The Long Run

Ran from home outside.  Warmed up on the bike then got going after doing some stretching.  I was out again last night with some people last night but I was little more careful with what I ate and drank than last time.  It was another special occasion, hopefully there won't be too many more of these.

In spite of this, the run actually went pretty well this morning.  I wanted to get in at least 8 but after a few miles it seemed like a good idea to get a little bit more done today.  I picked it up slightly on the trip back with the last mile feeling good at 7:08 pace.

Average pace: 7:56 

Just to change things a bit I ran today which is different because the last few weeks I've taken Wednesdays off.  But, after yesterday's run I was feeling pretty good the rest of the day and felt good to go for another day of running.  Also, Randall said he was going to run with a few other people this morning at 6:15 meeting  up at the Y.  Since I have plenty of time to run alone and less chances to run with others I took this opportunity.

I did not ride my bike to the Y - I think I need to get a light or something since it is still dark at 6:00 here.  Weather was nice, mid 70's.   We went out nice and easy and gradually picked things up especially towards the end.

Average pace: 8:30 

So, I think I'll take tomorrow off and then run 10 on Friday over at David's neighborhood.  He is hosting a run and then having coffee, juice, and bagels afterwards. 

Day off from running.  Biked to the Y, did some stretching and core exercises followed by some weights and then biked back home.

Met up over in David's neighborhood by the community pool.  Also there was Eric, Keith, Karen, Jenny and Laura.  We did a little bit over three miles looping through their neighborhood then went up the Starkey Blvd bike path and back for a total of just over 9 miles.  Most of the run was pretty relaxed but at the turn around point Eric said he wanted to pick things up a little bit.  This spells trouble for me some time to try and keep up with him but he went pretty easy on me today :)

It was a lot of fun to run with the group and was very nice of David and Karen to organize this. 

Average pace: 8:19 

Spent a little bit of time hanging out and socializing but I needed to be back by 8:00 so my wife could get her run in before it got too late. 

I woke up this morning at first not knowing which day it was and whether or not the alarm was for me or for Jenny.  As I got more awake I realized it was Saturday and therefore my turn to get up early.  I was going to meet Eric and another guy named Mike for a run in Starkey park.   I got going but was moving a little bit slow so ended up getting to the park 8 or 9 minutes late.  Fortunately Eric hadn't left yet and Mike ended up not showing up.

Temp was pretty good but the air was kind of thick with humidity.  We did the first mile in 8:24 and the second one in 7:48.  This is a faster start than I am used to and I was breathing harder than I should have.  We got to the turnaround point and I was feeling the best but I was hanging in there.  We did a brief stop at 6 miles to top off on water.  Then we picked it up and did the last 4 miles at a 7:0x pace.  I had to keep bargaining with myself to keep up with Eric who didn't seem to be having any troubles himself.  He asked me how I was doing, I said ok but was thinking to myself I would let him go the last 2 miles.  When I got to mile 8 I thought, ok one more mile then I'll drop back - but further back in my mind I knew if there was just one mile left I would stick it out for the final mile which I did.

The average pace ended up being 7:25 which I have not run at this pace for quite some time but it was good to see that I can still do it if necessary.   Doing lots of slower miles is great and is necessary for building a good base, but now and then it's good to hang on with someone faster. 

Biked to the Y this morning, stretched, got onto the treadmill for 4.3 miles at about an 8:25 pace.  Headed outside for a quick outdoor run.  It was getting warm.   I was doing some stretching at the bike rack and saw Jenny dropping off her daughters, said hi to her and said we would run tomorrow at 6:00.

Took off on my run, good pace for first mile (although not really the first mile because of the treadmill) just under 8:00.  Next few miles a bit faster, average pace for the outdoor portion 7:36.  It felt pretty quick but not too difficult, about as fast as I could go without starting to really push things.

Going to be a busy week, I can't believe I'll be in Belgium by the end of the week and possibly running in an 11K race on Saturday.  I'm signed up now (thanks Amy!) - just hoping the car situation works out. 

I ran earlier this morning than I had in a long time.  I met David and Jenny at the Y this morning at 5:20.  Temp outside was not bad but the humidity was way up there.  We did 6.3 miles at an average pace of 8:45.

Decided to run a little bit more so I did 1.75 miles on the treadmill inside at mostly an easy pace but with a few bursts of speed thrown in here and there so I can remember what it feels like.  11K race this Saturday - which I guess I'll run it as if it was a 10K. 

I felt very fresh running this morning despite the early time.  I definitely enjoy the run a lot the day after a massage which I had yesterday afternoon.   I used to look at massages as something one would get purely as a luxury but now I see them in a different light.

Tried to get a very early start but it turned into just a pretty early start.  I had to be done by 7:30 so Jenny could start her run.  I planned the route so I could go past my house and finish on time.  I just had time for 5.85 miles.  I walked in the door but Jenny wasn't quite ready so I said I would be outside finishing up so I ran up and back down the street to get a little bit over 6 miles.

Average pace: 8:05 

We arrived yesterday in Belgium in the early afternoon  - flight was 2 hours late due to a medical emergency resulting in an unscheduled stop in Bangor, Maine.   So yesterday's goal was to just stay awake until a normal bedtime without napping.

This morning I felt pretty well adjusted to the time zone but still slept in a little bit.  Jenny and her sister went for a run first, then I headed out with my nephew Florian on his bike to be my guide.  It was nice and cool out for running. 

We started out on some busy streets which soon quieted down and turned into country paths and narrow roads.   We went past some fields with corn and wheat and one with green vegetables.  We made our way to run past his school which was a large old building which used to be a monastery.   Then we headed back a slightly different route going past another old abbey and a park, back over the railroad tracks and then back to his town.  Pace slowed down here and there for cobblestone sections and a couple muddy spots on one of the paths.  There was a little bit of rain but nothing to worry about.

Picked up the pace a little bit on the homestretch (last 0.44 miles).

Average pace: 8:33

Hopefully I will feel fast and fresh for tomorrow's race.  And hopefully I will get used to this azerty keyboard  :) 

This was a very fun and different race for me. It was great to be able to do a race with Amy and Jenny while here in Belgium. The rain and been off and on during the day so we had our fingers crossed that it would be off for the race. Fortunately our luck would hold out.

We arrived in Rijkevorsel about 4:30 pm for the 6:00 race. We picked up our race numbers over by the starting line. The race bibs had chips embedded in them which was great since I don't do well tying the chips onto my shoe! The marathoners took off right about at 5:00 then the three of us did a half mile warm up and then I did a couple of strides up to race pace.

We were lined up at the starting area but I did not try and squeeze my way up to the front.  The gun went off and we all took off down the main street.  I did a little bit of weaving to get to an opening where I could get to my pace.  For today, I wanted to finally run a race longer than 5k at faster than a 7:00 pace.   So, the plan was to try and hit just under that and not be too greedy.  First mile clicked off at 6:52 - I had to convince myself that I could keep this up.  On the one hand,  I had done this pace in a training run before but it had been a while.  Just last Saturday I was struggling to keep up with Eric at a 7:0x pace for 4 miles, now I needed to do almost another six at a faster pace.

I kept moving and concentrated on either keeping up with the person in front of me, passing the person in front, or trying not to get passed by the person behind me.  The course map had shown three loops - one 5k loop, followed by two 3k loops (the same one repeated twice) through the town.   Lots of people were out watching the race and I was enjoying seeing the houses, shops, and other sights along the way.  

At the end of the first 5k of the race the course split with the finish chute to the right for the 5k racers and to the left to continue for the rest of the 11k.   It's always a little tempting to run the shorter race but fortunately I was here to do 11k so I headed towards the left.   At about 6k I came up behind Amy,  said hi and to keep going you are doing great.  Shortly after that was a water station so I ripped open my PowerBar mocha gel and grabbed the water to wash it down.  My mouth was really dry and it was hard to drink at this pace so I only took half the gel and shoved the packet back into my pocket (I would regret this later).

My stomach was a little unsettled.  Lunch was around noon and I had eaten a little too much and this was a later time for me to be racing than I was used to. 

Before I knew it the end of the second loop was coming up.  It was great to start the third loop since now I knew exactly what to expect and just 2K left to run.  I had been hitting my splits and I knew that I could now make the sub 7:00 pace even if I slowed down a lot which I was determined not to do.   My breathing was good but my legs starting to feel a little bit rubbery. This was odd for me since I cant ever remember having this feeling.  6th mile was a little bit slower than the 4 previous ones but the same as the first mile.   With less than 1 mile to go I felt a little bit speedier and picked up the pace slightly.   Then the finish chute was up ahead - always a welcome sight; I had made it!!

Here are my garmin splits:

6:52
6:51
6:47
6:45
6:46
6:52
5:54 (0.89@6:37)

Official time was 46:47 to give me a 6:50 pace (garmin gave me 6:47).  I am happy with 6:50 since this beat my goal and is also what I need to keep up for 26.2 to get a sub 3:00 marathon :)  - some day 

I'm pretty sure that it was just my garmin that was off slightly (11K = 6.83 miles) since Jenny's garmin measured 6.83 exactly.

I saw Amy come by for her last lap so I ran along with her briefly to cheer her on then went back to wait for Jenny.   I saw Jenny coming towards the finish with a time that would be under an hour - not too long ago that would have been a good 10K time for her so this was great to see that time now for an 11K.

Jenny and I then lined up and waited for Amy who soon showed up - we cheered her on and saw her cross the finish for a huge THREE MINUTE PR after only 2 months since her last 11K.  Jenny and I had joked that she and I had guaranteed PRs for the race today since this was our first 11K race.   Amy didn't have that luxury since she had done these before and had a time to beat.

It was very festive in the streets after the race with lots of food and drink.  Amy told one of the volunteers that Jenny and I had come from Florida to run here today.  She introduced us to the race director who chatted with us for a bit who took down our names and told us to stick around.   We watched the awards and at the end they announced our names and told us to come up to the stage.  The race director shook our hands and presented us with a very nice boxed bottle of Trappist Ale from a nearby brewery and we also shook hands with the city government leaders.    What an exciting time!

We were all ecstatic about the race and how fun it was as we headed back to the car.
 

I resisted the urge to sleep in this morning and managed to get up just after 7:00.  I went downstairs and planned out my route the best I could.   There is a canal that exits out the northern edge of the city.  I had heard it had a nice path to run on, so that was my route.  I got a little bit lost heading thru the city but soon found my way.  The path started in an industrial area but soon gave way to the countryside.  My original goal was for 7 miles because I was still slightly sore from the race.  However, the first 2 miles were kind of slow and I wanted to see more of the path.  I ran until it was 4.5 miles out then turned around.  The sun was out but the air was perfect for running.  Made my way back ok.  I had brought my phone and 5 euros just in case I got lost but ended up being fine.  

Average pace: 8:37

I hope to run this route again.  The canal goes on for quite some distance so it would be perfect for a really long run. 

We were at an amusement park yesterday called Walibi, pretty much there from open until closing at 7:00.  So, by the time we got home, at dinner; got the kids to bed and decompressed with the adults, the next thing I knew it was around 12:00, and a few glasses of libations.   Some of which were to celebrate my brother-in-law's new position at work.   I managed to still wake up reasonably early (about 7:30), get ready, warm up, and finally start my run about 8:30.

I ran up the Leuven canal again but did not get lost on my way there this time so I was able to cover more actual canal distance.   The morning had been threatening rain since the start of the run which actually made for very nice running weather until at actually did start to rain, at about the turn around point.   Today there were several people out fishing along the banks of the canal and I saw new sights since I made it farther.  At one point it looked like the path ended but instead detoured onto a dirt road to go around a big Cargill grain elevator.

Some place around 8 and a half miles, yesterday's long day began to catch up with me, not really slowing me down but making me wish the run was closer to being over.   Eventually I made it back to town and walked through the train station as it was pretty busy with people.  I  came out the other side and then picked it up for the final half mile home.

Average pace: 8:05

Wanted to do at least 5 or 6 miles this morning.  We were heading out to Kortrijk on the train at 9:00 so I had to get up a little bit earlier which was good for me.  I got out of the house just before 7:00 and decided to run to the Provincial park and then do a couple loops around the lake there.  I had not run there before but looked at the map and was given directions also.  Unfortunately I took a wrong turn after running too far on the bike path and ended up going through the cemetery.  The odd thing was that it took me a while to realize that I was in a cemetery because it looked very different than any that I had seen before.

Anyway I ended up on a busy road heading toward the countryside which I stayed on until just past 3 miles then I turned around and headed home.

Average pace: 8:14

We spent the day sight seeing in Kortrijk where there had been a big battle over 700 years ago which gave birth to Flemish nationalism.   It was also a very nice city to walk around in with old churches, parks, and lots of shops and restaurants.

By the end of the day the top of my right foot was hurting me - I did my run in my old running shoes which may not have been a great idea.  I'm going to take tomorrow off from running so I'll be ok for Saturday. 

Jenny and I ran together this morning.  We woke up about 6:30 and left the house just after 7:00, heading over towards the canal.   The sun came out briefly and for a short time it felt like it was going to get hot but then the sun ducked back behind some clouds.   We were doing a pretty decent pace and when we got to 4 miles I asked Jenny if she wanted to do a total of 9 and she said ok.

The run back wasn't quite as nice as we were both starting to have some GI issues so we went a little bit slower and ended up taking a few walking breaks but not too many.

I don't get to run with Jenny very often so this was a nice change.

Tried a new route this morning.  I went through the train station but instead of heading towards the canal I headed through the center of town.  I ran to the center past the city hall and then continued on Brussels Street.  The road starting going uphill slightly.  Eventually I made it to the edge of town and went past the highway loop and then a bit beyond that.  Continued uphill some more until it looked like I was at the highest point then went a little bit beyond that.  Turned around and headed back the way I came.  Could not resist going faster on the way back with one mile at 6:37, the next one slower but still pretty good (considering the sidewalks were starting to fill up with people) at 7:15.   Slowed down towards the end of the next mile as I was now back running through the train station.    Slowed down a bit more for the rest of the way home.

Average pace: 8:04

Unfortunately yesterday's run set me back a little bit with my right foot hurting me.  If only I hadn't pushed those two miles, oh well, water under the bridge.  Today I did take it easy and had a nice run over to the provincial park, did a couple of loops around the perimeter, running past the ducks and geese that were trying to enjoy some peace and quiet before the park started to get busy for the day.   And fortunately I did not get lost on either the way out to the park or the way back.  Weather was nice out and I think I was starting to feel warm by the time I got back.

Average pace: 8:37

Back home running for the first time in two weeks.  I had planned on missing Wednesday's run due to travel but was planning on running on Thursday.  However, the connecting flight was delayed a few hours and then finally canceled, by which time all hotels anywhere near the airport were filled.   So, there was no running on Thursday.

It was warm but not terribly hot this morning - I had been expecting oppressive, so it was quite nice compared to what I thought it would be.  Running felt a lot different but in the end it turned out ok.   The mileage is an approximation because the Garmin battery ran out.  So, the plus side of that is no worries about pace while running.  So, I'm not sure what my pace was either. 

I ran with David and Randall this morning.  We met up over at Longleaf at 5:30.  Looped through there for 5 miles then headed up Starkey Blvd. to Alico Pass and then back.  Start of the run was dark and humid but went by quickly.  The sun came up but was at our backs for the last part of the run.  It was great to have the company and I probably wouldn't have run quite as far if I was by myself today.   I felt a little bit beat up at the end but I'm also fighting off a cold and recovering from jet lag.  Hopefully back to normal soon.

 Average pace: 8:31
 

Getting more back into the routine of things after the two week vacation.  Biked up to the Y this morning, did some stretching and core work then got on the treadmill for 4.13 miles averaging about an 8:20 pace.  I could see it raining outside but it stopped before I finished on the treadmill.

Headed outside and did 4 more miles at 7:48 pace (a little faster than planned but it didn't feel too fast).  Went back inside to do some weights and cool down, returned home on the bike.

Also felt pretty good that after my Saturday run my sore throat flared up for most of the day but I returned back to normal some time on Sunday. 

Met up with David, Keith, Dixie, Raj, Jenny (not my wife), Melanie and Rebecca over near David's house.   It was hot and sticky this morning but it was ok since running with a group makes it seem funner.   First 6 miles were at a fairly easy pace.  Last 1.13 at about a 7:30 pace.

Average pace: 8:18

 Spent a little bit of time socializing but had to get back home so Jenny (my wife) could start her run about 7:30.
 

Today was my first time doing any interval speed work since some time in March.  These sure can be tough when it has been so long but it is reassuring to know you can still do them.  Unfortunately this was not ideal weather for it but you take what you get.

I biked to the Y and then did some stretching and light core work, then headed outside.  Warmed up with about 1.1 miles before getting started.  Original plan was to try for 2 X 2 mile intervals at 6:35-6:40 pace.   I was having some doubts due to the weather and that it had been so long since  doing this speed (although the pace wasn't that far off from the 11K pace).

Got into the first mile and felt ok although it felt a bit hard knowing that this was a 2 mile interval.  Second mile got tougher but I did it.  I was pretty wiped and very hot so I decided today would be one 2 mile interval and 1 one mile.

2 mile interval - 6:32, 6:39

1 mile interval - 6:26

Jogged back to the Y and since I was only at 5.8 miles so far hopped onto the treadmill for 1.2 miles to cool down.

Biked home.

Next week I'll do a tempo run at about a 6:50 pace so hopefully that will seem easier and I'm going to try to get going a little bit earlier. 

It was raining when I woke up and let the dogs out and I considered going to the Y and hopping on the treadmill, but I had a feeling the rain would stop soon, and it did.  I was feeling pretty good with the first two miles of 8:18 and 8:10 which is pretty fast for the start of a run.  It's not a hard pace after I am warmed up but sometimes it takes me longer to get going.   The next mile came in about a 7:40 and then the ones after that got faster.   The running seemed effortless this morning.  I thought I would relax and take it easy, but either despite that or because of that the pace was faster than the effort.

So, I was pretty happy with the run.  This happens sometimes on the day after a speed workout.

Average pace: 7:43 

I got home right at 7:30 as I told Jenny I would be back by then so she could get her run in.  Unfortunately, the next batch of rain was about to hit us.  She didn't get rained on but suffered through the pre-rain oppressive humidity.  Sorry about that Jenny.