On Friday night, I wrote a post about running solo in preparation for 18 miles Saturday morning. While I wasn’t necessarily excited about spending the morning by myself I knew that it would a run that would make me stronger mentally.
But about 15 minutes later, my phone vibrated.
To my surprise, the organizer of our work run club, Marcial, wanted to join me for a few miles. I eagerly said yes but warned him that the pace would be slower than our mid-week runs and that I may not be too talkative. He happily agreed and was even willing to meet me on our front step at 6:45am!
I woke at 5:40, an hour before the run, and quickly made and ate breakfast before doing anything else so that I’d have time to digest the peanut butter and banana toast. Next, I filled my Camelbak with plain water, instead of NUUN, and made sure that I put my 3 GU’s in the zipper pocket so we wouldn’t have a replay of last week’s fueling mistake. While I love NUUN, Gia suggested trying water this week to see if my body reacts better as she has experienced and heard of others experiencing sensitivity when pairing NUUN with Shot Blocks or GU type products.
Having this hour of quiet to myself really helped put me in a good mood and spirit for the run. I spent some time stretching and foam rolling, I sent a few early morning Twitter messages to other runners who were up early for races and long runs, had plenty of time to use the bathroom, and had time to just focus. It was a nice change from the normal rush around the house in the morning, even though it did mean waking up earlier.
As I was walking out the door Marcial texted me saying he had no water or fuel. Even though he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to make it since his furthest run prior to Saturday was 8 miles, I knew he’d still want at least a little something. I dashed inside and grabbed a water bottle and an extra bag of Sport Beans from our fuel box.
By 7 we were off and running through the cool, Fall air. Saturday morning truly felt like Fall in Manhattan. The air was crisp and when we were in the shade of the East River Path it was actually cold. I asked Marcial if he was fine just going with the path I mapped the night prior, 18 miles along the East River Path, South to the tip of Manhattan, north along the West Side Highway, then turning on 59th to head across the city and into Central Park for a few laps of the lower loop. He smiled ear to ear in eager excitement. That’s when I realized just how much fun this run would be.
I spent the next 3 hours laughing with Marcial as I showed him Manhattan from my favorite vantage point, running on two feet. We literally were able to watch the city wake up during our run. Some of the highlights included the amazing cloud formation above Queens, elderly Asians doing a cardio workout to MC Hammer in South Street Seaport, watching eager tourists line up for the Staten Island Ferry, fitness instructors setting up their gear for a day worth of workouts on the Hudson River piers, laughing at how much dogs really do look like their owners, and bandit running part of the NYRR Fitness 4 miler by accident, and then finally pushing our tired legs up Cat Hill at the 16 mile point.
While we ran I answered all his questions about running and smiled at things I hadn’t wondered in so long, like what is that pack runners keep sucking on as they run by us (GU). In addition, we had the fun chance to see a few blog readers out on the path which really made this city seem tiny. It was such a nice surprise to have a few wave or say hello as they passed by, especially the rock star who pushed up the 59th street hill with us and joined in our grunts and agony before smiling and telling us about her 20 mile run she was finishing in preparation for Chicago! (GOOD LUCK!!)
Every mile past 8 was a new personal distance record for Marcia and it was so great to see his smile each time I’d tell him another mile had past. In the end, he lasted 16.5 miles! The key to him lasting was his enthusiasm and our pace. His normal pace is closer to a 9 minute mile so running around a 10:15-10:30 pace seemed easier over the long run.
This was exactly the run I needed to have this week in order to move into the second half of marathon training strong. Our pace was pretty steady, hovering around 10:30 almost the entire time, my new fueling strategies worked wonderfully, my body felt strong through the last mile, and mentally I felt the strongest ever.
48 days out from the marathon I couldn’t be happier with my training to date and the results that are starting to show. Below are the splits from yesterday and I can’t be happier. Nothing under 10 and nothing over 10:47.
Mile 1 10:07
Mile 2 10:34
Mile 3 10:39
Mile 4:10:47
Mile 5: 10:50
Mile 6: 10:45
Mile 7:10:34
Mile 8: 10:26
Mile 9: 10:26
Mile 10: 10:25
Mile 11: 10:40
Mile 12: 10:38
Mile 13:10:25
Mile 14: 10:40
Mile 15:10:13
Mile 16:10:38
Mile 17:10:38
Mile 18: 10:06
When you consider that a 10:52 pace is a 4:45 marathon I’m starting to think my goal just may be achievable this year if I continue to be smart. This is definitely an exciting feeling!
How was your weekend? Any great weekend races or workouts?
Wow, that’s awesome that Marcial more than doubled his PDR! What a great running partner you are!
What’s your philosophy on the longevity of PRs? My old PDR is from way back in high school (ten years ago) and I’ve gone through a long period of no running at all in between. Now that I’m getting back into it, every milestone mile feels amazing, but I still haven’t been able to smash my old PDR… time to clean-slate it?
hi Olivia, yikes im not an expert on how to increase your pdr. i even googled what pdr means. one thing i would recommend is to make sure you eat breakfast (big mistake i didn’t have breakfast that day, my kids ate all the granola bars). run with someone you’ll enjoy chit chatting. that’s basically what Ashley and i did, we kept talking n talking. then by the 8th or 9th mile, i got so hungry so Ashley gave me some of her runners food. they’re like gummy bears and some jelly beans. pack up some fuel. slower pace will give you distance, i think.
i hope this helps, good luck.
Mine was awesome! First long run in a long time that I’m 100% proud of: 16 miles at a 10:02 pace. This is insanely fast for me and I was stoked. Awesome job! I love that you’re sharing the running love!
Awesome Run !!! About Nunn and Gu , I had issues when I have Nuun and Gu together , I don’t know if it is the flavor I take (espresso Love which I love) with the combination of Nuun , but during my half marathon I had stomach issues (real bad !!! ) . From then I have switched to endurolytes by Hammer ( aka Salt tablets) two before the run and two for every hour I run . I have not had any issues since then , tested it out on two half marathons , hope this helps you ….
Great job! It’s nice when those splits just line up so well 🙂
I did a 3200m time trial on Saturday. My coach predicted 12:00 to 12:20 and I bested his prediction with an 11:59.2!
Really enjoying reading your blog. I was also having issues with Nuun and have gone with plain ol’ water for my last 2 long runs without any problems. I think it was the culprit. Best of luck with the rest of your training ~ I’m training for my first full (Marine Corp) and will do my 1st 20 miler this week!
And I just bought Nuun…hm…
Congrats on the awesome run! Looks like you are well on your way to that 4:45.
Way to go girl! Awesome run and such a fun experience for your friend too!
Great run Ash! I know you’ll achieve your goal, you’ve already earned it!
That sounds like an awesome run, and it is great that you felt so good! It must be a real confidence booster – and a good sign for the big day!
Yay for a successful long run and having so much fun while doing it! Haha for accidentally banditing the NYRR Fitness 4 miler. I was actually running that race on Saturday. LOL Also big thumbs up for your friends new mileage PR!
So great to meet you, and yes, such a small world! Good luck in NY, you will do great! I’m crazy excited for Chicago, and if Saturday’s run is any indication, I should be right around the 4:30 (4:20 crossing fingers) mark!! I’ll be in the park next week for the 18 miler (although probably running only 15, need my 9+1 credit) then I taper…ahhhh!!
Wow! Great job on keeping such consistent times all the way through the 18 (I’m usually all over the place, haha).
I spy Jersey City! I can’t believe you got up at 5:40. That’s dedication for sure!
do you realize that your splits mean nothing when you stop your watch for fuel, stretching, photo ops, and tweeting? you can do whatever you want, but the clock doesn’t stop during your races, which is perhaps why you perform so poorly compared to your fake training times. and remember when you posted at the beginning of training about not stopping to take so many photos and not doing so much junk cross training? Yea…