After all of the focus on speed and intensity during the week, it is a welcome change to hit the streets for a (mini) long run at Long Slow Distance pace. I consider a run between 12-15 miles a “mini” LR. Why? To me, there is just a physical and psychological difference between runs north of 15 miles. They require more energy, effort and concentration. I’m not saying a run under 15 is a cakewalk, but my body definitely knows the difference (likely the glycogen depletion). With no HM on the near-term horizon, why beat up the body unnecessarily? Therefore, today’s goal was 12.
Call it fighting the February blues or just general winter stir-craziness, but I needed to change things up today. I planned to reverse my normal route on the Outer Loop and leave the headphones at home. On the latter point, I don’t intend to race with headphones so it’s time to put them down. However, one last adjustment probably made the most difference psychologically. I ran in shorts. It was 30* (22* w/ wind) so it wasn’t very cold at all. That said, I still wore 3 pairs of gloves … cold-sensitive hands. Even though it’s only February 13th, I am pushing the “Think Spring” meme to another level. Wearing shorts reminds me of warmer environs, so I broke them out today.
I noticed early in the run that I didn’t feel horrible … no sluggishness, stiffness or gunk in the legs. I felt pretty good considering I hit it hard on Thursday night. The conclusion is either I didn’t hit it hard enough or my body is adjusting better. Not sure which yet. I resisted the urge to “test” my legs by going at anything other than a relaxed pace. It wasn’t the Grandpa Shuffle (tomorrow), but it was close. After running from home to the park, I circled the Outer Loop twice. Running on feeling again (no splits), I likely maintained a consistent mid-9:00ish pace throughout. Although, on the last 2 miles, I let it out a bit … probably at HM pace or slightly faster … only to better train myself to fight through fatigue at the end of a run. Yes, the famous See Jess Run’s Last Mile Party made an appearance today. Woot! I did not like being unable to kick it into high gear at the end of the Manhattan HM. I’m suspecting the issue was more mental than physical. Sometimes you just need to gut it out. Given the relaxed overall pace for the first ~11 miles today, there was not a ton of fatigue experienced, but I wanted to practice, if you know what I mean.
Overall, 13.5 miles at 9:13 pace. A good mini in the books.