Katie and I awoke this morning at 4:30, which at this point seems pretty routine. I had a 19 mile run on my schedule and Katie was aiming for 18.
I was a little concerned about how my body would hold up. I did a moderate bike ride and run with Colin and Brad yesterday, and my nutrition later and the day was pretty poor (Mexican food and beer with Mom at lunch followed by a long visit to Lowe's and then moor beer at Colin and Wendy's house).
We took off from Homewood park at daybreak around 5:50. The first six mile were pretty normal at about an 8:45 pace. Brad (pictured in the Chattanooga triathlon picks) met me at mile six to help me pace miles 7-12
Around mile 10 I ate an energy gel for the first time after being convinced by Katie that they really help.
Brad dropped off at mile 12. At this point I usually start to become mentally and physically weaker and my pace slows. For some reason today the opposite happened and I pushed to a strong finish. 19 miles in 2:45:50, about an 8:40 per mile pace.
As runners we suffer through so much training in search of the "flow". Occasionally this phenomenon appears, time stands still and and we feel invincible and focused, like we could run forever.
We try to replicate this feeling every time we run, usually falling short. However, when the "flow" re-appears it makes all of the usual suffering wothwile.
Katie also ran very well today with help from Meg, but I'm sure she'll post her thoughts later today.
JG
1 comment:
glad you had the flow.
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