Last Pre-Race Long Run (and Recent Long Runs)

I posted yesterday that I'm racing a 10 Mile this weekend. My final long run was after class on Thursday, and it was my "Tour de Como" as I looped all over the place:

I ran that main north/south segment FOUR times, as well as that east/west bit on Jessamine.


2 miles easy, 6 miles HARD, and then 3 miles easy. Not hard to tell when I was done and was POOPED.


6:27 pace for those hard 6 miles. And some sore cheeks.

TWO THINGS ABOUT THESE LONG RUNS:

FIRST: I thought I was a little slow in this run because I hit my first mile relatively hard (half mile splits of 3:19 and 3:18) but then just held it there for most of the run. (The rest of my half mile splits were 3:19, 3:12, 3:17, 3:07, 3:15, 3:14, 3:12, 3:15, 3:12, and 3:00.) On my treadmill long runs all winter, I start a bit slower, but then get faster and faster and end with the last few half-mile splits at 3:05, 3:03, 3:02, and 3:00.

So I looked back to those treadmill runs to see what my "hard miles pace" was. On the ones where I had noted my "hard miles" total (looking back to the very end of January), I averaged 6:30, 6:26, 6:23, 6:23, and 6:23 pace. And this run outside was at 6:27 pace. So not horribly different, especially considering it was windy and I didn't shy away from the hills. (It's not really "hilly" where I ran, but I purposely did NOT just do laps around Como Lake to the east of where I was because that's pancake flat.)

SECOND: I've built up a decent stretch of weekly long runs since the very end of January. Here's what my weekly long runs were, starting that last half week in Jan through last week:

- 11 miles (first long treadmill run of the winter)
- 10 miles (not as long as the Indoor Triathlon was later this week)
- 10.22 miles
- 10.75 miles
- 11 miles
- 9.5 miles (shorter leading up to O'Gara's Irish Run 8K, and I was feeling pooped)
- 5.25 miles "long" run: it was between O'Gara's and the Lake Johanna 4 Mile
- 10.15 miles OUTSIDE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A LONG TIME!
- 11.02 miles outside last week

So, I plan on a "distance speed workout" today (2 longer intervals a bit faster than race pace), and then one more easier run before the race this weekend! Wish me luck! (And my wife and her sister, because they're racing too!!)