I was supposed to do this LR on Sunday, but due to scheduling with Jane/Eva who had a long even today, it worked out better for me to run my 18 miler today, despite having just done a tempo run on Thu. I was actually a bit wary of this run today, and was very ready before starting to pull the plug on fast paces and even cut it back to a 16 miler at 8:00+min/mile pace if it was too hard, as I haven't been alternating hard-easy long run weeks as the original Hanson plan recommends. (I've been going all-hard long runs!)
Amazingly enough though, after a good night sleep and (finally) full recovery from that annoying cold I had earlier this week, I felt like I was ready to roll. Started out strong, but it always feels weirdly hard at those low-7min/mile paces although I know from experience now that even though it feels fast, it's sustainable.
Average was a blazing 7:11/mile (!!) despite me not feeling like I pushed it into LT at any point. In fact, my average HR was 143 for the entire run, and I think I peaked out at 150HR on the steepest hills. Factors helping the speed today - it was 55F and sunny at the start, so I wore T-shirt and shorts, which weighs less. I also packed less water by accident (500cc) and ended up drinking it all by mile 9, but it was no problem, so I had a speed boost from the lighter pack. Also not doing this at 3AM helps with the energy!
It's funny - mile 9 still feels pretty hard at the halfway point, but it doesn't get too much harder until mile 18, when my legs actually do start to get tired. I'm not sure if I should push for 20 miles or not - we'll have to see.
I do hope my Tue/Thu paces pick up to match, but if any pace is good, I'm happy it's the LR now, since for the entire 1st half of the cycle, the LRs were (by far) my toughest challenge of the week, and I got a few strains from the overloading in the past, so it's nice to see them becoming my strength, right as race day nears.
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