TNR #2 - Good run for me

Tonight my goal was to try and stay with the lead group for the TNR as coach EK had me on the schedule to run a 70 min set slightly under race pace (8:50 - 9:00 m/m). I went out pretty easy for about the first half mile just behind the lead group to feel out what pace they were going to run. My thought was if they went out to fast for me to keep up and only being my second time on this route I would say with a group that knew the route. At the first traffic light I was only a little behind them so I figured catch up to them and see what happens. There are four good hills on this run which right now in my training I love the thought of them preparing me for the marathon hills. They aren't fun to run though. At the first hill I stayed with the group fairly easy which helped build my confidence up. Once we were in our strides the road was passing pretty easy, I didn't look at my watch to see the pace b/c I knew it was faster than EK and I had planned but I felt good and my goal from then on was to stay with this group, down from about 12 to 4 after the first hill. The second hill is short and I handled that behind two guys one of which is a running coach for the club. The third hill is a long and steep climb. Sometimes guys sprint up this and then rest at the top but tonight the four of us were just going to keep a steady pace and get through it. Then we winded our way through the neighborhood on a rolling course. I could tell the coach picked the pace up a little but I felt strong physically. My breathing at this point was picking up so I just tried to control it and stay on coaches heels. Him and I distanced ourselves a bit in the last mile from the other two guys and made it back to the cars in 56:00 min. So we completed 7 miles in 56:00 min on a hilly course.

I feel good overall with little to no soreness. My chest is a little weak as it was cold out and that is two days in a row of pretty solid cardio workouts. This overall was a real good confidence booster for me to know at least for 7 miles I can keep up with these guys.

Running with a group is SOOOO much easier than running by yourself!


Run Stats:
8.0 miles
8:36 pace
947 (est. calorie burn)

Main Set:
7 miles
8:00 pace