MP

Today's run was the first where I actually incorporated my marathon pace (MP) for part of the run, which is a 9:09/mile. The run in its entirety was only 4 miles, so I decided to run the first 2 at 9:58 on an out and back course and run the last 2 at MP. My husband offered to come along pushing our son, which I always love, so we headed over to Riverside Park to run up the Henry Hudson Greenway. 

This is virtually uncharted territory for me as, admittedly, I am a bit of a Central Park snob. I would venture to guess that 1 out of every 30 runs take place at Riverside...maybe less. What can I say, I love my park! All this to say, I am not as nearly familiar with mile markers at Riverside, so I had to guess when I had run about 2 miles, then turn around and try to run the negative split. Starting off my legs felt like lead, courtesy of yesterdays killer hill workout. I thought I may be in trouble when I got to the 2 mile mark...

I decided to turn around when we hit 125th st because it was a point I could identify on a map when I went back to track what I ran...the watch said 18:46. I turned around and retraced my steps, hoofing past the starting point in 15:52. I had to dig deep for that one, my legs were screaming, but it felt like a good solid effort at the same time.

Upon returning home, I mapped out the course and it was 1.9 miles, which means I went out at a 9:53 pace and returned a a 8:21 pace...I'd say I over shot MP, wouldn't you?