Another tough long run

I don't know why, but today's 18k run was a killer!

Maybe it was because I was travelling for work this week, or because I was fighting off some cold or flu bug or that I didn't get enough sleep while I was out of town, maybe it was a combination of everything. Anyway, today's run was no fun.

The weather was nice so decided to I run outside. The plan called for me to run the first 4k at a 5:05/k pace and then to bump it up to a 4:50/k pace for 8k. And while the weather was warm, 2C, there was about a 20k north wind that I had to fight head-on for the first 10k. Plus I had to dodge and maneuver around some big puddles, often having to run on the snowbanks along my route to avoid the water.

Perhaps having to work so hard in those first 10 to 11k to maintain my pace while dealing with the wind and puddles contributed to the difficult of the run. All I know is that for the first 13k I was doing fine, then it was as if I hit a wall!

At the 12k mark, I increased my pace to 4:45/k for 3k, but could only maintain that pace for 2k. So I slowed to a 5:00 minutes per k pace for a kilometre, then tried to run a kilometre at 4:45, but could only manage a 4:50/k pace. Then it got really difficult because I had to run up a good sized hill that was about 300m long. All  I could manage was a 5:20/k pace, including walking about 50m.

I was supposed to run 2 of the last 3k at a 4:35/k pace, but by the 17k point I had not been able to do that. So I sucked it up, dug deep and ran my final kilometre in 4 minutes and 35 seconds. I was done!

Two tough long runs on consecutive weekends. I don't know what's going on, but it's not helping build my confidence.

I bailed on the 10k race I was planning to run yesterday, because I just wasn't feeling it. I'm glad I did. I hadn't entered the race, so bailing was easy. I'm entered in a 10k race April 10th and then I'm running a half marathon with my buddy Glen, May 1st in Waterloo.

My  goal is to run the 10k under 40 minutes. To do that, I'll need to get out of this funk and log some positive runs the next month. The half marathon will be a training run for me as I'm pacing Glen to a 1:40 goal time.

However, if my long runs keep sucking, Glen may have to pace me!