McCormick Place and Back

Summary Data
Total Time (h:m:s)	1:30:31	9:03 pace
Moving Time (h:m:s)	1:30:30	9:03 pace
Distance (mi )	10.00
Moving Speed (mph)	6.6 avg.	12.2 max.
Elevation Gain (ft)	+207 / -207
Avg. Heart Rate	145 bpm	Zone 3.8
Temperature (°F)	24.8°F avg.	24.8°F high
Wind Speed ( mph)	NE 1.7 avg.	NE 3.5 max.

Start Time: 06:03:28 AM

This is the longest run I have done to date---and quite possibly ever. I seem to remember my coach in high school scheduling 10-mile runs, but I think I always found a reason to get out of them (tells you something about my running ethic back then, esp. compared to now). I have been saying to myself that I could run a marathon at about a 9:00 pace tomorrow. OK, I doubt it. I MAY have had another 3-5 miles available, but I finally hit the top of my training. This is a very good thing since until today, I really had no sense for my limits. I had several perfect moments this morning---(a) running at a pace I liked for the whole distance and (b) realizing that I had a top end. In this way the long run becomes like intervals---I finally get to use it to stretch myself a bit.

Between the swimming and running, I find myself looking back to my youth and wondering what I was doing. That is, was it my essential laziness that caused me to underperform (and eventually quit) running or was it a matter of having coaches who failed to inspire? Likewise with swimming: how did I fail to learn how to breathe despite extensive swimming courses as a child and even classes in college? Was it me taking shortcuts or did my coaches fail to show me in a way I understood? Given my results in such a short time, I may have had potential as an adult athlete; no one ever showed me how to go the next level. I think about how poorly I was mentored when I was young, but I suppose these coaches and mentors needed to see that I was about more than getting out of the work easily---but when you are quite naturally a Tom Sawyer, the way I was, you actually need to be taught the value of discipline. I suppose I finally picked it up in my late 20s . . . never too late.

Wore my new Supernova 10s today. Small blisters on both pinky toes---probably got away lucky since it is quite foolish to wear new shoes on a long run day.