Ran 11.o miles @ 7:39/mile pace.
Paved roads.
Very hilly.
Weather: Temps in upper 40s, sunny and windy.
Today was just one of those days where all cylinders are firing. I came out feeling very energetic and raring to go, and the Achilles behaved very nicely. I tried holding back, but it went something like this:
The first three miles climb a moderately steep hill. I zip up it at a 7:40/mile pace while feeling incredibly strong. My legs begin to seemingly talk to me.
"Can we go faster?" asks Engine #1, my left leg, in a sweet voice.
"Yes, can we please?" pleads Engine #2, my right leg with the sore Achilles.
"Now, now guys, we have to take it easy," I explain to them. "Engine #2, you should know better. You've been hurting a little and we're probably already going too fast up these hills."
"But we feel fine!" they cry in unison. Engine #2 adds "And the Achilles isn't an issue!"
"Not now it's not," I explain, my tone becoming stern. "But it could. Better to just maintain this pace for a while."
They reluctantly agree and we cruise along miles four through seven together, which follows the top of a ridge and take some steep dives and climbs.
"How about now?" Engine #2 asks. "See? This is going okay."
"Yeah, c'mon, I want to go faster," pouts Engine #1.
"No guys," I reply, somewhat angrily. "C'mon, give me a break. We really need to chill out. Sure, everything is fine now, but remember what happened yesterday? That Achilles got a little mad at us for picking up the pace. We're going to hold. End of story."
Mile eight rolls along and the road becomes flatter with a slight downhill. My Garmin beeps at me, telling me I hit the split in 7:36.
"We're going faster, aren't we?" asks Engine #2.
"See? We can do it," says Engine #1. "If there's any trouble we'll slow down immediately. What do you say? Pleeeeeeeease?!?!"
"Alright! Fine!" I exclaim, fed up with the whining and mad at myself for caving in. But together we push forward. Mile 9 clocks in at 7:17, the very upper edge of my marathon pace. Mile 10 clocks in at 7:06. It felt easy. It felt great. I wanted more. But...
"Guys, I gave you two at MP. This was good. The Achilles didn't make a peep, but let's not push it."
The engines agree and we do the last mile as a cooldown.
Good day. Very good day.
