An OK 12-Miler

I have four ratings for my runs: Great, Good, OK, and Made it. Today I had an OK 12-miler. My wakeup HR was a bit high, 54, due to only getting 6 hours/night earlier in the week. I didn't feel especially tired when I got up, but I didn't feel energetic, either.

When I started running, I could tell I was tired, and I considered aborting. Instead, I increased my breathing rate to get more oxygen. My normal breathing rate is two steps in, two steps out. While running I switched to one step in, one step out for four repeats and then my normal rate with extra big breaths, and then repeats of this sequence. I didn't do this for long distances, just a few repeats of the sequence, whenever I felt tired. The extra oxygen did help, and I felt fine up to mile 9. Then I started getting tired, and I took extra walking breaks along with the increased breathing rate. I made it home, and I didn't feel overly tired.

This was the first time since last November that I had run 12 miles. In November, my legs were very tired and stiff, while my body felt ok. Today, my legs felt fine and my body was a bit tired. Overall, I think I did better today than in November. Next week if I feel fine, I'll do 13 for my long run. Next week will be week 13 of my marathon plan.

The sky was cloudy during most of my run, and for about 10 minutes I was in a light--heavy rain storm. I passed one other runner during the rain (going the other direction). She was running, and her husband was behind her on his bike.