Today's Run = 18 Miles

Sometime Thursday night the wind kicked up and it's been blowing steadily since.  The forecast for this morning was 15 to 25 mph winds.  Grr! I read in Runner's World a while back that your LSD can be as much as 2 minutes slower than your race pace, so I decided I was going to run 18 miles, no matter how long it took me!  I wanted to do it in 3 hours and it ended up taking 3 hours, 10 minutes and 28 seconds.  Seriously, with these conditions, I was thrilled with that time!

The first seven miles flew!  I obviously had the wind to my back.  The wind came back with a vengeance and I paid for it the last 8 miles.

So here's the breakdown:

Mile 1:  9:45
Mile 2:  9:24
Mile 3:  9:34
Mile 4:  9:17

I tried a little experiment during mile 4.  I did not check my pace a single time, I just ran at a comfortably quick pace.  Ooo!  I was happy when I saw 9:17!

Mile 5:  9:19
Mile 6:  9:21
Mile 7:  9:31

At this point, I was feeling great!  Then I turned a corner and "Hello, wind!" My pace was all downhill from here, except I was running slightly uphill and into the wind...

Mile 8:  10:34
Mile 9:  10:14
Mile 10:  9:36
Mile 11: 10:19
Mile 12:  10:13
Mile 13: 10:26

At the 13 mile mark (half marathon distance) I was at 2:07:37.  With just 5 miles to go, I thought I might hit the 3 hour mark, but the wind just kept blowing.  I was also starting to fatigue a bit.

Mile 14: 12:52
Mile 15: 12:45
Mile 16:  15:13
Ouch!  Had to walk this mile, the steep hill and headwind combo was killing me!

Mile 17: 10:55
Mile 18:  11:03

This is the longest I have run in about 3 years.  It was tough, no doubt about it, but also reassuring.  I can keep moving.  I pushed the pace during the last half mile and saw my pace drop under 9 minutes a mile!

Twice I saw a fellow walking that I see on a regular basis.  The second time he saw me, he said, "You're everywhere!"  I said, "I'm running 18 miles today - marathon training!"  He said, "That's how much I walk in a week!"  Good for him for getting out 6 days a week and it was a huge morale booster for me!

Ave HR: 146
Max HR:  160
Calories Burned:  1735