Another contender for run of the year

Sunday, I decided to bust out a hard half marathon... I'd say it's in contention for run of the year.  Probably not really but definitely a top 10.

I ran easyish on Friday and Saturday to get myself rested up for a Sunday long run workout.  

I dropped a Gatorade off on at around the halfway point on my course in preparation.  It was 28 degrees with a 9 MPH wind.  I wore my Gore-Tex jacket and tights... turned out perfect, not too hot but not too cold and blocked the wind on the hard stretches.  I wore my Saucony Endorphin Speeds which are quickly becoming a favorite.  Warmed up a bit with some treadmill walking and then took off.

As I started my run I made a decision to not look at my watch for the first bit.  I just ran fast but easy by feel.  At around the 4 mile mark I peaked at my watch finally and saw I was averaging 7:27 pace, and things were feeling pretty easy.  By the 6 mile mark I took another peak and saw that my pace was getting faster.  At this point I decided to skip the Gatorade and go for a Strava half-marathon PR (with no stopped time for drinking)… I didn't really feel like I needed it anyway.  I got to the 8 mile mark feeling pretty good but then turned and was suddenly heading uphill into the wind.  

At this point I was starting to get tired and could feel the fatigue a bit.  The wind definitely made the effort feel harder but I powered through and didn't slow down.  I figured I should at least hold on until the 10 mile mark and then access where I was at.

At 9.5 I turned out of the wind and suddenly things felt easier.  I hit the 10 mile mark averaging 7:19 pace.  At this point I was thinking I could run 8 minute pace for the rest of the run and still average under 7:30 pace.  I let myself relax a bit from 10 - 10.5 but I don't think I actually slowed down.  Then I turned back into the wind for another high effort mile.  From here I was pushing it in, trying to sustain the effort but not going too much faster.  I wasn't breathing exceptionally hard but I could feel some niggles in my groin a bit.  I didn't feel like I was doing any damage but it was like my body warning me not to over do it.

I finished up strong with a kick at the end:

13.12 mile

1:35:35

7:17 pace

Mile 1: 7:35

Mile 2: 7:24

Mile 3: 7:25

Mile 4: 7:27

Mile 5: 7:17

Mile 6: 7:14

Mile 7: 7:07

Mile 8: 7:14

Mile 9: 7:18

Mile 10: 7:10

Mile 11: 7:13

Mile 12: 7:13

Mile 13: 7:04

Last .12: 6:29 pace

Super consistent pacing, starting out fast but not too fast, easing into the run, and finishing strong without ever really slowing down.  

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I finished up my pull up goal for the year today and am currently at 5006 pull ups, and 5121 bench/pushups.  

Mileage is at 2008.83 so 11.17 miles to go.  With 10 days left that means I could either run 1.117 miles a day for the rest of the year or run my normal routine and hit my goal on Wednesday.