10-miler

This morning I did an easy 10.4 miles (16.7k) in 1:51 and change (10:40 per mile, or 6:39/km). I was pleased with how fast I was able to go at my "easy" pace - it has improved a LOT (for comparison, my racing pace for the 1/2 marathon in April 2007 was 10:43 per mile!!!). My average heart rate was 135, and I felt pretty good the whole time, except for some intestinal cramps. This always seems to happen to me on longer workouts, and I'm not sure why. I have read that the body diverts more blood flow to the muscles and away from the gut, and that is why some people have gut issues in endurance sports. In any case, it wasn't too awful today, so no biggie, but I am planning on doing a marathon this fall, so I'm a bit concerned about it in general. Any input is welcome :).

A few more notes about the workout: 1) I ran into Tom McClenahan, former co-worker at Salt Lake Theological Seminary, in SugarHouse Park on my first lap, at about 5:55 am. He said that was LATE for him to be there! He walks there every day but I never see him, probably because I never get there much before 6 am. It was great to see him, as he is such an encouraging person. I miss working with him. 2) I did from my house to SugarHouse Park, around the park 3x, and back to my house in 68 minutes or so. When I first started losing weight it took me that long to walk to the park, around only ONCE and back to my house. WOW! How cool is that that I have improved so much in just 3 years? 3) My route continued after a water break at my house over to Liberty Park, around Liberty Park, and back home.