saturday's long/quality run was excellent! i was overdue for a long run and preferably a good one. i sure didn't disappoint. (garmin on the other hand... died before mile 20. that's ok, i like wearing $350 blank watches for fun.)
after some craptacular long run attempts previously, i headed out for today's run with positive thoughts. due to the lack of remotely lit-streets here in kentucky, i waited until just when the sun was rising to head out. i didn't want to be hit by a car, especially since i was going to be running on a 4-lane divided highway. finally, a little before 7am, i headed out.
ah, the exciting road before me.throughout the run, i had various thoughts and songs enter my mind as i chugged along, but two songs that continually came to mind were travis tritt's "great day to be alive" and phil vassar's "just another day in paradise". i was definitely working the positive vibes! (i never listened to country music before, but these ridiculously early commutes require something less headache-inducing than my usual hip-hop jams. plus, something about the sticks of kentucky give me a country vibe i guess.)
i took my fuel belt hand-held water bottle, 4 vanilla bean gu's (ate 3), a pack of orange gu chomps, $10, iphone, and some mace. (i don't run with my phone normally, but j wasn't comfortable with the idea of me running along a highway alone. i took the mace after reading about the woman who was attacked down in georgia not long ago.)
the plan for the day was: 8 miles easy, 8 miles marathon pace, 1 mile threshold, 4 miles mp, 1 mile threshold, 1 mile mp; 23 miles total. i had a super slow start with mile 1, but then my body remembered how to run. marathon pace is still kind of in the air, but i am getting closer to figuring it out. when i began nyc training 18-weeks ago i was *way* too ambitious. i think that hurt me a little with training harder than my body should be pushed at times, but i'm going to settle in with my reassessed goals for this final phase of training.
all went well and according to plan - until mile 11. then garmin beeped "battery low". what the crap. that mile was a little too fast as i as mad at garmin for making a product with piss poor battery life. it continued to beep at me as i ran along. i'm glad it lasted for almost 9 more miles after the first "low battery" warning, because i don't know that i would've had the mental toughness to continue with the goal paces. it's too comforting to be able to look down and see what your pace is and know what adjustments need to be made at any time during a run.
i kinda messed up the plan for the run -- i ran 9 miles mp (instead of 8) and then 1 mile threshold, but i don't think that's a bad thing. then i got in two more miles at mp before garmin kicked the bucket. thankfully i had my phone on me so i checked the time when garmin died and again when i got back to the hotel for a rough estimate of how long the last 2.7 miles took (mapped out upon return). based on the estimate i was in the slower end of goal mp range, but who knows.
saturday (9/19) am run: 22.71 miles, 3:04:23 (avg pace 8:07), avg hr (161), 64-70*
thank goodness i switched it up and did my long run saturday as sunday i woke to pouring rain and t-storms all morning. when the storms let up mid-afternoon, i headed out for a short recovery run in the 900% humidity. not quite as pleasant.
That is a killer run! Good thing you went early; running in the rain sucks!
ReplyDeleteI have a garmin that doesn't work either, but yours is new and mine isn't. And it sounds like it was just the battery.
ReplyDeleteDespite all that, an 8:07 average pace seems great to me, which means you must have run your thresh-hold pace faster. I'm glad you finally feel good about your run.
Thanks for your encouragement by the way. My 1/2 marathon is this Saturday. I want to break 2 hours. When I ran it a few years ago I did 2:07:56. or something like that but it was under 2:08.
Good idea to bring mace and the phone. In a way, I think it would be nice to run that early and watch the sun rise.
Great Run!!
ReplyDeleteI love love love country! It helps me a lot with my runs :)
Great run Lindsay! That distance is intimidating especially for a solo run. You and Richie are both raising a high bar for me.
ReplyDeleteawesome run!!! those are some great paces, amazing!!
ReplyDelete"i like wearing $350 blank watches for fun" CRACKING UP!! Hehehe
ReplyDeleteAlong the highway?? WOW!
You are one speedy chick and I bet you were sweaty. Way to tough it out and make it work. When is your next race? Nevermind I am sure I can look on your Blog and figure it out..
I fear for you on the highway! scary! I hate when the Garmin craps out on me!!
ReplyDeleteI fear for you on the highway! scary! I hate when the Garmin craps out on me!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you got a run in that you are happy with. That's a great run.
ReplyDeleteHmm, a dead garmin and country music. They both give me a rash.
sucks that the battery died, but a great run nonetheless :) have a great week!
ReplyDeleteYour Garmin sounds like it's a diva... of course, mine has some diva-like tendencies too.
ReplyDeleteNice work on the run and the extra MP mile!
Super job on the long run, sounds like you had fun too! I get so mad at my GARMIN when the battery does that...it drives me crazy and I can never count on when it's going to blip out on me!
ReplyDeleteDude......your runs are just plain sick!!!
ReplyDeleteI wish I could do half of what you do, but along the highway? Is that legal down in the south?? If we try that shiz up here in the north, we get hit by the snow plows!! LOL!
A real good run, yes. I have had the same Garmin problem with my ipod shuffle 3G, it has suddenly died in a couple of runs leaving you alone with no music reference.
ReplyDeleteAwesome run!! Must feel good to have that one in the bank!
ReplyDeleteGreat job woman! I'm so happy we all rocked our long runs this weekend! I knew you had it in you! Thanks for checking in on me too! :) I thought of you at least 5 or 6 times during my run and wondered how you faired.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! You totally rocked that! And, how funny that living in the sticks will make you listen to country music. I like to switch it up some and listen to country too.
ReplyDeleteGreat job with your run!!
ReplyDeleteVery nice pace on that long run, girl! Why is it that Garmins always seem to conk out just when you need them most?! At least you had your phone with you to track time--good thinking there! Keep up the great work ;)
ReplyDeleteYAY for a successful long run... despite Garmin crapping out on you. At least it lasted on long as it did.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on a solid run!
What do you use to carry all that gear?
Did you revive your Garmin?
ReplyDeleteSweet @$$ paces on your run, girl. And your HR was nice & low with that killer pace!
My HR would've been in the 200s :)
As I always tell someone who gets a Garmin - welcome to the dark side. Running will never be the same again. Wait until the first time it tells you that it's out of battery!
ReplyDeleteYou must have a 405? I have a 305 and when I get the low battery message, I have about 10 minutes before it shuts off....
Way to go on the long run! And your average heart rate for the distance/pace is quite impressive! I want to be like you when I grow up!
Amazing run! You killed it girl! :)
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you were smart about safety! It's very important.
ReplyDeleteGood run and so glad to see you get your mojo back during the long run.
You're my hero. I need to go buy some mace too. That story scared me.
ReplyDeleteWOW amazinggggg long run!! you totally nailed that!
ReplyDeletei LOVE running to country music :) it makes me happy.
GREAT long run!! I love how you have it broken up into different paces. Glad the Garmin held on for most of your run. So jealous of those cool temps!
ReplyDeleteBut running on that big highway scares me. Glad to hear you bring along some protection just in case. I've been nearly attacked twice when out running and never take safety for granted any more. Just too many weirdos out there, it seems.
Sounds like a great run overall!! Good job!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome run!! That's just great!
ReplyDeleteI would be ticked about Garmin, too. That just stinks. You don't pay that much for a watch to have it crap out.. My first one died after TWO weeks! Little sucker went straight back to Garmin.
AWESOME! Is there any better kind of run than a "mama got her groove back" run? Thanks for sharing your euphoria about it, as well as the awesome details. I don't think any runner who's trained for a marathon would fail to recognize that particular brand of pre-dawn darkness. And interesting to read about your long-run strategy — I'm sure the slow-to-fast progression will serve you well on race day!
ReplyDeleteUm. You ran 23 miles. ALONE? That's a bit crazy and way amazing! Smart to take the phone; it saved you here in a small way, but could help in a major one in future.
ReplyDeleteHa - $350 blank watch - I've had the same feeling about my 405. The other thing that gets to me is when the Gatmin website servers are overloaded and you can't check your stats.
ReplyDeleteNice solid 22 me run! I sooo need to do one of those and sooo haven't been able to make myself...
Geez...that's a sick sick run! MP/threshold miles on a 23 miler? Hmmm...okay, never done that.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand how garmy can't stand by you on a 3 hour long run. I've had mine for three years and it's kept going for at least 4 hours...something may be up with that. Maybe they can replace one for you for free?
Either way, glad you're back into the swing of things.
Good grief, what a long run! That's so scary that you run on a highway...be careful! And I've been thinking about carrying mace, too. It's a great idea.
ReplyDeleteGreat job with the run!!
Nice job, glad to hear it went well. I hate when technology doesn't do what it's supposed to. The worst part is when you rely on it for the mileage and you have no idea how much you're doing once it dies. I've stopped using mine for that reason.
ReplyDeleteHow do you like the hand-held fuel belt thing?
I've had similar issues with my Garmin during a hot run, and I thought it was maybe caused by sweat...Don't know... I did reset it though and it worked for the rest of the run...AWESOME RUN, by the way, so happy for you! You are going to rock your marathon!
ReplyDeleteSounds like your training is going great! Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteNiiiice run! Especially on a 4 lane highway...that sounds terrifying! Although maybe the speeding cars were motivation to run faster? Garmin or no garmin, awesome job!
ReplyDeleteHow were the Gu chomps? I'm kind of in love with Gu right now, but I feel like the gummies might be a little easier to eat without stopping..are they any good?
Great run, you're definitely back in your groove now. You'll knock 'em dead at NYC!
ReplyDeleteA couple of things you mentioned that I want: Garmin, fuel belt, gu's, and iPhone..oh yeah and money to buy it all!
Crazy how it can be normal one day and then thunderstorms and then 900% humidity to follow..
That darn Garmin. At least it lasted through most of the run. Sounds like you were smart in what to bring on the run. My boyfriend is always nagging me to bring my pepper spray, even when I'm staying within a mile of our house. It's annoying to carry, but ultimately it's better to be safe than sorry.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I went to Kentucky this Summer with one of my daughters and ran in the state for the first time ever. We stayed just outside Lexington and we loved it. I have a Garmin 201 and it gives me a lot of problems too.
ReplyDeleteYour run was terrific and I ran NYC in 2007 and I know you will love it. Eat at Virgils after; good food and low prices. Nice beer selection too.
Lindsay, do you charge your watch every time before you use it? And are you locking the bezel when you use it? (To do that, press in both buttons at the same time.) You can still press start and stop even when the bezel is locked. Maybe that might keep it working better.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny but I have been listening to country music lately too on my drives in to work. The words of country songs are actually kind of funny sometimes. and oddly relaxing because they sound like they are more of a simple life?
I am no longer worthy to read your blog. You're just to fast! Somehow around the time of my "pity party" I neglected to read your blog. Shame on me. GREAT long run, as usual. I'm surprised you're having so much trouble with your Garmin's battery. Do you use the wall charger?? OK, back to catching up on your blog.
ReplyDelete