My Best 11 Mile Run (1:27:42)
Monday was supposed to be my long run for the week. The schedule called for and I was looking forward to an 11 mile run. As luck would have it, right as I put my running shoes on, the rain came down. I was discouraged, but waited it out for a while & and finally decided to get the run in once it lightened to just a drizzle. Fearing heavy rain or lightning might still come, I decided to do something a little out of the norm for me – drive to Delaware Park and run the whole distance there (normally I run to and around the park). By running the 1.8 mile loops around the park, I’d be close to the truck if I had to leave in a hurry.
What a great night for running! The temperature has been in the mid-80s the last couple weeks here in Buffalo, but was a comfortable 68 when I arrived around 7:45. Occasionally the wind picks up at the Park and annoyingly blows across the golf course, but there was none that night. The only other weather condition that could have made it better was a light rain. Low and behold, a mist began to fall. The park is normally packed with people, but this night is was almost empty. There wasn’t a soul on the basketball courts & very few cars. At the most I saw 5 or 6 people during the entire loop around the park. Between the lack of people, the mist & the approaching night, it was a bit creepy, but I felt like the entire park was mine.
Without look at my watch at all, I ran the following splits:
- 7:27
- 7:43
- 7:47
- 7:47
- 7:49
- 7:52
- 8:00
- 9:47 (included a water break)
- 7:48
- 7:52
Overall, those splits add up to a 7:58 minutes/mile pace!
It’d been a long time since I felt as good as I did at the end of that run – not only for a run, but in life in general. I set out to do something & did it well – accomplishment. The fast pace came to me without putting forth much effort & I felt like I had more in me when I was done. The week before I ran 11 miles at a disappointing (to me) 8:29 overall average pace. Besting it with a run like this is the type of thing that inspires me to challenge myself by running distance. I thought about doing another two miles for the sole purpose of seeing how the time would compare to my half marathon last year, but forced myself to stop (plus it was getting dark).
I look forward to the next long run, but don’t expect such a quick pace and know that the weather had a lot to do with it. I may very well head back to the park for long runs though – being close to the truck is nice not only if I have to leave from bad weather, but in case I get paged for work.