I just never really got going on this one; just never got into a groove. I started out at 8AM with the plan to be done around 10:15 so that Joan could pick me up when she dropped Bailey off at SPAC. The weather was gloomy and overcast, but not raining until I had crossed Poway Rd and was heading up the long...long incline to the Scripps Poway Pkwy crossing. And then once past there, I got blasted by the headwinds coming out of the southwest. I'd been struggling for miles already, but that did it. I had to stop, get out my poncho, grab an energy bar and drink some wa-wa. I walked for about a quarter of a mile while I got myself together.
Up to that point, I had purposely and intentionally engineered a 9-minute mile pace, forcing myself to slow to a crawl whenever I found myself at a checkpoint and ahead of that schedule. The route stinks because there are so many major road crossing and forced waits for traffic lights; but that actually helped to slow me down and keep a proper training pace. Even so, my legs felt dead almost from the start.
Walking that incline around mile 8 put me well behind schedule though, and I couldn't tolerate letting my average pace drop to almost 10-minutes per, so I found myself -- contrary to reason -- trying to pick up my pace to make up for time as I entered the Scripps Ranch area. I should just put my watch away on these long SLOW runs. I don't know why I can't check my ego and not worry about pace. It's the distance I need to care about.
The rain really started coming down while I was heading up toward the 10-mile marker and entry to the Lake Miramar loop. I took a couple of Galloway-inspired walk breaks just to keep my legs alive. My lungs felt pretty good, but not the legs. It was all I could do to drag myself up that last hill.
Lake Miramar was such a welcome respite from the rest of the ugly run. It was quiet. Lots of other joggers, race walkers and some cyclists making the circuit in the lousy weather. I got to around the 14-mile point before my psyche just gave up. I was well behind the target time I'd hoped for with about a mile and half of S-curves left, and I just decided to walk the rest of the way. I got back to the parking lot just as Joan and Quin were driving up.
Totally spent. It's sinking in just how much work I have yet to do to get to 26.2 miles and what an accomplishment that is (will be). Even if I combine the 7 1/4 miles from yesterday and the 14-ish miles from today, that's still short of 22 miles. The marathon's over 4 miles more. I really hope and trust that this training program will get me there.
I'm not running with a camelbak anymore either. It was nice to have the water and a stashed poncho, but I've got to get a water belt. I'm also never going to run myself ragged the day before attempting one of these. My next one's supposed to be 15-16 miles, so I need to give myself every advantage and not make it more difficult than it needs to be. I'm not going to sulk over the lack of super confidence-boosting success, but I must take away lessons learned each time this happens over the course of the next 16 weeks.
While I was walking the last mile, I found myself alone and thought I'd stage a little vignette to capture what a sight I must've been, "galloping" through the streets and around the Lake with my poncho flapping. I'm a loon:
