So, having got the Garmin in my sweaty mitt on Friday evening I resolved to spend the night downloading schedules into it and getting it fully charged for a Saturday run. Consequently – no running on Friday.
The schedules I downloaded were for a 12 week half marathon plan. Given that I’ve been running for a while now – I figured I would set the date of the race correct and just pick up where the schedule says I should be. Unfortunately, this meant another rest on Saturday followed by a 12 miler on Sunday (at steady pace 8:20 mile).
Saturday started decent enough so I decided to head out for a gentle 4.5 miles to test out the watch in preparation for the Sunday long run. It was a good jog around the block – I didn’t go mad (with an eye on the long one on Sunday) I managed to maintain a pace of around 8:40 per mile comfortably.
No adverse affects on Sunday morning, so after a breakfast of porridge and honey I strapped on the shoes and headed out. First mile or so was hard work getting down to the 8:20 pace – but settled in quite quickly after that to a decent rhythm around 8:17. The sun was shining, a stiff breeze was blowing onshore along the front (which had the curious effect of giving me a head wind on the way out and back!) but it was a decent run. I finished the 12.1 miles in 1:39:21 which is not exactly earth shattering but felt respectable. I now feel confident I have it in my legs to make the distance; I want to focus on getting some good sessions in between now and the day to make the whole experience a bit more bearable.
Evidence of the gruelling run....
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Having said all of the above, I would like to unequivocally retract any statements I may have previously made about the treadmill being easier to run on than the roads. The pacing is so much more difficult on the road, and the chop and change running style takes some getting used to. It’s the first time I have run on my own outside for any distance for three years, and the memories came flooding back of how difficult it can be (the hard sections felt very hard).
Tonight I am out again for another gentle 4 miles – building up with some sprint work in the middle of the week – to a 9 mile fast run on Friday night.
Loving the Garmin schedules.
Marathon T
PS The words of encouragement are flooding in from around the world for the MoFo challenge...This in from California overnight..
"Who are you trying to fool with your blogs and your asics trainees and stuff…any sane geezer knows that fighting the onset on middle-aged spread and dodgy knees is best done with a cigar in your mouth, from the middle of the 18th fairway sizing up going for the green in 2 (over water) from 230 out….."
Wise words from an old friend....you know who you are!
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