The plan for today was 12 miles. With good intentions, I should've gotten up early and gotten it out of the way. But... that is rough. Difficult enough to do in nice weather and the outdoors. More so knowing it would be on the treadmill. I thereby got underway after 1/2 cup of coffee and a little prodding by DH.
I managed to cover 6 miles (57:48) before I had to stop and prepare breakfast for everyone. I made Dutch style pancakes and ate a few bites myself then resumed my long run.
For the final six miles, I started out with a 50 min performance program but after the 1st mile, I decided it wasn't what I had in mind for the day. The incline got up to 8.0 and while that would be good for a hill workout, the programmed pace was pretty slow (3.0 mph). I generally do between 6 and 8 mph, depending on the goal for the day. I thereby restarted and finished the remaining 5 miles at 58:02.
In the end, I covered 12 miles (average pace 9:39) but I'm not certain that I met my long run goal. Is it okay to break up long run into 2 segments? Am I getting the same benefit physiologically?
Either way, this has been a great week. My total distance is just under 40 miles (~39.5) so I'm back into form. I just need to keep it up now for all the races I hope to partake in this spring and summer.
Feeling strong :D
Makita,
ReplyDeleteYou are doing great on your mileage. From all I've read, breaking up the workout into two is not only okay, but beneficial to our bodies.
gaj
Sometimes I end up splitting my long run too.. But I usually do a 3/4 and 1/4 split.. that way I feel less guilty!
ReplyDeleteI've heard that splitting your long run is OK, as you are still running on tired legs.
ReplyDelete