Prerace Race

I hated to miss the Runner's World Saturday morning training run this past Saturday, especially with it being the last Saturday before a marathon, but I was able to get out and run the 10 miles that was listed on our schedules--just a 5-mile out-and-back starting at Garnett on the Creek Turnpike Trail. The weather was perfect for a run, and I took things pretty easy in light of the upcoming marathon. About 7 miles in, I noticed two people about a quarter of a mile or so ahead of me. They were running separately, and they had apparently started on the Trail at Sheridan. So of course, in my head, this turned into some sort of secret race. This may have been one of the best things I could have done for my running, as I have been noticing lately that I am really settling into a rut, not only with regard to my path, but also with regard to my pace. The impromptu race really got my blood pumping and my lungs working hard. For such a "short" distance, the last 3 miles were probably the most I could have done to emulate a marathon experience. And even if it didn't do much to help prepare for Sunday, it was pretty fun, and it really got me thinking about my next round of training. Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 701 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 11/14/09 Up/Downhill: [+744/-744] Time: 06:11 AM Difficulty: 3.4 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 58 F temp; 86% humidity 58 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 10.00 miles Time: 1:23:21 Speed: 7.2 mph Pace: 8' 20 /mi Calories: 1190 Pace (min/mile) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 40 +0' 20 6.9 -0.3 +42 ft 2 8' 33 +0' 13 7.0 -0.2 +46 ft 3 8' 25 +0' 05 7.1 -0.1 -39 ft 4 8' 34 +0' 14 7.0 -0.2 +56 ft 5 8' 35 +0' 15 7.0 -0.2 -33 ft 6 8' 35 +0' 15 7.0 -0.2 +33 ft 7 8' 16 -0' 04 7.2 +0.0 -56 ft 8 8' 15 -0' 05 7.3 +0.1 +46 ft 9 7' 45 -0' 35 7.7 +0.5 -56 ft end 7' 50 -0' 30 7.7 +0.5 -40 ft Versus average of 8' 20 min/mile

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