I Wanna Go…Slow?

So I have this new running problem: I can’t slow down. (Things I never thought I’d say.)

I blame it on running with my friend Gia. Girl is a speed demon and she inspires me to be the best runner I can be.

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She looks sweet, right? There’s actually a demon under that braid.

I didn’t run with Gia today, but I still ran faster than I intended. After last week’s super PR, my goal for today was to just run long–15 miles–and slow so that I could be nice to my knee.

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(I promise to never post another iPhone food pic again. My camera battery was dead, though.)

Last night, I met up with Emily and we walked up the Highline before deciding to walk back down to Chelsea. Emily knew I had a long run planned today and was happy to help me indulge in ALL THE CARBS. We went to Don Giovanni, a cute little neighborhood-y place in Chelsea. Emily walked past us and creeped into the restaurant and scared me half to death.

I was home by maybe 9 last night, and it was fabulous. There are plenty of other nights to go out once the marathon’s over.

I had plans to meet up with Devon and run 10 together, so I had to work in 5 before. I ran up the West Side Highway and over to the park and down to Columbus Circle to meet her.

Devon is a Seattle blogger who is in NYC this weekend for her first visit. She’d emailed me earlier in the week to ask if we could run together.

I want to say I immediately wrote back “Sure!” but this is when my knee was hurting, so I asked her if we could chat again on Friday. Yesterday, my knee was feeling better, so I decided we were good to go.

She’d said she had 10 to run (she’s training for the Vegas marathon!) and wanted to run in the park, so I secretly mapped out a route that would be 6 miles of the park and 4 on the West Side Highway, figuring she’d like running along the river. (I mean, how can you not?) I also secretly hoped she’d be a bit slower than me so I could get a nice long slow run in.

Well, homegirl and I are about the same pace, so we busted out 9:3x miles for the next 10, as we chatted about everything from life, jobs, money, boys and marathon training.

[Speaking of boys, I’m now auditioning cute, active boys to snuggle with and be active with. Apply within.]

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I <3: water, sweat and new running buddies. My legs definitely felt tired in the park, but I felt good almost the entire time.

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(What would a long run be without an awkward picture of my wrist and Garmin?)

Next weekend is 20 and then TAPER TIME!

Are you any good at doing your long runs slow or do you run faster than you intended, too? (Trust me, this is a new problem for me.)

10 comments on “I Wanna Go…Slow?

  1. Devon

    Love this! Sorry if we went a little fast. The run just flies when you’re having fun! And, yes, I’m thinking of accepting active-boy applications as well… : )

    Reply
  2. Mads

    I’m worried that it looks so hot still in NYC! Will it be this hot on 6 November? If so I may reconsider my trip. We have had an awful summer and so I’ve done no training in any kind of heat (apart from last week when we had some freaky mini-heatwave and my meant-to-be 18 miler became 13 as it was 28 degrees – the hottest it’s been all summer, literally!).

    Reply
    1. Theodora Post author

      @Mads: I don’t *think* it will be this hot on November 6. I just looked at the 10-day forecast, and after Wednesday, it will be under 65 degrees again.

      In the three years I’ve spectated the marathon, it’s always been chilly. There’s info about the average temps here: http://www.nycmarathon.org/weather.htm

      Honestly, I would be shocked if it were this hot (it’s like 80 here right now!) in a month.

      Reply
  3. Mads

    Thanks. Yes, I’ve checked out previous weather reports for the marathon and they have looked pretty ideal to me. I hope you’re right!! These days there seems to be less and less certainty about the weather and its patterns. Our heatwave has definitely left us and normal grey sky/windy/rainy service has been resumed!

    Reply
  4. Elizabeth

    Looks like a gorgeous run along the river! Hope you have a great 20 this weekend, and then it’s taper time, baby! Have loved following your training, it’s been super motivating. 🙂

    Reply

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