Notes
I divided this into an easy going first lap and then a fast second lap.
This is the result:
7.24 in 1:09:51
7.23 in 1:02:11
A large part of me wanted to quit after one loop. I was feeling pretty lethargic and I didn't think that was a good sign considering how slow I was going. I took some chunky old mint chocolate Gu (no caffeine) and a swig of diluted water/Gatorade at halfway. Perhaps it was the combination of picking up the pace and the refreshment that got me feeling better almost right away as I began the second loop. I imagined myself flying along and running a huge negative split for the second lap. This helped motivate me and give me reason to believe I'd feel better.
I stayed up quite late last night and I basically ate peanuts for dinner at about 1am. I had like half a jar of them. This was quite stupid of me, because I know how much fiber they have, but I did not listen to my smarter thoughts and gave in to the temptation. Sure enough, I had to take a deuce at 12.5 miles into the run. I would have just walked back to my car, except with two miles to go that would have felt like an eternity and I would have been a feast for the bugs. So I ran anyway. And I felt pretty good just a minute or two after.
I really feel like each lap of that thing should get recorded as 7.5 instead of 7.25, but my watch has been giving me extra distance a lot lately, so I think it's only fair to log this one as-is, too.
My training hasn't been going all that well lately, but I was able to get myself pretty psyched about midway into this run. I finished it with an ailing GI system and some tight calves/Achilles, but my cardio system seems okay.