Rockin' 13.

Here's the thing: 13 hilly, outdoor miles are way easier than 12.5 on the treadmill.  Go figure . . . 


And, 13 miles that seem to fly by are even easier.

So, yeah. I had 13 pretty easy miles on Saturday. It was one of those runs that I would like to bottle. Can you do that? Bottle up a good run? Hmmm . . . maybe I'll work on that.

Anyway, I had 9 on the schedule for Saturday but I decided to run 13 because next Saturday, when my plan called for 13, I'm going to be too busy with life.

Aside from some very strong wind, the weather was perfect for a run -- mid-40s. I headed out right after nursing and putting my baby down for his morning nap. My goal was to run easy but strong, just going by feel. Here are my splits:

Mile 1: 10:00
Mile 2: 9:19
Mile 3: 8:54
Mile 4: 8:59
Mile 5: 9:20
Mile 6: 9:18
Mile 7: 9:02 (just before 7 miles I looked at my Garmin and was shocked that I was already halfway done with my run)
Mile 8: 9:46
Mile 9: 9:31
Mile 10: 9:36
Mile 11: 9:10
Mile 12: 9:32 (when I looked at my Garmin right after 12 miles I was disappointed that this run was so close to be over)
Mile 13: 9:07


Total: 2:01:33 / 9:22 min/mile


I could have gone faster. I could have gone farther. I could have pushed.

But I didn't. I just ran comfortably and it felt terrific! What a nice way to start a Saturday :-)

Like the mile repeats I've been doing, this is a run that I will call upon if I end up hitting a rough patch in my half marathon. I know I can go the distance. The question is how well.  The next four weeks will show me.

I feel like I should knock on wood -- repeatedly -- after writing this post. No jinxing, no jinxing!

On Sunday, I had to hit the treadmill for a quick little recovery run, which was just that. My legs feel good. I can tell I ran long (did I mention this was my longest run in, oh, about 7 years?) but that's it. No aches, no pains. All good.

A rockin' 13.

I hope you all had a great weekend!

~ Felice