The Long Run

It was a pretty good run today.   Ran from the Y after a bike and rower warm up inside.  First 3 miles were kind of slow and my ankles and shins felt tight.

Then I loosened up a bit and the pace felt easier and got a little bit quicker.

It was a great morning for running weather-wise.  Overall things worked out pretty well and it felt good to get the first run of the week behind me. 

Average pace: 8:07

Looks like there was at least one more chilly Florida morning left this year. About 48 degrees, cool enough for long sleeve tech shirt and hat. Kind of wished I had gloves for the first two miles but not bad after that. I ran from home on my new favorite 9 mile loop through Trinity Oaks and Thousand Oaks. My shirt sleeve was covering up my garmin for the first few miles so I didn't see those splits until after the run.

Picked up a little bit faster midway through the run then settled on a slightly slower pace.

Great to get one more run out of the way and hopefully the last one by myself this week.

Average pace: 7:56

Well, that's about it.  I feel like I'm leaving something out, though.   Maybe I'll think of it later. 

I was wrong about not having to run alone this morning. I hadn't really finalized plans with Randall. I got to the Y about 6:00 and he had gotten there at 5:30 and ran with Keith, Raj, and Tim. I'm not the best planner. My alarm had been set for 5:30 but I was woken by my oldest son 15 minutes early, nothing too urgent though. Well, I was up now. Unfortunately this didn't mean I got moving 15 minutes faster, it just took 15 minutes longer to get ready.

When I got to the Y I felt a bit chilly and since I had missed the guys I went inside for a warm up on the bike and rower. I headed back outside just as the guys were getting back from their run. I said hi and then finally started moving. I did a two mile warm up and a nice easy pace. Stopped once to retie my shoe which was too tight, a good choice considering problems I have had in the past with shoes that are too tight.

Sasha had advised me to do either a 3X2 or 2X3 instead of 1600's if I really wanted to do some speed work. These kind of scared me. This is good in a way since it means there is a challenge and without challenges it is hard to improve. Since I probably would have done 3 1600's I decided I would try doing at least two 2 mile repeats, figuring that was still one mile longer than 3 1600's. Still feeling a little bit guilty I settled on 2X2 followed by 1 mile.

So, when I got going things felt better than expected. Usually the first mile of a tempo or speed workout is very mentally challenging, it wasn't so bad today. The weather was good, I felt warmed up and was able to get on pace right away.

Here is what I did:

1st 2 mile repeat: 6:22, 6:27
2nd 2 mile repeat: 6:26, 6:28
Final mile: 6:26

I did 0.5 mile recoveries between.  I think I could have done two miles in the third set but I had made a deal with myself and you can't break those deals ALL the time otherwise your body will think you are lying everytime :)

Jogged back to the Y - a little over a mile away.  Then, did some things inside, a quick cool down on the bike and some upper body weights.

I don't have any more intervals planned for a while and there are no more races coming up - it will be a mix of easy, long, and some tempos. 

Average pace: 8:03

Once again I was supposed to meet up with someone for a run but it did not work out. I had talked to Dixie on Sunday and thought it was all set up for today. However, I did not confirm things. I need to get better at this as that is now twice in a row. Anyway, the good part is that when you are trying to meet up with someone you get there on time.

So, I showed up at the 7-11 near John Chestnut park, waited a few minutes and then got going on my run. Once again, I have found that the easy run on the day after a hard run feels easy - much easier than an easy run on a Monday.

At the two mile point I saw a guy with a light on his hat, he said hi. It was Bob. As Bob has been training for the Boston Marathon I have been running into him more and more. He is running in a charity slot but has not taken his training lightly. In fact, I think he could actually qualify for Boston at this year's Boston. Anyway, we ran together about 5 miles before he had to turn right and I had to turn left. After we split off I picked it up slightly for the return trip back to the parking lot.

The temp was about 55 degrees, beautiful weather for running. The run went by quickly but I didn't run too fast or too slow.

Average pace: 8:34

I did go to the Y this morning but I did not run. I did some time on the bike and rower and then some upper and lower body weights. I thought about getting on the treadmill for at least a couple of miles but decided against it. Instead I thought I would run Sammy around the loop tonight after work. That would be much more enjoyable for both of us.

I think I might have said this last week, but tomorrow I will run long! (hopefully 16 miles).

 p.m. - I ran the loop with Sammy, 1.7 miles in 15:30

Today's run went well. I ran alone at Starkey park. I woke up at 6:15, did my usual morning routine, drove to Starkey, stretched out a little bit, and walked to the bike path.

It was nice and cool out at the start, the first few miles were slow. 16 seemed like a long way to go because I hadn't run that far for a while. I tried not to think about it and as the miles went by I was able to go faster with less effort.

There weren't very many runners out, mainly bikers. As I approached the Suncoast highway trail my task at hand no longer seemed so great. I took a left onto that trail and headed north for a bit. Finally, I got to the turnaround point which always feels good. Still 8 miles to go but it's almost always easier on the way back. Fortunately, today was no different. I picked it up the last few miles. I didn't have to stop because I had just enough accelerade in my fuel belt that I didn't need to top it off with water. It was getting warmer out so if it had gotten just a little bit warmer or I was going a little bit longer I met have needed more.

As I approached the last mile I had thought I might back it down and relax a little bit. However, my pace had picked up some more just before that and I decided to hold the faster pace. I finished the last mile in 6:53.

Average pace: 8:00

There were delicious banana pancakes waiting for me at home that Jenny had made, she is an awesome cook!