An 11 mile dress rehearsal

I ran 11 miles on Friday after work. I wanted this run to be a dress rehearsal and final tune up before the half marathon.

On Thursday night after dinner I indulged in a few treats because I knew I would be running hard the next day. I had a chocolate chip mini muffin and some graham crackers before bed. 

On Friday morning I ate a pretty large breakfast and I snacked in the morning. It kinda messed up my appetite for lunch.  I didn't want to eat too much before my afternoon run.  Here's what I ate:

Friday Breakfast 530 am
Yogurt with cereal mixed in
Coffee with cream
Chocolate chip mini muffin
2 eggs scrambled

Friday Snack at Work 900am
1 bag of Funyuns chips
1/4 of a huge Danish

Lunch 130pm
Banana
String cheese
a few pretzels

The weather was a perfect 70 degrees when I took off at 3pm.  I didn't take any water or fuel with me.  I didn't think I would need water because it wasn't hot, and I didn't think to take any gels or gummy candy with me.

The route I chose was along the Pittman Wash Bike Trail. This trail is about 4 miles long and it's great because there is no traffic and no traffic lights to stop me. I had to run about a 2 miles to get to the start of the trail.  The route I ran was 5.5 miles out, then 5.5 miles back in.

I took this picture a few weeks ago.

My plan for the first half was to run this route comfortably hard. I tried not to look at my Garmin too much I wanted the paces to be between 8:05-7:45 per mile.

Mile 1- 8:03
Mile 2- 7:50
Mile 3- 8:07
Mile 4- 8:05
Mile 5- 7:59

I wanted this route to be as flat as possible but, I still ended up climbing 421 feet on the way out.  I felt like I was holding back during the first half.  When I hit the turn around point I picked it up a bit.

Mile 6- 7:39
Mile 7- 7:38
Mile 8- 7:22
Mile 9- 7:24
Mile 10-7:36
Mile 11-7:33

Final Time

I started to "bonk" around mile 9.  I'm glad that I forgot to bring an energy gel with me.  The last two miles were hard but, I'm glad that I was able to practice pushing myself out of my comfort zone.

To run a 1:40:00 half marathon I will need to average a 7:38 per mile pace.  I think I have a really good chance at breaking 1:40.