Morning!
Amidst our kayaking adventures, hitting the pool with my friend Heidi, a couple fun dinners out, and getting some things done around the house, Matt and I also made it out for a 9 mile run on Saturday morning — another new personal distance record (PDR) for him!
Matt loves photos 😉
That’s better!
As I mentioned before, Matt’s training for the 12 mile Tough Mudder race (on this coming weekend!) and wanted to make sure he was feeling confident with the distance. I offered to keep him company for the 9 miles and we headed over to the C&O Canal trail for a nice flat place to run.
Matt amping himself up for a new PDR:
I wore my compression sleeves (and a cute running skirt from New Balance) for the occasion. We also both wore CamelBaks to stay hydrated!
And we were off! We settled in to a comfortable pace and stuck right around it for the whole time — we didn’t want to push it too much since it was ridiculously hot/humid out.
- Mile 1: 9:28
- Mile 2: 9:27
- Mile 3: 9:30
- Mile 4: 9:18
We stopped briefly at the midway point to stretch and refuel before turning back. I usually start fueling for runs for anything over about 9 or 10 miles; I wasn’t sure if we’d need anything but figured it was good to bring some fuel in case. I didn’t have any Hammer Gel’s at home so I improvised and brought these dates (pitted and coated in a sprinkle of salt) for us to snack on. Great running fuel, actually! We each had 2.
I also took off my compression sleeves at the half way mark — it was SO hot out (really sticky and humid) and being cooler won out over compressing my calves. 🙂
Back we went!
- Mile 5: 9:29
- Mile 6: 9:35
- Mile 7: 9:19
- Mile 8: 9:10
- Mile 9: 8:38 —> finished strong! 🙂
I felt pretty good the whole way, especially on the way back. My legs were tired but once I made it through the early couple miles I started getting into a good groove. As you see, we picked it up for the last mile — I always like doing this to end on a high note. Gotta pretend it’s like a race and you’re sprinting to the finish! 🙂
Total distance: 9 miles. Total time: 1:23:55. Average overall pace: 9:19 min/miles.
Success!
I was very proud of Matt. 🙂 This is his “thank god that’s over but I do feel really bada$$ for doing that” pose.
Between the running and our Crossfit/weight training, I think he’s ready for this race! Any of you guys doing the Tough Mudder this weekend, too? Or have you done a Tough Mudder in another area? Any tips for Matt and his buddies? I was considering doing it with them but it’s a big group of guys and I was worried I’d get left in the dust on some of the obstacles. 😉
Have a great day, everyone!
