I wasn’t 100% confident about this morning, but sometimes you’ve got to just get out there and run no matter how you feel mentally. I met up with the gang at RunTex, looking at Jay, Carrie, and Sommer and wondering what kind of pace I was going to run today, trying to figure out who I would be running with. As we headed out for our two mile warmup I ended up running with Sommer, behind Jay and in front of Carrie. I figured that I’d like to do a comfortable 8:00 pace but would run with Carrie at whatever speed she was doing if she passed me. Sommer said she’d use me as her rabbit. Either way, it looked like there’d be some good company on this run.

We ran slowly, about a 9:20 pace, from RunTex over to the 8 mile signpost (a little over two miles). We actually missed the loop of trail that had the distance on it, so I started my watch at about the right place and began to pick up speed. The odd thing was that nobody else seemed interested in accelerating! Within about 45 seconds I had passed the pack and was picking up a solid lead, trying to run comfortably strong. I checked my 301 and saw that I was solidly sub-8, backed off a little bit, and continued to check my pace.

For the first three miles, running over to MoPac, I kept expecting to be passed. I could feel that my form wasn’t wonderful, even catching the occasional heel strike that I’m trying to get rid of (something I’ve picked up compensating for my right foot), but I didn’t feel at all uncomfortable. After passing the I-35 bridge I was beginning to get a little thirsty and wondered if we’d see Gilbert at S. First with some PowerAde. Not long after that I started to hear voices coming up behind me, and wondered if Jay had caught me after all.

As I started running uphill coming to Milago I felt a big throb coming from my foot. It still gets to me if I bend it too much, like sprinting or running hills. Once I reached the top of the hill I took a about 20 seconds to pull over and rub it down, smoothing it out. That’s when Jason caught up to me - he was the one I’d been hearing, although I forget who he was running with. We chatted for a few minutes then they pulled ahead and I let them go, settling back down into my own pace. That’s a lot easier for me to do now than it used to be.

The rest of the run was mostly uneventful. I had a few more twinges, and my foot was a bit sore, but it never really hurt again. I never saw anybody else to run with, which was a little disappointing but meant that I could really work on some form issues that have been creeping in. My single gu of the day went down at the Lamar footbridge, but the water I had hoped to use to flush it down was turned off for the season. Finding that out cost me a few seconds, but not too much.

I did notice that my Forerunner was synced perfectly with the mile markers counting down, pretty good considering that I’d had to guess at the start line in the dark. As I rounded the MoPac turn I was a little tempted to get something to drink - 10 miles is a bit far to go without water, even in the cold - but I decided that I’d rather stick to my pace. With an 8:00 per mile goal I wanted to see a 1:04 as I crossed the line, and my final time for the loop was 1:04:03 - not too shabby! Oddly enough if you add up my reported mile times, those 3 seconds disappear as well (must be a rounding thing):

Mile 1 - 7:52
Mile 2 - 7:59
Mile 3 - 8:00
Mile 4 - 8:12 (foot massage)
Mile 5 - 7:57
Mile 6 - 8:10
Mile 7 - 8:02
Mile 8 - 7:48

Am I ready to do 26 at this speed? Probably not. My foot is the biggest issue, because it continues to affect my form making efficient running harder than it should be. Also I was moderately comfortable but I couldn’t really say that I was “conversational” the whole time. Whether I could stick to that pace with better form and remain completely aerobic, I’m not sure. Still, one lesson that NYC did teach me was not to plan too much without considering the unknowns.

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