The Long Run

Today's run was a challenging run.  My shins and ankles got very tight again especially my left one despite having done some elaborate stretches beforehand that usually works.  I might be suffering a little bit of fatigue so I'm thinking of cutting back last week.

I stopped after the 1st mile and tried to loosen up.  I stopped again after the second mile due to a long traffic light.  I thought I was going to have to stop after the third mile but I did not and fortunately kept on going. 

Anyway, I'm glad I toughed it out and by the last mile I was feeling better and managed to comfortably run 1 MP mile.  It was actually a nice morning to run as far as the temp, wind, and humidity go.  Although the traffic seemed a little bit more dangerous.  I had read some place that pedestrian deaths spike around the time change.  Time to be careful.

Average pace: 8:32 

Strategically planned non-running day.  I decided to cut back a little bit this week.  I'm going to run Wed, Thu, and Sat. and then get back to my regular schedule next week.

I did go to the gym this morning and did 20 minutes on the rower and 20 minutes on the bike. 

I met up with Randall, Raj and Tim this morning for a run at the Y.  We decided on an easy run today.  It had rained last night, but the morning air felt cool and comfortable.  It was dark and I did not look at the pace until the third mile to see the split.  The first two miles were slow at 9:57 and 9:08.  It was a nice run and good to have some company today.  It was also good for me I think for adjusting to daylight savings time.  After the shock wore off of getting up at 5:00 this morning it didn't feel so bad.

After we crossed at the traffic light we decided to pick up the pace for the last half mile.  It started  out pretty quick and then got faster, finishing the last 0.5 miles in 3:03.  That felt good to help wake up.

After the run I did a little bit of cross training and weights before heading home.  I had a dentist appointment this morning which been hanging over my head like a dark cloud but it turned out that it went pretty smoothly. 

I did a track workout this morning.  I was hoping that Randall might join me, however he had left open the possibility that he might not make it.  I was at the Y at 6:00, waited around for a few minutes and then got started on the warm up.  It was nice out this morning, mid to high 50's, no wind, good humidity.

The first good thing I noticed was that the running felt easy, natural and flowing.  It was at an "easy" pace, but this time that equated to an easy run.  I did  a little over two miles to get things started then headed over to the track.

I did one lap on the track as part of some additional warm up.  Then I set out on the first repeat.  I was planning on 6 X 800.  During the first lap there was a guy who worked there (either coach or maintenance guy I'm not sure) who said something to me, I said hi back.  It was still pitch black out with just some light coming from a nearby parking lot, most of the buildings were still dark.  Since I had slowed down because of this I figured I would start again.

So, I did.  Since it was dark and I didn't want to fiddle with my garmin too much I just ran by what felt right.  I did look at the time at the end of the first lap I was right at 1:29.  Wow!  I was right on.  It was a good sign that I didn't have to constantly check my pace.  I did the second lap and came in at 3:02.  I'm still not sure if I'm hitting the lap button exactly when I finish, I might be a little bit slow.   I guess it doesn't matter too much as long as I do it the same each time.

At the third lap I was beginning to doubt myself as to whether I could do all six at this pace.  That must mean I'm doing it right and pushing myself, so I kept on going.

I did all 6 800's.  As I started the last one I thought about doing 7 today.  I made a deal with myself if I did the last one in under 3:00 then I would call that the end.  Also, for the past week or so I have been in a slight running funk and thought that quitting on a positive note would be a good idea.  

Here are my splits:

3:02, 2:56, 3:01, 2:59, 3:01, 2:58

I jogged back to the Y across the ball fields.  The sun was just coming up now.  The grass was wet with the morning dew and I could see my footprints from the walk out there at the start of the track work.  I thought to myself, "wow, that guy sure did get up early :) ".  I then headed on an out and back cool down.  Somehow this all added up to 10 miles exactly.  Usually I hit the stop button on the garmin and I write down whatever that happened to be. Today it was exactly 10.00 

One more strategically planned day off from running.  It was very tempting to jump on the treadmill for a few quick miles today but I resisted.  I'll be back to regular running next week.  I was starting to feel a bit aimless and needed to reset things.

 Anyway, I did get up this morning and go to the Y.  I spent some time on the arc trainer, rower, and bike.  Then I did some lower body weights.

Looking forward to a nice long steady run tomorrow.
 

I was fluctuating between whether to run at Starkey park (possibly alone) or at John Chestnut park where there might be other runners I knew. I opted for John Chestnut.

I got there a little past 7:00. I saw Bob who had already run 15 miles. He was going to do 5 more around the park and then head home. I said I'd go along with him. Also, there were two others from the group who said they'd go along, Cameron and Jacklyn. So, we went on a nice out and back 5 mile run. At this point I thought we would get going again quickly to get to Bob's house, then I would continue on for some more miles. Bob is one of the nicest guys and likes to chat and socialize, but we probably stopped a lot longer than we should have - about 10 minutes or so. We got going again but about 1.5 away from the park Bob started to cramp up. So we slowed the pace down and made it the best we could. Bob split off at his street and I kept going.

I picked up the pace without looking at what pace I was doing until the mile beeped on the garmin. The first mile went by at 7:20 and I figured I'd keep it around there. It was a nice morning out with a pleasant 65 degrees temp and some cloud cover. As I left the Lansbrook neighborhood to head back along the East lake bike trail the wind hit me a little bit but it wasn't too bad.

I figured I'd do a mini MP tempo run with splits of:

7:20, 7:27, 7:18, 7:16, 7:04, 0.70@6:49

I made it back to the park, walked around a bit and stretched then got going. I was a little bit later in finishing than I wanted to but it was good to do most of the run with some other people.

Average pace: 8:39

Since I was a little bit later, I did not make it home in time for a still hot breakfast, but there were some left over delicious home made waffles that Jennny had made.

I was feeling pretty good because now I feel like I have a goal. I signed up for the San Diego marathon in June. I can't wait to go. I'll get to see my brother and his family. Jenny and the kids won't be able to make it out for the marathon due to school but they'll come out later in the week and hopefully we'll get a chance to also go to Lego Land!