Detroit Marathon Training - Week 14 - Run #3

Today's "long run" thankfully was not quite as long as the past few have been as I have begun my taper now that the marathon is only two weeks away. While it was shorter, it was also much colder. The temperature was in the mid 40s, and the wind was pretty strong at times. Fortunately I think the trees helped knock some of it down. So I was dressed a little differently than usual, opting to wear black tights under my shorts, and a long sleeve shirt. Both kept me warm, and I really did not get hot except for the brief periods of sunshine.

Since the run was shorter, I was able to use a different training route, as I headed north on the towpath from the Brecksville station, which I had not done in months. The change in scenary was very welcome. And I don't know if it was the different route or the colder weather, but today's run went great. I managed to hit the turnaround point, 7 miles, in 56:40, which put me at a 8:05/mi pace. And the 7 miles back only took a couple minutes longer as I finished my 14 mile run in 1:54:45 for an average pace of about 8:12/mi. I'm very happy with this.

As for my Nike+ iPod setup, it recorded my distance as 14.34 miles for an average pace of 7:59/mi. Obviously I like this a little better. I'm still not entirely sure which one to trust. The Nike+ thing worked really well on the treadmill the other day, only being off .04 miles on a 7 mile run. And I'm not sure of the accuracy of some of the marked miles on the towpath, as I know some on my usual route are longer than the marked distance. So I'm thinking about started to rely on the this device instead of the markers. I really should just find a track and do a very accurate calibration and go from there.

So 14 miles today in 1:54:45 for an average pace of 8:12/mi, according to the towpath's mileage markers.

Weekly Total: 26 miles
Yearly Total: 743.6 miles