Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

That I actually put it into words at the end of my last long-run post must of really hit a sour note for me. I guess I'm not being honest with myself when I say 'Hey, I'm not as fast as I used to be, but look how far I can go'.. This is evident as of this morning's run. I knew I wanted to do at least 10 miles today, as I'm convinced that long, slow runs are the way to get me to finish a half marathon this year in under 2 hours, which is my goal time.  But that little gremlin inside of me could not resist setting my pace notifications a little higher for today's run.
Last week, I wanted to stay between 9:45 and 10:30.  Today, I figured  I'd try to turn it up a notch, since I truly don't know how to follow any sort of plan, or even listen to seasoned athletes who take the time to publish what they've taken years to learn and have graciously shared that information with neophytes like myself. That's a run-on sentence, btw.

So, I set my run to 2 hours between 9:30 and 10:00 pace. Whereas last week I gave myself a 45 second span at a slower pace, today I shortened it to a 30 second span at a faster pace. It appears I can't only just change one variable, either.

The temperature was about the same starting out, but the winds were lighter today.

The run went fine in my newly adopted running neighborhood, I changed the route slightly by avoiding an additional elevation close to the first 2 mile mark. I drank a few ounces of water every time I finished 3 miles. I took some Power Bar Gel Blasts every 3 miles as well. But it still did not help the fatigue in my legs at the start of the 7 mile mark. I concentrated today on using my hip extensors, especially going up some inclines. I can feel them now, my gluts really feel like they got quite a workout. But, my left knee is complaining again, and my ITB/TFL on both hips were SCREAMING at me from mile 8-10. I really had to slow down to a fast walk, concentrating on my form. My legs below my knees were flopping around like, oh, I don't know.. it was ridiculous. It took everything I had to fight through wanting to stop before 10 miles. I think I'm really going to be feeling it 12 hours from now.
I still have yet been unable to endure a 2 hour run. I'm hoping it's a doable thing for me. I'm pretty sure it is, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to slow down even further to be able to run pain free. And I'm guessing some lower body strengthening is in the cards for me if I'm going to get where I need to be.

Magellan gives me good numbers. RunMeter's numbers are lower.  I'll keep consistant with posting to DailyMile with RunMeter b/c it's automagic.

Oh, and I had some friends talking to me during my last few runs! It's such a blast..I knew I'd love it.

RunMeter Data

Magellan Data