Mid-day Long Run

11.65 miles
1:31:45
7:52 pace

Chris is taking some time off until his ankle heals. So, on my own my times have been a bit slower. My pace usually seems to be faster on the return than for the first half.

Rather than run in the dark and cold this morning, I started work before 7, then took a long lunch for my run. Gorgeous mid-fifties fall day. Set iPod for 6 miles, but wanted to do more if I felt like it. Ended up turning around a little past the 6-mile mark, and finished feeling strong.

I'm hoping to do 14 miles on Sunday to make 400, then next week start a new program. My buddy Tony, who ran many marathons before having to quit a couple of years ago, recommended Hal Higdon's marathon training guide. I might take the last 6 weeks of one of his programs, and aim to run the Philadelphia marathon on November 29.

It remains to be seen if my current physical condition will be a good match for that point in the program. I will be running shorter and more varied distances, which is probably a good thing, but will be running more consecutive days than I am used to. So we'll see. I have until November 14 before I have to make a final decision on the marathon.