I waited . . . and I waited for sleep to come to me. But it did not. You see, my body is clearly not used to going to bed so early. It was still in full-on multi-tasking hyper-functional mode. I did my taxes in my head. I made grocery lists for the next six weeks. I named my not-yet-conceived children. In short, I got everything accomplished but sleep itself. Ah well.

Finally, after hours and hours of restlessness, the alarm went off. I sat up and took a listen . . . rain, rain and more rain. Fabulous. I got up, poured a cup of eggnog-flavored coffee (yes, for some reason we still have eggnog-flavored coffee in our apartment) and made a PB & J sandwich. I went downstairs, hopped on the computer and checked accuweather. There was no getting around it; I was going to get wet.

I caught up on some blogs while eating, and then finally realized it was time to get dressed and head out. I was out the door by just after 7:00 a.m. Of course, my BFF, garmin, just HAD to be difficult, and refused to pick up a signal for a good ten minutes. I stood there in the rain just glaring at her, probably really confusing anyone who happened to drive by at that time. FINALLY, she picked up a signal. I reset her, started my podcast and away we went!

Right from the beginning, I could tell that it was not going to be one of my best runs ever. My legs felt heavy, and I just felt like I wasn't on top of my game, so to speak. Plus, I was super nervous about the timing of everything. I had only allowed myself a cushion of about 15 extra minutes, in an effort to get as much "sleep" as possible, and I was nervous that should anything come up, I'd have to either skip part of my run or be late to work.

Still, the run was young and I really had a lot of positives going for me as well. The rain was a blessing in disguise in that it made for some shockingly empty streets and sidewalks. As I'm sure you can imagine, that doesn't happen very often in Brooklyn; so when it does, it is certainly a treat. It was almost eerie . . . no cars, no pedestrians, nothing! I happened to be listening to Phedippidations Epidosde 55 (The Maine Woods of Thoreau), and it just seemed very fitting, for I was about as "one with nature" as you could possibly get in Brooklyn.

After the first fifteen minutes of my run, the rain slowed down to a drizzle. I was already soaked by this time, so in that respect, it didn't much matter how hard it rained . . . but still, it was nice to have a temporary reprieve from the steady downpour. At the 5-mile mark, I stopped to sip some water and eat some sports beans. I also worked on stretching out my hammies, which had started cramping up a bit. I swear, only I would suffer from cramps during the crappiest, rainiest day of the year. So typical! Anyway, I started another loop, and tried to ignore the pulling in the backs of both legs.

At the 7-mile mark, I realized I was starting to go insane. That's right . . . the combination of my cramp-tastic hamstrings and the Chinese Water Torture -like drizzle were literally driving me crazy. I grabbed another sip of water and debated the possibility of cutting the run short and swapping the following week's long run (a fall-back distance of 9-miles) with the current week (supposedly 14-miles). I tried pretty hard to convince myself to keep going, but I just knew . . . I was done.

I finished my loop of the park (all the while cramping up all over the place), checked my garmin as I exited the park (9.02--perfect!) and began walking the 2+ miles home (ugh). Now, considering I was wearing soaking wet shorts and a soaking wet long-sleeve shirt . . . and it was about 48 degrees outside, I was FREEZING. I contemplated jogging home, and actually went so far as to try to do so, but my hammies would seize up so badly every time I tried to run that I eventually gave up, and walked the entire 2.4 miles home. I cannot tell you how happy I was to finally turn onto my street!

I chugged some gatorade, took a HOT shower, drank a cup of coffee, hung out for a bit . . . and then it was off to work. Sigh. Not exactly the best Sunday I've ever had, but I suppose some of them need to be crappy so that you can truly appreciate the good ones!

Anyway, here are my splits from the run:

Mile-1: 9:47
Mile-2: 10:11 (what happened?!)
Mile-3: 9:42
Mile-4: 9:33
Mile-5: 9:40
Mile-6: 9:57
Mile-7: 9:32
Mile-8: 9:36
Mile-9: 9:36

So yeah . . . that adds up to a total of 9.02 miles in a time of 1:27:46 for a pace of 9:44.

No worries . . . I'll rock this coming weekend's long run, I promise!

Irish Masters The Tempo Run (but loses some skin in the process)

Well, folks, I'm back to inventing new methods of cross-training!

Monday was laundry day, and I'm pretty sure that doing laundry in NYC--where you have to lug your clothing several blocks to the nearest laundromat and back; then fold the five tons of running clothes you used in the past three weeks and attempt to jam it all back into your shoebox-sized closet--should count as cross-training.

Tuesday, the closest I came to cross-training was spectating at another Rangers game at Madison Square Garden (my last of the season, sadly) and working on my finger strength by doing a lot of blackberry typing. After missing two goals and a fight while answering obnoxious work emails (why do these people get paid?!), I almost went for some extra credit points by chucking my blackberry towards center ice (it would make a very nice puck, no?). But I somehow managed to control myself . . . and the Rangers pulled off the victory. Hooray!

Wednesday, it was time to get back to training. As I knew this was going to be a pretty rough week for me work-wise, I figured it might be best to get the more difficult of my two mid-week key runs out of the way first. Thus, I took a break from working around 8:30 p.m. and headed over to the gym to tackle 1 mile easy + 5 miles long tempo pace (8:33) + 1 mile easy.

Now, going into this run, I was a bit petrified to tell you the truth. If you will recall, the last time I attempted a similar workout, I got my ass kicked. Oh, and that run? Was at a 9:02 pace (marathon pace). Yikes! On top of my built-in fear of tempo runs, I had the following things go wrong for me leading up to my run:

Sign of Impending Doom No. 1: I forgot to bring real, actual running clothes and thus, had just my "cross-training" clothes with me (i.e. soccer shorts and a cotton tee). Not exactly the best running attire.

Sign of Impending Doom No. 2: I left my ipod at the office, meaning I would have to listen to myself hyperventilating all run long.

Sign of Impending Doom No. 3: I also managed to leave my pack of gum at the office. In case you didn't know, I MUST have gum to chew while doing speed work and/or tempo runs (it gives me hope knowing that I might choke and die; thus giving me a killer excuse for not having completed the run--kidding! Or am I?).

Sign of Impending Doom No. 4: The only available treadmill was next to my gym stalker (long story; please just know this dude is CREEPY!)

Nonetheless, I reminded myself that some of my best runs have occurred under less than ideal circumstances, and I insisted that this WOULD be one of those times. And? Shock of the century here, but it really was! I kicked that tempo run's ASS, you guys! Now, that's not to say that I didn't want to quit somewhere around 4 miles into the run . . . because I did (a little). But I had no problem whatsoever telling that part of my brain to f*ck off because I AM DOING THIS! And so I did. And I even kicked the 'mill up a notch for about the last half-mile of the tempo portion because I'm that awesome (or because I Just. Wanted. To. Be. Done. Already. But whatever). This bumped my overall pace up to 8:30/mile.

When the 5 miles of tempo running was over, I wanted more than anything to lay down and die. But I didn't. Instead, I opted to do the final "easy" mile just as the schedule had instructed me. And I have to say, the more tempo runs I complete, the more I love how cake "easy" pace feels when you've just completed 5 miles at over a minute/mile faster. It's just awesome.

I celebrated this momentous run by heading to the locker room and checking out my battle scars . . . chafing all over my thighs, belly button and even my right butt cheek. HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN? Who knows . . .

Yesterday, I gave my legs a little break and tackled a quick 3-mile easy run at a 9:45 pace. Nothing exciting to report there.

Tonight I've got some speed intervals planned. Can't wait for that! No, really. It's going to be great. I can't wait to have sweat pouring into my eyes as I fly off the back of the treadmill for all of the ellipticallers to see. I kid, I kid (I hope!).

Happy Friday, everyone :)

Weekend Roud-up

Let's see . . . where did I leave off? Thursday? Maybe? Yes, I do believe it was Thursday. My (adjusted) schedule called for a cross-training day on Thursday; thus, I completed 45 minutes on the rowing machine, covering 7,655 meters in that time (resistance: level 6 of 10); then I tackled 15 minutes of medicine ball core work. Now, the workout in and of itself isn't really that impressive . . . but what was HUGE was the fact that my maimed arm allowed me to complete that much of an arm-based workout. The last time I took on the rowing machine, I was only able to complete 15 minutes before my pain/discomfort level grew high enough that I was forced to quit. Hooray for a full 45 minutes of rowing!

Moving on . . . Friday called for 7 miles with 5 of them at marathon pace. Now, going into this run, I really thought that it would be "easy." I was all like, "puh-lease! Give me a real challenge! Enough of these sissy workouts!" Um, note to self . . . be careful what you wish for! I don't know what was wrong with me, but I seriously struggled through the entire thing and just BARELY got through it. But I did it. And as horrible a run as it was, I was elated that I fought my way through the (many) rough spots and got 'er done.

My splits for the run looked like this:

Mile-1 (easy): 9:49
Mile-2 (MP): 8:57
Mile-3 (MP): 9:02
Mile-4 (MP): 9:02
Mile-5 (MP): 9:02
Mile-6 (MP): 8:57
Mile-7 (easy): 9:49

Oh, and I should mention this for Chris. As if I wasn't suffering enough on this run, one of the gym employees came over and started wiping down the front of my treadmill while I was still on it!! I was so stunned, I didn't even know how to react! Why do these gym employees not get that a) that is seriously annoying/kind of dangerous, and b) it is counterproductive! I'm just going to sweat all over it again after you finish wiping it down! In fact, if I could have willed myself to sweat more, I would have (don't think I didn't try)! Ah well. It's not like I pay $95 a month to use their facilities without disturbance or anything! Oh wait . . .

Saturday, I ended up working from 10 a.m. until 6:15 p.m., essentially babysitting contract attorneys who were doing a document review in our office. This was frustrating, seeing as how the first-year who was supposed to be doing it told me I needed to cover for her because she was attending an "unlimited bloody Mary and mimosa brunch" for her friend's birthday. Oh, so you get paid $165,000 a year to overindulge in mimosas on the weekends, eh? I mean, c'mon . . . at least LIE if your excuse is that weak! These "millennials" are REALLY freaking me out, y'all! At least I made some extra OT, I guess.

Anyway, around 4:00 p.m., I spoke to Wilson and he reminded me that we had a Rangers game to attend at 7:00 p.m. Oops--I had totally forgotten about it! Suddenly, I realized my "long run eve" food options were going to be VERY limited. We got to the game and I was, of course, STARVING. I grabbed a Blue Moon (just one, I promise!) and some waffle fries to split with Wilson, figuring it would hold me over until I could make myself some pasta back at home. But, you guys . . . my stomach was HOWLING in hunger. I made it to the second intermission before I gave up and made Wilson grab me a hot dog. Weak, I know. I figured I'd still be hungry enough to eat a little pasta once we got home, considering marathon training has turned me into a human vacuum cleaner . . . but, of course, we got home and I realized that, for the first time ever, I was NOT AT ALL hungry. Uh oh . . . lack of proper fueling and/or hydration, much?

I went to sleep after watching some hoops, and woke up around 8:30 a.m. on Sunday morning feeling rather ravenous. I grabbed myself a granola bar, thinking it would be enough to get me up and out the door, but it just wasn't the case. I was still hungry. So I grabbed another cup of coffee and made some steel cut oats (with raisins!) for Wilson and I. I figured I'd let my breakfast digest while picking out some new podcasts, and then take off on my long run by 11:00 a.m. Well, it didn't take long for my stomach to let me know it was NOT down with that plan. I suppose it must have been the stadium food I'd consumed the night before, but my stomach was seriously so messed up, I just knew running at that point was NOT a good idea.

I caught up on some blog reading, watched some more hoops and finally decided to take some tums and nap for a bit. I, of course, assumed I'd wake up and my digestive problems would have magically fixed themselves (riiiight). Unfortunately, that's not so much what happened. I half-slept for about 45 minutes and woke up to find that my gut was still totally, completely pissed off. I decided I had no choice but to get out there and give it a shot. I just prayed I wouldn't lose anything out of either end in the process (TMI, I know)!

I grabbed my handheld water bottle, stuffed the attached pocket with sports beans . . . and off I went. The weather was awesome--mid-50s and partly sunny. It really felt like Spring, which of course meant the sidewalks were overflowing with people. Now, in case you've forgotten, I don't actually LIKE people. But still, my spirits were high and my stomach seemed to be cooperating. Life was good.

The first 5 miles flew by without a hitch. Just as I hit the 5-mile point, I decided to slow for a sports bean/water break. While I was chewing, I randomly decided to try the water fountain where I'd stopped . . . and, miracle of all miracles, it WORKED! The park fountains had been turned back on!! This was good news indeed. I decided to ditch my handheld bottle under a tree and continued on my merry way, ready to take on two 2-mile inner loops of the park. I started to fatigue a bit again just before mile-9, but told myself I just had to make it back to the area I'd ditched my handheld at, and then I could grab some more sports beans.

I dragged myself along, and FINALLY spotted the tree I needed. I slowed to grab my bottle . . . but it wasn't where I'd left it. WTF? Where the heck did I leave it? I could have SWORN it was right next to that tree right there. But no. My bottle was gone. And gone along with it were my remaining sports beans. I just couldn't believe it. Who would do such a thing?! I spent a good five minutes searching the vicinity, really wanting to believe that my handheld bottle hadn't been swiped . . . and that I was just forgetting where I had left it. But alas, I finally had to give up and carry on without my bottle or beans.

Luckily, I was so pissed off that someone had stolen my bottle, I didn't even NEED the sports beans. My adrenaline level sky-rocketed, and it was more than enough to carry me through the last 3 miles of the run. Okay, now seriously, who the hell does that? I'll tell you who . . . the punk ass kids loitering in the park, whose parents couldn't care less about where they are and/or what they're doing/who they're disturbing! The one thing I am seriously grateful for is that I didn't have my keys zipped into the pocket on my bottle. I almost always throw my keys in there, and for some reason, I held onto my keys yesterday. I can only imagine what type of ruckus would have ensued had I not been able to get back into my building after finishing up the run! I was NOT a happy camper!

At any rate, here are the numbers from my run:

12.01 miles in 1:53:42

Mile-1: 9:31
Mile-2: 9:23
Mile-3: 9:29
Mile-4: 9:32
Mile-5: 9:37
Mile-6: 9:39
Mile-7: 9:39
Mile-8: 9:25
Mile-9: 9:34
Mile-10: 9:29
Mile-11: 8:55 (where did that come from?!)
Mile-12: 9:28
Last .01: 5:40 pace ("allegedly," but uh yeah . . . probably not so much)

I'm actually very impressed with how even my splits were (even if they were a bit too fast), with the exception of mile-11. That never happens!

By the time I got home yesterday, I was BEYOND drained and exhausted, but I grabbed Wilson and we took a walk along the Brooklyn Promenade so that I could cool my legs down a bit. It was so lovely in the sun! When we got back home, I celebrated making it through my run by taking a long, hot shower and then indulging in some chips and guacamole while watching basketball. It was blissful!

Hope you all had fabulous weekends!

One Bad-Ass Day of Training

Know what's awesome about slow periods at work (other than the all-encompassing fear that I'm soon going to be let go)? Why, the fact that my gym is a mere block away from the office, of course!

Monday night, I had the last soccer game of the season for my Winter Warriors league (this league, in general, was just a HORRIBLE idea--but that's another story for another post). Like every other game this season, we lost (go Cocktails & Dreams!) . . . unlike every other game this season, we actually played pretty well together and came quite close to pulling a victory off. If nothing else, it was fun to see just how in shape I am now compared to when we started (back when I was suffering from the bronchitis from hell). I felt like I could have run up and down that field forever!

Then on Tuesday, I was scheduled to do speed intervals, but woke up with a throbbing, pulsing nightmare of a headache that refused to budge, no matter how many tons of Advil Liqui-Gels I consumed. Thus, Tuesday turned into an involuntary rest day.

Yesterday, as I sat in my office, I became so bored I actually contemplated poking my eyes out with pencils . . . just so I wouldn't have to stare at that taunting sloth of a clock any longer. But then I came up with a fabulous idea instead . . . I would go to the gym and get my speed intervals out of the way; thus allowing me to leave work on time (5:30 p.m.) and go straight home, just like a real person! So that I did. Around 2:30, I grabbed my running gear, snuck out of the office to the gym and completed the following workout:

1 mile warm-up
4 x 800m (w/ 2 min. rest intervals)
10 minute cool-down

I completed the first three intervals at a 7:41 pace, and picked it up to a 7:35 pace for the last one. And? It felt pretty darn easy, I have to say. Perhaps the rest day did me some good.

When I was finished, I reluctantly showered, got dressed and headed back to my office for another 2 hours of complete and utter boredom. As I sat there staring out the window of the office across the hall, I began wishing I could go for another run. It was just the perfect day for an after-work run! Unable to contain my desire any longer, I sent Wilson an email:

"This is going to sound weird considering I just got back to work from the gym, where I completed my speed workout for the day . . . but would you feel at all like going for a slow recovery-ish run this evening? I'm planning on leaving here on time, and I just feel like it's too nice out not to!" (Not to mention, I don't really know what else to do with the extra free time when I leave work at a reasonable hour--it's so foreign to me!) Well, Wilson couldn't deny that the weather was beautiful (in the 60s!!!). He told me he was game for a run "assuming your legs are okay." Pssh! What am I? Some kind of frail, hunched-over elderly person?!

So once we arrived home, we changed into running gear, and ran over the Brooklyn Bridge and back for just under 4.5 miles at a 9:40 pace. My legs? Were not the happiest with me for subjecting them to the stupidly steep incline of the bridge (twice). And also? I seriously had to fight back the urge to punch every stupid, slow, meandering tourist I wove around right in the head. But somehow, it was still a fabulous run. I felt like I was flying on the descents and I just felt like my legs were stronger than ever on the ascents. And hey, I somehow managed to avoid the certain death of being clipped by a maniac biker while swerving around clueless tourists who repeatedly stepped out right in front of me; all in all, it was a great run!

We got back to the apartment, quickly showered and changed, and then headed out to one of our favorite restaurants, Pete's Waterfront Ale House. I had a Brooklyn Monster and some delicious beef brisket. Then? With my belly full of beer and brisket, I passed right out at 10:00 p.m. for a whopping 9 hours of sleep!! I could get used to this whole leaving work on time thing!

This is What a Slow Day at Work Leads To . . .

So Friday was an unusally slow day at work. One of the associates at my firm was getting married this past weekend in Maine . . . and, I swear, half the firm must have been invited. The place was DESERTED. Rather than take advantage of the rare opportunity for peace and quiet, and FINALLY attack my massive file-pile, I did this:


Exhibit A:

Registration: "Irish Cream"

Quantity:1 Rock 'n' Roll Seattle - Marathon
#508: 2009-Elite Racing Session
Class: 1
Course Time Limit: 7:00
Days: Sat
Starts: 06-27-2009 7:00AM-2:00PM
Ends: 06-27-2009 7:00AM-2:00PM



Exhibit B:

Registration Confirmation for:
Bank of America Chicago Marathon

Dear "Irish",
Congratulations! You are now registered for Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Please check the event's official website for updates: http://www.chicagomarathon.com/


Exhibit C:

Dear "Irish Cream":

Congratulations, you're officially registered for the 13th annual Long Branch Half Marathon (LBH) scheduled for Sunday, May 3, 2009.


And I wonder why there's no money in my bank account . . .

And The Inventing of Forms of Cross-Training Begins . . .

Today was a cross-training day. After weighing my options, I finally decided on a Jillian Michaels "Making the Cut"-inspired workout. It went a little something like this:

50 squats
Hold plank pose 30 seconds
20 plank-ups
50 bicycle crunches
10 close-grip push-ups (also known as triangle push-ups)
50 basic lunges (25 each leg)
25 reverse crunches
15 scorpion push-ups
20 jump squats
25 bench dips
40 step-ups (20 each leg)
25 toe-touch crunches
50 basic lunges (25 each leg)

And then I got tired/sore and gave up.

Oh, and I can't forget to mention the vigorous pot-scrubbing I did today. It was probably more intense than all of the exercises above combined! Yay for crappy, over-priced NYC apartments without dishwashers!

Time for bed . . . it's already gotten way too late!! How does this always happen on Sunday night? Sweet dreams, y'all!

1 Down, 14 To Go!

I have to say . . . if today's long run is any indication of how this training program is going to go, I am REALLY going to enjoy it!

Now, before I continue, I have a confession to make. You may or may not have noticed, but I never posted anything about my long run from last weekend. Um . . . well, that would be because it was a COMPLETE disaster. Right from the get-go, I just felt exhausted and completely out of sorts; it was as though I had 20-pound sandbags attached to each of my legs! Although I set out with a goal of covering 10-12 miles, I quickly found myself adjusting that goal to "at least 7". In the end, I BARELY eked out 8 miles . . . and that was with a LOT of walking and stopping to "stretch" (aka rest) in between. And you know how sometimes, in the middle of a really great running period, one run goes so badly that it causes you to question everything? Well . . . that was me last Saturday. BUT. That negative thinking is history! I AM strong and I WILL conquer this program and the marathon to boot! Moving on to a much happier run . . .

I had some AWESOME weather for my 10-mile long run today . . . mostly cloudy with temps in the high-40s/low-50s. Absolute PERFECTION. Although I am usually a die-hard fan of listening to music while running long, I tried something new today that I think REALLY helped me. Wilson has always tried to convince me that running to the sound of podcasts is way better than running to music, and while I have never at all believed him, I decided I might as well give it a try today (just to prove him wrong, obviously). I downloaded a couple of Phedippidations podcasts to keep me company during my run . . . episode numbers 33 (The Marathon Mystique) and 41 (The 110th Boston Marathon). THIS? Was the best idea ever! (Sorry, Wilson. You were right, I was wrong. Just this one time.)

Before I knew it, 5 miles had passed and I was halfway done with my run! I took a sports beans and water break and quickly started back up, all the while listening to Steve Runner's wonderfully distracting podcasts. Although I started to fatigue a little with about 3 miles to go, I still managed to push it up the BIG half-mile-long hill in Prospect Park. This was a huge victory for me, considering I spent all of my LA Marathon training walking up that hill (at the time, I told myself that I was "conserving energy" for the rest of my run . . . LAME!). I pushed it hard up that sucker, and finished the eighth mile in 9:35. Pleased that I'd kicked the hill's butt, I decided I really wanted to push the last two miles and teach my legs what it's like to work hard when tired.

I tried my hardest to push the ninth mile, but some bad Union Ave. sidewalk neighbors were making it REALLY hard to get through. At four separate times I was forced to slow to a walk behind these groups who, for some reason, found it necessary to spread all the way across the sidewalk (death to you all--okay, that's taking things a little far--but seriously, get the f*** out of the way!). As soon as I got the chance, I would make a run for it and speed past them, but it definitely slowed me down quite a bit. Such is life in the city, I suppose! I made it to within a mile of my apartment and told myself it was REALLY time to kick it up a notch. I finished that last mile in 8:51, knowing I could have kept running had I wanted to. It gave me SUCH a huge boost of confidence . . . I am so grateful to have head such an amazing first (official) long run!

I got back to my apartment and thought it would be nice to take a quick walk with Wilson to kind of wind down and loosen my tight legs up a bit. We headed down to the Brooklyn Promenade and walked along the water for about 30 minutes. It was a fantastic walk, and it made me really happy to see all of the people running. It really is a fantastic spot to run/walk . . . check out the view:

(this gorgeous photo is by Mossaiq on Flickr)

At any rate, here are the numbers from today's run.

I completed exactly 10 miles in 135:51 . . . or a 9:35/M pace.

My splits were as follows:

Mile 1 - 9:44
Mile 2 - 9:29
Mile 3 - 9:30
Mile 4 - 9:36
Mile 5 - 10:00
Mile 6 - 9:48
Mile 7 - 9:57
Mile 8 - 9:35
Mile 9 - 9:23
Mile 10 - 8:51

For all those keeping track at home? Them splits right there would be NEGATIVE SPLITS! I'm pretty sure that has NEVER happened to me before on a long run, so I'm very pleased.

Now, it's off to celebrate with a pint or two ;)