Mr. Steady. or A Real MALE Runer now, or Lucky Guy!!!

I've been pumped up about this 10-mile run all week. I mean really pumped up. Almost raceday pumped up. With the USA 10-miler just 3 weeks away and the Luke's Locker/Koala Half Marathon 5 weeks away, I wanted to really nail a couple of long runs, starting with today. Now don't get me wrong. By nailing a long run, I don't mean running at race goal pace. I just wanted to pace myself consistently and finish stong. I figured with a bit cooler temps, if I could do for about 15:15 pace and finish the last couple of miles strong, I'd be very pleased.

Family time and doing the Tour de Art on Friday night had me putting off my long run until Sunday and skipping Katy Fit. Nevertheless, my faithful partner, Jo, was on hand this morning to run with me. It's just great running with Jo. She's a good chatter and helps keep my mind occupied. Another great reason to put my long run off until Sunday is that June runs long on Sunday and I was able today to introduce her to what's right now my favorite running venue, Terry Hershey Park. And much to my surprise and pleasure, Erica was able to join us too. So am I one lucky guy or not!! Running with 3 beautiful, classy women!! I was on cloud 9.

So call me Mr. Steady. Check out these splits:

Mile 1 - 14:35
Mile 2 - 15:16
Mile 3 - 15:11
Mile 4 - 15:12
Mile 5 - 15:10
Mile 6 - 15:59 (stopped to fill up 2 water bottles and stretch a little)
Mile 7 - 15:05
Mile 8 - 15:08
Mile 9 - 15:00
Mile 10 - 14:28
Total time - 2:31:09
Average pace - 15:07 min/mile

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!

I was so psyched about how I finished, I was quite literally yelling out loud, "WA-HOO!!!", arms raised like I was Rocky or something. What a dork!!! It was fun to share that with 3 really cool people, too. I think fun was had by all and June seemed to really like TH Park. Erica, June, and I made our way over to Starbuck's for a little more trash talking and many goose bumbs as the cool breeze blew. I was still drenched from sweat and forgot to bring a change of clothes (dry shirt) like I usually do. Acually, that's the only thing I would have done differently today is bring an extra shirt.

One other thing I'll mention is that I really felt good through this whole run. I felt stronger than ever going up and down the hills and stayed strong and on my toes for much of the run. A couple of times I felt like I was sitting back on my heels but I was strong and corrected it immediately. The little bit of calf work I've been doing along with the wobble foam really seem to be paying off.

Lastly, I'm a real MALE runner now. After the finish and on the way to the car, I look down and notice something. Majorly bloody nips!!! I was actually kind of proud of them and bragged that now I am a real runner. Jo said later in an e-mail that now all I need are black toenails. LOL!!! I greased down the area pretty well with body glide before the run but sustained bloody nippage syndrome (BNS) nevertheless. Guess it's time for bandaids on the next long one.

Later and God Bless!!!