Today I was scheduled to run 7 miles on Ridge Road, 3 of which were at my “marathon pace”. (”Marathon Pace” meaning faster, not slower as it sounds). I don’t really like playing these training games, so I thought I’d just go out an 8 mile run.
It was pretty darn hot out. I don’t ever remember coming back as completely drenched as I was today. I started out way too fast. But I pressed on, hitting the hilly road at what seemed like a fast pace. But when I got back to my car, the time said 77 minutes. Surely, I was running faster than a 9:36 mile, right?
Well, first of all, the course was marked wrong. I have run this road many many times, and know that it is exactly 8 miles. But for some reason, at the end of the course, there was an add-on that went down the road, then turned around. Even though I knew this was more than 8 miles, I did the add-on anyway.
Second, it is hard to get an exact time with our running club because of water breaks. For water, we have to stop at a cooler, sometimes wait in line, get out a paper cup, fill it from the cooler, drink it on the spot, then leave the paper cup in the trash bag. This takes up a lot of time, maybe more than a minute. Some people stop their watches to do this, but I think this is cheating. It’s not like you can stop your watch to get a drink in the middle of a race. But on the other hand, you don’t have to wait in line to fill your cup at a race either.
So, with three stops, probably about a minute each, and an extra add on, I ran much better than my time suggested. A conservative guess would say I ran 8.1 miles in 74 minutes, which is 9:07 minute miles. Not bad for a very hilly road on a hot day.
Next week, we’re back out at Dick Woods Road, my favorite place to run. My plan calls for 9 easy miles, but I’ll probably make it 10. I’m feeling optimistic.
