10K: 49:34 (6.2 miles @ 7:59/mi) Murdock trail north solo.
Being a holiday, I decided to sleep in today. I knew I was risking not running later, but there was also the possibility or running in mild weather in the sunshine. I finished up the day's projects and was able to head out for a run at 4:45pm. It was about 41° and sunny...really nice.
I told Karen I was tired from working and needed a relaxing break so I was going for a 6 mile run. As soon as I started I knew I wanted to go uptempo. I was thinking it would be good to see if I could hold 8:30-ish pace for 6 miles.
The first mile has a short but steep climb up Main St. then some lesser uphill to the trail. When I saw that I ran it in 8:35, I felt more confident about breaking 8:30 for the run..then I ran miles 2 and 3 in 7:52 and 7:58. I was at 8:07/mi overall when I turned around just past 3 miles.
I knew the uphill at the beginning would be downhill at the end, but as I turned around I realized I'd had a tail wind, and I already knew it was slightly uphill on the way back (the water runs the other direction). I figured if I could hold the 8:07 pace average for miles 4 and 5, I might be able to pull it down to a sub-8:00 average by the end.
I ran miles 4 and 5 in 8:04 and 8:07. I held 7:50/mi for the first 0.65 of mile 6, still on the trail. I then headed down 2000 N, then little up/big down Main St. Mile 6 split was 7:37/mi...over pace 8:01/mi. Because I had gone past 3 miles before I turned around, I still wasn't home, so I decided to go to 6.2 miles, a 10K. I ran the last 0.2 miles at 6:40/mi. Final overall 10K pace: 7:59/mi. Victory!
After a quick shower I really did feel refreshed and renewed. Then Karen walked in with pizza from Pizza Hut. It's wise to enjoy the good times when they roll around. I'm off to enjoy my pizza now.
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