The Long Run

Easy run today, ran on the grass next to the road. Felt a little tight and creaky starting out but good and loose on the way back.

I had thought about not running when I first woke up this morning.  I had slept into 7:20 except for a very brief partially awake time when Jenny got up for her run.  It felt good to sleep in a little bit.  I used to be good at that.  Although of course, too much sleeping in can be a bad thing, it's nice every now and then!

Anyway, this past week's recovery went pretty well for the most part.  I was a little nervous running the 50K as a race rather than just a long run because I wasn't sure how well I would recover, but it seems to have worked out.  Now I'm at a point of less than 4 weeks to go.  I feel ready in one sense but full of a lot of unknowns at the same time.

Ran from my neighborhood then across Trinity Blvd. Chatted with Wendy H. two times as our paths crossed. I had thought about running to the Y and taking my gel and water there but decided to turn around because I wasn't quite feeling it. So, I decided to turn around. My left foot sounded slappy so I started concentrating on fixing it by trying to run smoother and quieter. I missed a turn on the way back, then things didn't look quite right until I realized I had missed the turn and gone out of my way (did the Kinsmere loop by accident). Finally headed back the right way, stopped at the golf course fountain, then picked it up the rest of the way.

Eudair was nice enough to run the whole thing with me today, she is amazing. Started out with a group from Longleaf, but we fell back a bit to keep the pace easy. Ran into Starkey and then along the power line road to Serenova tract.

Saw one deer and then later saw two more - no longer living ones. Turns out there was a hunt going on which we found out on our way back (would have been nice if signs were posted). Picked it up the last couple of miles. Melanie from the Striders was nice enough to give us a lift back to Longleaf.

The weather was great, it was wonderful having someone to run the whole way and it couldn't have gone better (except for the part about running while a deer hunt was going on).

This was my last big run before the big race (although there is 18 miles next week, pretty big but less than 20).  I need to concentrate on getting some spring back in my step and feeling completely fresh.  Also, I think I'm going to get a new pair of Asics Nimbus.  My old pair is somewhat worn out so I decided to try this long run in the Ghosts. I like those shoes but they didn't feel quite as good as the Nimbus for the extra distance.  I had pretty good luck with the Brooks Launch at the 50K but the bottom of  my feet were hurting and could probably use the extra cushioning that the Asics have.

When I started the training for this 100K race it seemed fairly easy in some ways, but the training is starting to catch up to me a little bit now, so good time for a taper.

Jenny is attending a  Newton training class this weekend.  This is the class to learn how to teach the class that she took over this past summer.  Lots of good information about running form that can apply to Newton and non-Newton runners.