Running out on Highway 61

I slept in until seven but headed out on my own. I decided to make my way to the Minneapolis Diagonal Trail, a little stretch along the Grand Rounds trail. I hadn't been on the trail until this morning, and it turned out to be really nice. I am approximating the mileage because I haven't been on the route before, but I was about 27:45 out and the same back, for a total of 55:30. I think I may have gone a bit further than 5.5, but I don't think I went 6. It's hard to know.

The weather was a bit cool for my t-shirt only, but after a few minutes it was comfortable. 

[Update: We drove to a store in the evening and I had a chance to drive the route and measure the distance. It was around 3.1 in one direction. I did feel pretty good this morning so maybe my perception wasn't off for once.] 

I woke up at 5:50 am for the morning run with H.R. I have a psychological impediment to getting up at 5:45, even though it takes me a little more than 10 minutes to get ready for a run. It's going to be 15 minutes when it's winter.

H.R. and I took Como Avenue east for a mile and then went through the neighborhood streets that are immediately west of the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota. I wore shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt, and felt just right. We made our way to the campus and did a loop on campus before heading back to Como Avenue and home. I think we were somewhere around four miles, although it could be a touch less than that. I'm going to call it 3.75 since we ran it in 35:45 or so. Each journal entry I take makes clear to me that a Forerunner is in my future, because I don't enjoy writing estimates in for mileage. At the same time, can I really justify it? Is it going to make a material improvement to my training, given that I have very simple training goals right now? Tough call. The technophile and materialist in me will eventually win out, I am sure.

I ran this morning knowing full well I had agreed to run in the afternoon with a friend from school. He ran in college and has been faster than me. I like the idea of training with a variety of people, some gazelles and others turtles. I haven't ever been a competitive runner and so I don't have that natural competitiveness about pace. But I do feel motivated by not wanting to slow people down or looking foolish, so a little faster pace than I usually do seems to be helpful. But it's probably unhealthy to run with fast people every day.

When we stepped outside of the school to start the run, it was 80 degrees and sunny. We ran the first mile in about 9 minutes, I think. The next couple came in at about 8:30 each and the next couple were 7:30 each or so. We ran about 6 miles and then stopped to try and get water at the building that houses the crew team's gear. The crew team was out on the Mississippi, coach riding in a boat along side, talking to them through a megaphone. I bet that gets old.

I sometimes felt strong, other times exhausted. The doors to the building were locked, but we found two drinking fountains along the side of another building and started running again. I made the last mile with not too much left in the tank, but kept pace with the two guys. We made the 7 mile run in around an hour, maybe a little less. That's faster than I usually go.

I can count on one hand the number of times I've run twice in one day, so this is uncharted territory. Anyone reading this who does it regularly, I'd love to know any insider tips for staying fresh through both. 

Two last thoughts: first, I need to sleep more (I'm tired and fairly irritable); second...I can't remember what the second one. Refer to the first. 

I took a day off from running today. I was intent on running three miles in the morning, something easy, but I got to bed late again and thought the additional sleep was worth more than the recovery run. I'm not sure whether that was right, but I have felt a little tired today in my quads. Other than that, it's like any other day. That's a good sign. Maybe I'll try a double workout one day a week or something.

We did the usual route along Como Avenue and through the St. Paul campus. Two others joined us, M.C. and A.T., both from the complex. We ran the usual pace, maybe a touch slower than usual. Having never run cross country, it's fun to run in a pack like that. There's a momentum about it that somehow pulls me along. I would love if it was convenient to be in a running group at one point.

The route was 3.9 miles, and I don't know how long it took us. I didn't set the watch out with my stuff, so when I got dressed I would have had to go and open a drawer to sift through other things and get the watch. This would have created too high a risk of waking kids up, which is the worst scenario.

It was about 60 degrees out. I wore a long sleeved running shirt but definitely didn't need it. I felt a little sore from Tuesday's double workout, but it didn't affect the run. 

No run today. I did walk 18 holes of golf, and felt pretty tired after that, but a different kind of fatigue for sure. Tomorrow I'm hoping to run for 3 hours, regardless of distance. This will make it logistically easier. I haven't had a ton of sleep this week so I hope I can get up and complete the run.

I slept in until 8 am, and hung around with Julie and the kids until about 8:45. I decided that with the marathon two weeks away, a three hour run might be overdoing it a bit, so I resolved to run 2 hours instead.

 I went out on the Minneapolis Diagonal Trail again, which isn't terribly long. I ran up on the trail until it ended, then had to visit a restroom at Hom Furniture. I asked a sales guy if I could use the bathroom and he said yes. That was after 40 minutes or so of running.

I have a mental difficulty at some times during runs where I feel a little tired and then realize I'm only a fraction of the way through the run. I did that after 40 minutes today, realizing I had another 1:20 before I'd be done. As soon as I started running again, I felt great, though. Funny how that works.

I made my way back to the trail but instead of running back the way I came, I turned left at Gross Golf Course and over to the Ridgeway Parkway. It basically loops back to the Diagonal Trail. I ran down the hill to the end of the parkway and decided to go up the hill a few times. So I ran up the parkway and back down five times. I felt more and more tired as I did each one, but found that I was going a bit faster on each one. I paid special attention to keeping good form, trying to run smoothly. I think that helps.

Each uphill and downhill set took about 8 minutes, so by the time I was done with that, it was time to head back home. Fifteen minutes later I arrived. I have no idea how far I really went, but I'm pretty sure I was faster than a 10 minute pace, so I assume somewhere in the 13 mile range. It could have been 14 miles, but probably not more.

I should mention that with this run, I think this is the most miles I've ever run. I've been pretty close, but I think I've always ended up around 30, not much more. Had I made it out on the intended easy runs, I might be around 40, but this was a pretty decent week. 

Side Note: Running with a Hydration Belt 

I ran with my hydration belt today. It is definitely easier to run with one than to put out water, but it's going to take a while to become accustomed to it. I have an Amphipod-brand belt that has four bottles of 8 ounces each. It doesn't bounce up and down much, which was my primary concern when I bought it, and I have room in the little pouch for a few other things. Today was the longest run I have done with it. It was 65 or 70 degrees during the run. I felt like 32 ounces was fine for two hours of running, given the temperature. Of course when I got back I had to drink a lot more, but the point of hydration during a run is to keep performance high, and I think the hydration belt is answering this challenge.

What I don't like about it is the tendency for the front-most bottles to slide along the belt in their holsters. It would be nice to lock the holsters in some way, but that doesn't appear to be possible.

The other thing I don't like is the tendency for the belt to make me look like a fool. It doesn't help that the bottles are neon green. Of course, running and looking silly are inseparable. I'm not afraid to embrace my inner (and outer) running dork. I think the hydration belt is a keeper.