Half Marathon training day 13

Scheduled run: 6 miles at 11:03 pace
Actual: 6 miles at 10:05 average pace,but the first 2 miles were closer to 9:30 and the last was closer to 11
Time: 1 hour 2 minutes
Weather: started at 76 with 81% humidity - ended at 83 with 63%
Miles on new shoes: 16
Days until race: 84

Today's run was harder than I had hoped. I think the pollen may be high because my head is filled up. The sun was also pretty intense and seemed to suck the energy out of me. But I had some moments where I really felt "in the groove." To me, that is the feeling when your run seems natural and you don't have to think about your mechanics. I often think if I could only get out of my head more often during my runs, I would be "in the grove" a lot more often. I am still working on the cardio to get to that point. But down the road, that is my goal - to just run for the fun of it. Of course, I'll take the physical and mental benefit of it as well.

Another thing that I need to stop doing is worrying as much about my speed. Being a triathlete and having a lot of friends into sports and fitness, I find that I compare myself to them a lot. It seems that unlike me, most triathletes seem to come from running backgrounds and struggle to get the swim and bike down. I on the otherhand am an average swimmer and a quite good biker. The run is where I struggle. I need to give myself more credit for the parts I am already good at and work on the run at my own pace. Easier said than done ...

That said - tomorrow is a day off from the run. I am cross training by taking part in a 25 or 30 mile bike ride with the Space Coast Velo Sports association. This ride is not for a cause - but is the groups "fall social" They will have a cookout after the ride. Should be fun