Today was my first long run of marathon training. I admittedly have taken it easy since my half marathon at the start of June. I’ve been running consistently, but nothing long, and thus I’ve been kind of miserable. Trying to force myself to like the short stuff just isn’t working for me. 10k is fine, that’s about the shortest run that I can really enjoy (unless I’m running for time with Erik and we pull out 4-5 miles), but 5k just sucks. I’m not good at speed, and while I know that I can maintain that kind of speed for awhile because I’ve done it, mentally I just can’t get my mind right. So I’ve really REALLY been looking forward to today, and it proved to me once again that distance is what I love and what I’m meant for.
I had decided to run through town. Wasn’t sure of my exact route yet, I was just going to see what happened and how far I could go, planning on 7 out and back to get my scheduled 14. Time goal was less than 3 hours, as I know I could do 15 in that time so it shouldn’t take me quite that long. I went to work, parked, geared up and started out around 7 AM so I could beat the heat. And the weather was awesome, I’m definitely going to try to get my solo long runs out of the way early like this (when I run with my buddy I’ll have to accommodate his schedule, obviously).
I fell into my groove pretty easily. Music was working with me, weather was gorgeous, I just felt good. I was happy, smiling (something missing from Thursday’s 5k), and soon I was lost in thought. Decided to run to the Southside and see how far I would get, and I got pretty far. All the way to the Riverfront path, which I took for miles 6-8 (roughly). And I couldn’t help myself. Overwhelmed by how much I love running distance, and how much I love the city of Pittsburgh (as I came upon the skyline and said out loud “Damn I LOVE this city!”), I actually stopped to take a few pictures.
I never stop to take pictures while I’m running. And that first one wasn’t the view that made me profess my love for the city, but I just hit the point where it was worth stopping for a few seconds. Even if these pics don’t do the breathtaking view of the city proper justice (and they don’t) it was worth it to remind me how much I love running here.
One of the things that struck me is that part of my love of Pittsburgh running is how different it is from running in Vermont. I loved running in Vermont, I loved that I lived in the middle of town and just two miles in either direction I would encounter farm life. I loved it. I have a similar experience here, minus the farm animals. On my way to my starting point I encountered a wild turkey–with a baby wild turkey! It was so sweet! And then running along the riverfront, as I’m struck by the gorgeous all city skyline I see bunnies, ducks, and multiple groundhogs. Small things I know, but they make me really happy.
Admittedly I was slower on the way back having (1) not done any significant distance for the past month I was already a little past my threshold and (2) my run into the Southside is about 1.5 miles downhill…so I was fighting uphill on fatigued legs. Walked a little more than I’m proud of or happy with, but still it all felt so good. Even with the walking and photo stops, average pace was still under 12, so I’m happy with that.
Splits
- 11:04
- 10:51
- 11:13
- 11:48
- 10:46
- 11:26
- 11:28
- 11:09
- 13:48
- 13:52
- 10:32
- 12:11
- 11:47
- 12:02
Average pace 11:50
Planning on 15 next Saturday. Can’t wait. 🙂