Back to Double Digits: 10.0 Miles on 10-10-10

Welcome back to double-digit-land!

 

 

I haven’t attempted to run double digits since January, when I ran the Disney marathon! I’ve been slowly building up for several weeks:

 

• 7.0 miler with Joanna on 8/28/10
• 7.0 miler Late Night Long Run on 9/1/10
• 8.0 miler on 9/12/10
• 9.0 miler on 9/18/10
• 15k Race (9.3 Miles) on 9/25/10
• 7.0 miler last Sunday 10/3/10

 

Considering today is 10-10-10 (October 10, 2010), what better day then today to try for 10 miles!? 

 

Last night, I had leftover Spinach, Chickpea, Butternut Squash, Gnocchi for dinner. I also ended up having a glass of milk and apple+pb before going to bed because I felt like I needed a second dinner.

 

 

I woke up this morning around 7:30am and had a pre-run CLIF bar. I usually eat half for 7.0 or less miles, mainly because I’ll be back to eat a full meal in an hour or so, but I knew I would be eating for a while.

 

Food is fuel!

 

 

It’s finally cool enough to be able to wear short sleeves when running if you head out before 10:00am. I haven’t been able to wear this shirt in quite a while. 🙂

 

 

I set out this morning determined to finish under a 10:00 min/mile pace. I started off slower to save energy, and built up speed as I got farther along.

 

Around the 6 or 7 mile mark, I took a quick stretch break…

 

 

…and had a CLIF Shot. I love the RAZZ flavor!

 

 

After my mini-break, I continued on my merry way. I didn’t want to litter, so I used the litter leash to hook my used goo packet onto my amphipod belt. I feel so much of a difference when I take an energy gel on long runs rather than forgoing it.

 

 

My favorite running song that pumps me up came on towards the end of my last mile: Kanye West’s Stronger. It was just the extra boost I needed!

 

 

“…Work it, make it, do it, makes us, Harder, better, faster, stronger…”

 

I finished my long run in 1:36:21! I felt so much healthier, stronger, and more in shape then I did even a few weeks ago at Miracle Miles 15k.

 

 

Mile Splits:

• Mile 1:  10:12
• Mile 2:  9:56
• Mile 3:  9:45
• Mile 4:  9:47
• Mile 5:  9:43
• Mile 6:  9:39
• Mile 7:  9:17
• Mile 8:  9:21
• Mile 9:  9:30
• Mile 10:  9:23

 

Hooray for negative splits! My average pace ended up being 9:38 min/mile!

 

 

 

Aaaaaaah! This is so exciting for me! Not only did I get back to double digit runs, but I finished feeling stronger than I have in almost a year!

 

Because I want to track my progress in as many different ways as possible, I have started wearing the heart rate monitor part of the Garmin Forerunner. It annoys me to wear it, but I want to see if I can learn anything from the data.

 

Guess what?! That means I did 10.0 miles, below a 10:00 min/mile pace, before 10:00 am, on 10-10-10.

 

Holy nerd alert. I better stop now.

 

❤ MegaNerd