I started to wonder how the run today compared with the 18 mile run I did when I was training for the Chicago Marathon last year, so I looked at a few differences in where I am in my training now (based on the run today) versus where I was then (back in July of 2015)...
Right away you can see that I reached these training milestones nearly a month apart. This year has been a busier race year and that's probably why I'm just hitting 18 miles now. Also, the Chicago Marathon is a month before the NY marathon (Oct vs. Nov) so it also makes sense that the training schedule and mileage progression is a month later this year.
Another thing you will notice is that both runs took place along the beach (Ft. Lauderdale beach for today's run and Hollywood beach for last year's 18 miler) and, in my quest to avoid running in the sun, started around the same time.
A big difference between the two runs is my pace...
The (approximate) 30 second increase in my pace from last year to this year, roughly translates to an approximate 30 minute increase in my overall finish time. Last year I paused my watch if I had to make a potty stop or refill my water supply etc. This year I tried the Garmin auto pause and didn't like it. It would pause during every walk break if I wasn't swinging my arms enough (so annoying!) so I eventually turned off the auto pause and just kept the watch running during my "refill" stops (thankfully I didn't have any potty stops this year). You can see the times when I stopped but did not pause my Garmin...
I felt like today's run was a struggle from about mile 6 or 7. I really wanted to quit at mile 10. And my entire body was exhausted by mile 14. I thought that maybe the weather had a lot to do with how I felt but it was actually a cooler run (when compared to last year)...
(the slower pace and cooler temps resulted in less calories burned... but not a lot less)
I was really grateful to run with Dafney today because she motivated me every step of the way. She has her first full marathon next year (and therefore has no reason to run 18 miles right now) but she is doing some of my long runs with me to help me train. This morning she was awesome! She was really optimistic during the 18 miles and laughed every time I rolled my eyes at her and asked her to slow down because I can't run as fast as she does (there were about 15 eye rolls this morning)...
(I was sweating like crazy and even had to change my top and shoes half way through the run)
My focus on "time on my feet" and "finishing the distance" has been getting me through training recently. I have been trying to listen to my body more and more and resting when I'm feeling exhausted. This past week I also made drastic changes to my diet (trying to cut out sugar and processed carbs and non-seafood protein sources). I've also cut out wine, so you know... that sucks, but I want to see if the dietary changes makes a difference in my training (if not I'm totally drinking wine again cause there is just no need to give that up unnecessarily)...
How is your training going?
Do you compare your long runs from different training cycles? or only within the same training cycle?
Do you like wine? Red or White? (or all of the above?)
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