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It was a nice mix of packed ice and ice base with slush in the traveled areas of the road and then the main road, Lewis Avenue, had plowed snow on the shoulders allowing me to run dangerously close to traffic, all of which was bigger and faster than me. As I said, I wore my homemade winter trainers, which are simply an old pair of ASICS Gel Nimbus shoes with over 400 miles on them to which I screwed 1/2" sheet metal screws into the soles for traction on surfaces like that above. They (pictured below) work like a charm.
So last night it progressively got warmer and we actually had a thunderstorm in the middle of the night as some point. The thunder actually woke me up. Most of the snow melted away and the roads and shoulders were clear this morning for my 9 mile run. I completed the run in 1:19:25 for an average pace of 8:50 minutes per mile. My target pace for the marathon is right around 9:00 minutes per mile. After today's run, I know right now I am not capable of sustaining that pace for three times the distance I ran today.
The good news is that by Saturday, I will only be halfway through my training program so, I have a lot more running to strengthen myself with. My optimal goal for this marathon is to run it in any time under 4 hours. I would be happy with 3:59:59. Any time beginning with a 3 will be awesome. I don't know that I am capable of it though and, there are soooo many things that can happen to derail one's race plans. The weather will be a big determinant of IF I will even have a time goal come race time at the starting line. We shall see.
Things are going well so far and I am feeling pretty good. I pray that continues.
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3 comments:
You're lucky, I was about to "Bueller?" ya! You've been kinda quiet but you've made up for it!
Love the shoes and the road pic. The winter lover in me is jealous of the snow but the runner in me is thankful we don't see any of that!:)
Glad to hear you're nearing halfway. What an accomplishment!! Proud of ya, Rick:)
Looks like fun, I still don't get the shoes and how you don't feel the spikes. I used to run with spiked shoes in CC in High School, but I don't get the home-made ones. :)
You will get the pace you want - I am confident. Keep up the great work!
BTW: You mention SE Michigan - where about in SE Michigan? I lived in SE Michigan for about 7 years leading up to our move to Atlanta. We lived in Livonia, Canton, and then for most of the time in Milford. I worked in Livonia, then Troy the entire time. All my family lives in Michigan still, with most of them in the Detroit Metro area.
Thanks, Mar! I know, I hadn't been on top of the blog lately. That's why the late birthday pics. I do like winter weather, I just don't like it interfering with runs. I didn't even mind the other day if I can get out in it ok. The only thing I can't is deeper snow.
Tim, the shoes are quite comfortable, I don't even feel the screws other than on dry pavement, which they feel just like track spikes then.
I am waaaay down in extreme southeast Michigan, Temperance, which is just a stones throw from the Ohio border and the city of Toledo. Livonia and Canton are both in my inspection territory. In fact, I will be traveling through both today. :-)
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