Back On the Road - Joe Kleinerman 10K

I've definitely had a bit of a lull/lack of motivation since the marathon. I allowed myself to cave into some of the excuses not to run - too cold, too tired, etc. It has only been two weeks so far, so this is not unexpected. After my last two marathons, it takes several weeks or a couple months to get back in the swing of things and feel back to your old self. I took it very easy the week after the marathon only running once (4 miles) and doing one day of light legwork in the gym. In order to not pressure myself to come back too quickly, I gave myself the license to take it easy for the rest of the year. That doesn't mean no running, merely getting outside several times a week at a comfortable pace and beginning to slowly build my body back up and give myself an overdue mental break. I am hoping to get back to my 9-10 mile "long" run every weekend which I want to begin by the end of December.

This week started off sluggish as well. I went out for a 4 miler on Monday, which was cut down from a scheduled five or six mile run. I was out there by myself which was a bit tough. On Thursday I had the group run which luckily made me get outside. I stayed at the back of the pack with one of my fellow Philly marathoners at a 9:05 pace. That 6 mile run was the longest I ran over the past two weeks and it felt tough. As for the Kleinerman 10K, I signed up for it a while back hoping to used it as a bounce back race after the marathon. It was scheduled to possibly rain or snow, which would have derailed my plans. Luckily the weather cooperated and I was able to roll out of bed and head on over to the starting line. I was not looking to go out fast, but merely to have an enjoyable race. Luckily, I met up with Runner26 and we ran the entire race together and it was just what I needed. We both wanted to go out at about an 8:30 pace, and after running an up and down first three miles, we settled into our goal pace. Having her there to chat with allowed me to not concentrate on my time, but just to go out there and have a good time. Thanks so much AG! This race definitely boosted my morale and will hopefully kick start my post marathon running. With the colder temperatures and less daylight, the winter is a tough period to get motivated to run. The goal is to have fun for the rest of the year/beginning of January and get in my runs without regard for pace.

The splits for the race are:

Mile 1 - 8:40
Mile 2 - 8:21
Mile 3 - 8:15
Mile 4 - 8:30
Mile 5 - 8:32
Last 1.2 miles - 9:51 (8:13 pace)

Total time: 52:12
Overall pace: 8:25