14:36 per mile is what I figured we did today. And that was for the entire 7.8 miles we timed. (We used 0.2 for cool down.)

This is not fast for many of you, but I have been hovering around a 15-min mile on and off for years. When I start to get faster, there always seems to be a roadblock that interferes or sets me back.

The temps were in the 60s this morning and the skies were overcast. If we had not been walking hard, it would have been chilly! (Chilly in July!) Though it is great for walking and racing, these cool temps are not going to help us get ready for an August half marathon. I’m worried about being acclimated.

Elaine, Deb and I walked together until the last 0.2 mile where I tried to pick up the pace. Though I was getting pretty far ahead of them, Elaine decided to sprint and hit the 4-mile mark a step before me. I knew Elaine was fast, but she really impressed me this morning!

Our times:
First lap
Mile 1 – 14:41
Mile 2 – 14:40 (hills)
Mile 3 – 14:32
Almost Mile 4 – 12:13 (0.8 mi)
Second lap
Mile 1 – 14:33
Mile 2 – 14:42 (hills)
Mile 3 – 14:42
Mile 4 – 14:19 (Sprinted at end)
Last 0.2 was cool down.
Total for 7.8 was 1:54.

I’m pretty excited! This has been my typical race pace for a couple of years. To be able to maintain it for 8 miles in a training walk is a big milestone for me.
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I’ve explained before that Sharon Woods is a 3.8-mile loop with mile markers along the way. If you do one loop, you can go beyond the finish 0.2 miles where there is a mark to indicate that last complete mile.

When I do more than one loop, the fourth “mile” is actually 0.8. The last loop is where we pick up the extra tenths by going past the end. When I did my marathon training here, after five laps I would sweat over whether to make up that mileage shortage. (Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn’t.)

I went to Map My Walk and mapped out this route so you can see how great of a park it is. It looks as if the satellite photo was taken in late fall or early spring. There are not many leaves on the trees, making it easier to see the trail. (Note: When mapping the trail, I got a little disoriented from zooming in so close and put a water stop where there isn’t one and I can’t delete it. The water stop is actually after 2 miles.)

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Note to self: Temps in mid-60s. Wore Nike “half marathon” shoes, short-sleeved tech shirt and shorts. Felt fine for temps. Shoes need to be replaced — started to get a blister on left heel. Otherwise my heels are feeling fine from wearing too light of shoes for long distance a couple weeks ago.

Felt really strong toward the end and was glad I tried to sprint.

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