Positive Running

Ran 3.5 miles in 35 mins with Hershey at Two Rivers Park starting at 6;30 this morning.  The temperature and dew point were 67 degrees when we started, but that was still pretty warm for a labrador.  So I took Hershey home after 35 minutes.  Then I returned to Two Rivers Park with the temperature in the low to mid-70s and ran 7 miles in 55 minutes.

My leg muscles are feeling fatigued, so I'll take a break from running until Tuesday night speed work at Catholic High School.

Ran 8 miles on the TM in 61:32 (7.40/mile) because rain kept me away from track workout.

Ran 8.5 miles on the TM.  Ran the first mile in 8:06, then ran the next 7 miles at a 7:23/mile pace.  Ran the last half mile in 4:00.

Ran the Catsmacker ultramarathon in 4:48:00, including a wrong turn that added 1.9 miles to my run.  Ran the first 4 miles slow but steadily increasing speed so that I ran miles 5 and 6 with PT at an 8:12/mile pace.  The Catsmacker allows runners to choose between the full ultra called that Cat and a shorter course called the Kitty.  At mile 7 I caught up with Cliff and Stacey and ran with them through mile 21.  The course includes about 3 miles of single person trails on the OT which was very slick, in part because we ran the segment in a torrential rain.  It's been raining all week, so the course was muddy and the rocks were slick.  Stacey and Cliff are both very good single trail runners, and I felt good that I stayed with them through that entire segment. 

At mile 21, my right hamstrings started to cramp, probably due to my diabetes.  So I stopped and took 3 Endurance Amino capsules and a Ca-Mg-Zn tablet.  About 3-minutes later, I was running at full speed.  Towards the end, I took a wrong turn but the cramping was over so I enjoyed the additional 1.9 miles. 

Overall, it was a fun and good training run - although I'm not sure what I'm training for.  it was great seeing a bunch of running buddies who I haven't seen much over the past year.  I spent an hour catching up with friends after the run.