The Long Run

It was a wonderful day for a race. My wife, her friend Kathryn and I ran the Gasparilla Half Marathon this morning. I had signed up to be their pacer. They had both recently run the Disney World Half Marathon and were shooting to break 2 hours. I had very little doubt that they would be able to do this.

The race started (not so) bright and early and 6:00 am with the air only slightly chilly. Kathryn's husband Chuck drove us all down there so it was very low stress to get there. We lined up a little too far back from where we should have been but it was hard to get farther up in line. There were a little more than 3000 people between the half and full marathon. The race started and we started shuffling forward. It took 1:50 to cross the start mats. We somewhat got onto pace with 9:27 for the first mile. Next mile was on pace, with maybe a few seconds gained back. It was a nice run around Davis island, passing along the airfield at MacDill AFB as we looped back towards the north of the island. At about mile 5 it was getting light out. It was turning to be a very beautiful morning. Jenny and Kathryn did great sticking with me although they did grumble a bit when we had to pick up the pace after hitting the water stops.

I really wanted them to both make their goals but there was not a lot I could do other than try and run as steady as possible. Coming across the half way mark I saw we were between right on pace and a few seconds ahead. We picked up the pace slightly as we approached Bayshore Blvd. which was an out and back section of the course. By about 9 miles we were ahead even a little bit more. Kathryn needed to make a pit stop so I stayed with her while Jenny went on ahead. Kathryn and I ran on for almost another mile, catching back up from the lost time. She made one more stop and told me to go catch up to Jenny. So, I picked it up and after a few minutes I caught back up to Jenny. She was doing great, having picked up still more time. We were a bit worried about Kathryn but then we saw her just after we hit the turn around, she looked to be in good shape so I did not go back for her.

With the 1:50 that it took us to cross the start I had to calculate our actual pace which is always harder to do while running. I did not want to mess things up with another math error. But, when I saw the pace clock at mile 11 it said 1:40. With 20 minutes left to do 2.1 miles without adjusting for the start time I knew we were in good shape. Jenny showed no signs of slowing down. She thought she was slowing down. She wasn't wearing the Garmin so I told her she was more than on pace and just to keep going.

We wanted to cross the finish line together but with about 100 yards left to run she took off on a final kick and I almost lost her. My Garmin time showed 1:57:01 but I knew that I had started it just before the start mats and stopped it just after we crossed. So we were later pleased to find out that her time was actually 1:56:54.

We were hoping that Kathryn did not fall back too badly, didn't hit a bad patch and give up and walk. Well, she did not, she hung in there and made her goal with a 1:58:49. I can't take much credit for the hard work that they did but I was glad to be able to help out. And, it was a really great morning to run and enjoy being out for a tour of Tampa! Way to go Jenny and Kathryn!

Jenny:

old PR:      new PR:
2:10:47      1:56:54

Kathryn:

old PR:      new PR:
2:05:32      1:58:49

It was a bit chillier this morning than it was yesterday.   The sky was very clear which had made the temp drop overnight but I knew it would warm up quickly because of the clear sky once the sun came up.  I was feeling a little bit off schedule and wasn't sure what to do.  I figured I'd try and get in 7 miles and that should straighten me out.  I warmed up inside the Y on the bike but the rower's were both being used so I figured I'd be ok busting out of my normal routine :)

First mile in 8:51, then 8:18 for the next one.  The next miles felt good and I picked up the pace a little more each time.   One of the miles was 7:23, after which I backed it down slightly since today was not going to be a tempo day.   I was a bit under dressed with shorts and a short sleeve shirt, but I did have a hat! It was 44° at the start and maybe 48° at the end but felt much warmer by then as the sun was up.

I went back inside and did some cool down on the rower ( I just couldn't resist) then headed home.

Average pace: 7:53

This morning's run was interesting.  Pretty much nothing about it went according to any routine.  But overall it was still a good run.  I met up with Dixie about 7:00 outside of John Chestnut park.  I showed up a few minutes before him and bought a gatorade at the 7-11 there.  I had forgotten to drink my usual 2 glasses of water that I always drink when I first wake up.

We decided to start by running into the park.   The pace felt nice and easy but it was a lot faster than normal for a first mile at 7:54.  We ran through a section of park I had never been into then came to an observation tower (that I had been to before).  Dixie wanted to go up it so I said why not.  My left shin was kind of tight so I stretched out a bit when we were at the top looking out over Lake Tarpon.  I needed to stretch because I had forgotten to do my usual prerun alphabet stretch.  We went back down the tower then onto a board walk going through the cypress swamp.  I had imagined that it would feel to harsh running on the wood but it was actually kind of springy.   There were lots of squirrels and we also saw 4 deer.  We ran on various surfaces - grass, packed shells, pavement and boardwalk.  We exited the park just after 4 miles, although I'm not sure the exact distance because the garmin kept losing its signal in the tall trees.  We had also made a couple more stops so the average pace looked really slow.

The remainder 3.8 miles were back on the road where we got back into a more usual and consistent pace.  We both felt like doing 10 but with the adventure through the park time was getting a little bit tight so we opted to wrap things up at 8.

This run certainly kept me out of a rut for the week.

Average pace: 8:53

I woke up early this morning, at 5:02.  I wasn't feeling fully focused and alert until about 5:30.  I met up with a bunch of the guys at the Y just after 5:30.   Everyone else was ready and they started to go ahead, saw I wasn't going and asked if they should wait.  I said, no, go ahead.  I didn't want to miss my few stretches I do and I had to wait for the Garmin had locked in.

So, I got going and slowly caught back up after a mile.  It was a good way to get going.  Then I backed it down for a bit while we finished the warm up, crossed Mitchell Rd then started the tempo.  Just 3 miles today but it felt a little bit tough with the warm air and humidity.

Splits were:  7:14, 6:47, 6:54

Average pace for total run: 7:57 

Cooled down for the return trip back to the Y.  I went inside did a little bit of cardio cross training and a quick full body weight routine. 

Good run this morning.  I ran from home.  It felt very cold at first but got better once I warmed up.  Temp was 45° but with some wind to make it feel a bit chillier.  Wore shorts, long sleeve tech shirt and hat.  Started out with a nice and easy mile of 9:18, then did the next two in low 8's.  Picked things up a little bit more.  Next miles were 7:46, 7:15, 7:00, 7:20, 6:41, 7:43, and 7:10, then slowed down for the remainder .29 to get me home.  Felt great at the end.  As I neared my house I took a left instead of right to add an extra loop around the neighborhood.  The last mile especially felt the best.

 Average pace: 7:40
 

Planned non-running day.   I did not do my usual Friday short run since I had just run 6 days in a row.  I'll run tomorrow then I'll be back on my usual schedule next week.

I did 11 minutes on the bike, 11 minutes on the irresistible rower, then weights consisting of leg extensions, leg curls, tricep pull-downs, and lat pull-downs.

When I got home Jenny asked me "So, how was your run?" which I knew of course was a trick question :)  No, I actually did not run when I said I was not going to run.

I feel like doing a longer long run tomorrow but have not yet decided on the distance. 

This morning's run was great, I loved it.  It was the most miles I have done in a while although it wasn't non stop.

I met up with Bob and Dixie at 5:30. Actually I was a couple of minutes late, they were just leaving so I said I would catch up with them.  Bob was going to do 21 miles but with  two out and back runs, and he said he was going to run between 9:00 and 9:30.  It took me 4 miles to catch up to them, so they were not going at the pace they had planned. There were two versions of the story as to whom was speeding up, Bob's version and Dixie's version.  Anyway, we did slow down for the trip back to finish the first 9 miles. 

Some more people had shown up, so after a few minutes we headed out again, this time with Nelson and Raj, as well as Bob, Dixie and I.  Dixie and I turned back after 3 miles because I figured that 15 miles total would be good for me, although 18 miles was tempting me.  We did pick up one of the miles to a 6:58 which felt great.  After getting back from the 15 miles I saw Keith who had just finished his track workout and was going on a short cool down run.  So, I went with him for the final 1.38 miles for me.

So, overall it was a pretty fun morning.  The weather was great and there were lots of people to talk with.  I didn't even get a chance to turn on my ipod.  Spent a little time after the run at social hour and then headed home.

Jenny had made some very delicious French toast with vegan sausage links and sliced up strawberries on the side.  What an awesome way to wrap up the morning.   But then things kept on getting better.   I could go on but now I'm straying from running :)

Average pace: 8:38