My first ever 9 mile run!!!

[rubato]

I did it! I made it 9 miles. The thing is, I did it much faster than I thought. Do any of you find that you really get into a groove later into a run? I am training for a half (my first) and want to do it in 2hours. Which, if I figure right, means I will be trying for 9 min. miles to allow for a potty break or 2. I did 8 min. 7 sec. miles in this run. That's way faster than I thought I could run. And, I was hurting bad for the last 3 miles (wore the wrong shoes because I wasn't thinking).

Also, is it REALLY true that if I run 10 miles I'm ready for the half? Just wanted to make sure because I have enough time to work up to 12 or 13 if I want to . Thanks.

 

[syko]

Congratulations on your longest run to date, and at a great speed too.

 

[JoanneNC]

Great pace - I am envious...

I did a 10 miler 2-3 weeks ago at the fastest time I ever had before and I was on cloud nine. Next week I did my 1st ever 11 miler and that last mile seemed hard to me and my overall pace dropped 30 secs per mile as I was just trying to pace myself.

I was supposed to do 12 miles this weekend but long story short, I ended up running my 1st half yesterday and I will tell you that I found the last 1.5-2 miles to be hard. Not sure if it was mental because I had never done it before or because it was just the effect of the total distance..

I am running Disney in Jan and feel 100% better knowing that I have gone the distance already. My training in general was shooting for a 13 before race day.

Grats on your 9 miles at such an awesome pace

 

[fashionista311]

congrats on your 9 miler, thats great!

to answer your question - yes it's true that if you do a 10 miler, for your first time, that's all you need to do in order to finish your race. my dad is a pt specializing in running/sports - and when he was helping me train for my race, i had the same question. his answer was "no matter what, you will be hurting at mile 10. why potentially put yourself in the situation where you won't recover from your long run in enough time for your race and your muscles wont be as fresh?"

also for your first half, i wouldn't worry so much about time (although it's great to have a goal!) as much as just finishing. as my dad said - finishing a race is not like finishing a final. you have your entire life to run, and you don't want to put too much pressure on one day. what if race day your knee starts to bug you at mile 6? what if the weather conditions aren't ideal and you need to slow your pace? etc etc etc. at the end of the day, it's just one day in your running career and you have the rest of it to worry about time goals. of course i know this is easier said than done as i have a huge type a personality myself ha.

 

[cewait]

way to go rubato!

I am a little envious of your pace. First of all a 9 minute pace gets you a 1:58 wich is a great event for Disney. An 8:07 means we need to find you a 10k race for New Years. You really need to be in A-1 (First wave Corral A).

If you run a 10 you will be ready but if you hold at 9 next run you will still be good. You may need to lose a little pace but you should do fine. the difference between a 3 mile adder and a 4 mile adder is not all that much. I trust that you mid week runs have been good and that you other long runs have been decent paced. In either case the last three miles will feel a lot like your run this morning. You will get to your longest training distance then have to use a few mental games to get to the end. Though the run will get real easy as you enter the Cast Member Gate at Mile 12 with your watch saying 1:35. Just slow a bit at the u-turn near the lake so you won't run in!

In all seriousness look on your local running club website or go t oa running store to see if a 10k is held in your area for new years. (I would even plunk funds on a 5 miler as proof).

Good job and have a great next couple weeks.

 

[JoanneNC]

way to go rubato!

I am a little envious of your pace. First of all a 9 minute pace gets you a 1:58 wich is a great event for Disney. An 8:07 means we need to find you a 10k race for New Years. You really need to be in A-1 (First wave Corral A).

If you run a 10 you will be ready but if you hold at 9 next run you will still be good. You may need to lose a little pace but you should do fine. the difference between a 3 mile adder and a 4 mile adder is not all that much. I trust that you mid week runs have been good and that you other long runs have been decent paced. In either case the last three miles will feel a lot like your run this morning. You will get to your longest training distance then have to use a few mental games to get to the end. Though the run will get real easy as you enter the Cast Member Gate at Mile 12 with your watch saying 1:35. Just slow a bit at the u-turn near the lake so you won't run in!

In all seriousness look on your local running club website or go t oa running store to see if a 10k is held in your area for new years. (I would even plunk funds on a 5 miler as proof).

Good job and have a great next couple weeks.

Interesting - I didn't know they would accept 5 miler results...

 

[cewait]

Interesting - I didn't know they would accept 5 miler results...

Officially they don't but it is also hard to say no to a 40 minute 5 mile event. I would kind of push for a supervisor's asistance if told no. Especially since this this is a new runner and racing opportunities hare lmited once they knew what their capabilities were. I wouldn't be nasty just tring to get the optimum starting corral.

 

[smileyk8]

Massive congratulations!!! You did brilliantly. 9 miles is such an awesome milestone and you should feel so proud. As already said above, yep a lot of the training plans will take you upto 10miles so technically you are 1 mile off! Of course it's lovely to know you can run the distance before a race, but weigh it up with any chance of injury or excessive fatigue. It's better to go in having run a comfy 10 than push yourself too hard and be sore.

It's totally your call and I think you'll find people who did it both ways- neither are wrong. Just keep SMILING

 

[rubato]

Thanks everyone for all your encouragement! I thought I had done good, but hearing it from REAL runners makes me feel justified in my pride.

Cewait, I wish I was going to Disney with everyone, but, unfortunately, I'm not. I planned my January vacation to WDW before I decided to run a half. So, I'm not showing up at Disney until 1-19. So, while I'd love to be there this year, I'm actually thinking that if I do well in my half here at home in Kansas, I might try for the full at WDW in 2011. Or, god forbid, the Goofy. I just mentioned this to hubby last night and he looked at me like I was from another planet!!!

I do like your advice about running a 10K to get a better start. My half isn't until April, so I think that could easily be accomplished! Thanks for that help. I hadn't even thought of that. I do have to remember that it's my first race and I do just want to finish. So, we'll see how I feel adding a mile or two to the long run in the next few weeks.

 

[Tiger Lily 03]

Congratulations! You are doing great! I think a Goofy is definitely in your future!