More Ten Miler Training - Getting Back to the Long Runs

 

The ten miler approaches, and - God be praised - training proceeds as scheduled. I've hit every planned run since Ash Wednesday, and we're coming up on the next big milestone: an 8-miler Saturday morning. 

My shoe purchase seems to have done the trick with my knee. The pain has faded out with a little extra cushion underfoot. Thank you, dear Lord Jesus! Now, I'm doing 1.5 miles most days during the work week (got in 3 Wednesday) and a "long" run Saturdays. It used to be that I thought of 7 or longer as "long" during high school. Then college came around and 10 or so meant long. Now, 4 means long for me - but not really mentally, just for my body. 

Anyway, the 8 miles Saturday will be a real life long run, and the 10 on the Saturday following is even bigger. I have not run even 7 miles since D.I.A.R.R.H.E.A.S. in 2022. So this is very exciting for me to be able to finally get back to those long runs. It's those longer efforts that I find to be most exciting, invigorating, and fulfilling when it comes to running. 

Sub-85 minutes still seems like a realistic goal, but I'll get a better sense of that with each passing week. Secretly, I'm hoping to smash 85 minutes and get close to 80, but it's really hard to say right now where I'm at for 10 miles. Last Saturday's 6.1-miler was completed in 56:03, or 9:12 pace, without particularly trying to push the envelope in terms of speed. That tells me that sub-9 is too easy a goal, but sub-8 pace would probably be reaching.

Another thought at the forefront of my mind has been racing gear. I'm all set with the big piece - footwear. Assuming the start is relatively cold, I'm planning to wear my very lightweight, breathable Hamilton Turkey Trot long-sleeve under another shirt. My hope is that the other shirt is the Butler County Donut Trail commemorative t-shirt, which my wife and I are on the verge of earning for our hours of painful toil eating donuts over the last year or two. I would love for this shirt to become a go-to for racing - I envision myself flying down the roads, passing guys in $250 Nikes and racing singlets, and making them double-take when they see my donut trail shirt. I will only race in it if I get the chance to try running in it at some point before the 16th of March. No need to introduce unknown variables directly before race day.

Until then, it's just consistent miles, 6 days a week.