I dropped Naman off to the airport at around 10:30AM and drove to Granada Park for a flat canal run. My London Marathon training schedule today was to run for an hour and fifteen minutes at an easy pace. I figured I would run at around 8:20 to 8:30 per mile pace to run about 9 miles.
It was sunny but chilly with brisk winds blowing from the east. I started running directly into the wind for the first mile-and-a-half before running the Biltmore circle. There were tons of runners, walkers, strollers and bicyclists out. It was clear that a few of them were tourists wearing their Notre Dame gold and blue,and Ohio State scarlet and gray garb. The Fiesta Bowl game between these teams was played yesterday. In case you care (I don’t) Ohio State won.
Anyway, I circled the Biltmore loop and went further east for a few miles. I was averaging just under 8:30 but knew that I would be running with the wind on my way back. It was a lot easier coming back. I ran beyond the starting point for another half-a-mile and back to make it to an hour and fifteen minutes. I actually ran for an hour and eighteen!
In the end, I ended up running 9.5 miles at a satisfying 8:17 per mile clip.