Tough 13 miler

I knew today's workout would be a challenge. Saturday was tough. Monday was tough. Yesterday was tough. Now, I have a 13 miler on my schedule? I have to start at 5:15 AM so that I can get the miles in and get to work by 8:30. What? Why am I marathon training anyway? What is wrong with me? 50 miles already and I haven't even done this week's long run?

Today, I had to go at it alone. It was dark and foggy. Several times, cars didn't see me because of the limited visibility. I was aware of that and was extra careful. I didn't wear headphones on this run, even though it was alone, for this very reason.

It was warm and humid. Yuck. I did not enjoy today's run. Don't misunderstand. It was a good run. I developed more mental toughness. I trained while tired. I'm GLAD I ran this morning. It's just that the run was brutal. I talked myself out of taking the shortest route home and quitting early several times. I kept repeating... "If you run faster, it will be over sooner." So I did pick up the pace at the end. It would have been faster, but I did have to stop for traffic several times late in the run.

My heart rate stayed in the range that it should have. I was tired, but felt good. I probably ran this at about the right pace.

1. 9:33 (I really struggle with the first mile.)
2. 8:31
3. 8:26
4. 8:14
5. 8:04
6. 8:01
7. 8:13
8. 8:07
9. 7:55
10. 7:54
11. 7:46
12. 7:59
13. 7:31