Fast and Foggy

This morning's eight-miler was a good ending to a good week. Marathoners Tilghman, Margie and Jessica headed out first, and I joined half marathoners Lisa, Logan and Sara. Lisa and Sara are running their first half, but they're in good shape, and they're young and tough (they've had kids).

Conditions were very humid with a dewpoint in the high 60s. Our run started at Grassland Elementary, down Moran Road along the Harpeth River, then Old Natchez Road for a half mile with a turn around at Temple Road. A thick fog, courtesy of the Harpeth, blanketed the rolling roads along horse farms and the palacial homes of country music stars, shielding us from the sun.

My goal was to negative split and run at my planned half marathon pace. The ladies took us out on some 9:15s. It went by quickly as the gals talked about shopping (I'm ok with that) and their race plans. Our only stop was at 3.4 miles for hydration.

At the turnaround, our average pace was 9:18/mile. The only big hill greeted us at 4.4 miles, and I faded a smidge, then regrouped. At 5.25, Lisa went Ethiopian on us and buried the needle, running at a sub-8:00/mile pace. Logan followed her, while Sara and I dropped it a gear and worked to keep pace. The four of us began to space, with me at the back.

I wouldn't call the last two-and-a-half miles suffering, but I had to work to achieve my goals. My average pace steadily dropped, even as the women disappeared ahead in the fog. I returned to Grassland, kicking it in to finish at 1:12:58, a 9:07/mile pace. I'm happy with it, even finishing last in our group. The negative split and race pace in humid conditions were nice check-offs.

Total mileage for the week: 27; total training mileage to date: 294.