Saturday's Long Run, and a word about Contest #2

The Fred's Team honor role now includes the following amazing people:
GARY STEWART
FRED WEINER
ISABEL and HAL ROSENSTEIN

$2,751

is the total. I am amazed.

Taking a well-deserved day of rest after yesterday's 11-miler, but I wanted to post a) to thank y'all who donated this week, and b) to brag about my AMAZING TIME. We did our long run yesterday morning -- a full loop of the Park, followed by a 5-mile loop. We did the Great Hill part twice and cut off at 72nd Street, which oddly I prefer to cutting off the Great Hill and doing the lower part twice, even though it's flat. Glutton for punishment, I guess. I thought I was going maybe a little faster than usual, but I felt good and I even had enough left in me for a finishing kick, which is that little extra "oomph" of speed to make you look really cool when you cross the finish line. Not counting the water stops and the trip to the bathroom (because despite using the bathroom not ten minutes before we began, I needed to go again almost immediately) I ran 11 miles in 1:40:50, which averages out to about a 9:10 minute mile. For me, holding that pace for that long without having somebody chasing me with a pickaxe is astounding. It's proof that all the pre-training training, and the actual training, is starting to pay off! If this keeps up, as we get closer to the marathon I might just have to predict a finish time...

PS: Contest #2 closes Friday, July 6. Forgot to mention.