The Long Run

Rode up with Joe to Brooksville to run on the Suncoast parkway trail there to get in a run on some rolling terrain.  It had been raining that morning earlier but seemed to be letting up.  When we got to the start of the trail the rain had pretty much stopped.  Run started right at 6:01.  At about 6:02 it started to rain again.  Not bad at first, but then it kept on getting heavier and heavier.  After about 10 minutes, it was really coming down pretty hard.   The rain kept on getting worse.  It was probably the worst rain I had been in.  Probably a solid hour of rain before it started to let up.

Once the rain stopped and it got light out it turned into a pretty decent run.

At about 16 miles my legs were feeling kind of tired.  Able to keep on going and even picked up the pace a bit.  Last 8 miles were under 8:00.

Shoes were very soaked and it turned out I didn't really need to worry about carrying extra water!  I was pretty wiped out after the run, but it was great to get the last 20 miler in before the marathon.

Average pace: 8:18

Woke up right at 6:00 and did a pretty good job of not dawdling.  Went to the Y and did a warm up on the bike.  I went to turn on my music but it did not go on.  No music today, just like Sunday.  Got onto the treadmill for 4.20 miles at about 8:00 pace, then headed outside.   Very nice weather with a bit of cloud cover.  Felt good for most of the run although right hip became a little achey on the last mile so I backed it down a bit.  Second to last mile was the fastest mile.  Outside average pace: 7:36

 I just realized I accidentally put Sunday's run onto last Sunday, I should go fix that up.

I went to the other Y this morning - the Lansbrook YMCA for a change of scenery.  Plans to get an early start were foiled slightly by trying to revive my ipod nano which has not recovered yet from Sunday's 20 miler.  So, finally I gave up and dug out my old reliable Rio Cali from the junk drawer.

Arrived at the Y, ran into Bob on the way in and chatted with him for about 10 minutes, then did a 10 minute bike warm up, two sets of ball crunches and then 2.1 miles on the treadmill averaging about an 8:30 pace (splits of 9:00 and 8:00).

Went outside next and ran through the neighborhood, over near the lake park and then onto Lansbrook parkway and bake to East Lake Rd, then headed up the bike path there.   Things were going pretty well so far, pace felt good, trying to keep it somewhere between easy and not too fast.  At about 6 miles into the run I developed a mild side stitch which I could not shake.  It didn't stop me, just made the run less fun.  Also less fun was the high humidity and the temp which ended up at 78 degrees.  After 8 miles I took a short walking break to try and shake the side stitch, at which point I noticed that my breathing and heart rate were back up.  I relaxed a little bit and then finished up the last mile.

I got home a little bit late and missed seeing Jenny and the boys before she took them to school.  Somehow I managed to get into work a few minutes earlier than yesterday.

Today's run was great, I loved it.  Not the fastest or the farthest, just an all around good run.  Warmed up on my bike with a loop around the neighborhood, then headed out on my run.  Left from my house and headed towards Starkey Blvd.  Slow at first, then gradually faster.  I caught up with David and ran with him for about a half a mile until I was at my turn around point.  Pace kept on creeping up until the end.  Last two miles at 7:15 and 7:08.

Average pace: 7:43

The morning was foggy, and slightly cool at first.  The cool quickly turned to warm until it was almost hot when I finished, escaped just in time!

Last night I had been trying to decide which route to run.  This morning the answer seemed clearer as it was unexpectedly raining quite heavily (well, at least unexpected for me since I didn't check the weather report because they have been wrong a lot).  So, I went to the YMCA with the plan to run about 4 miles on the treadmill and then see if the rain stopped.

The rain did stop, so after 4.25 miles on the treadmill at just faster than 8:00 pace, I went outside for another 6.  Ended up with 6.02 @ 7:36 pace.   Having learned something from Sunday, I left my ipod shuffle in the car in case the rain started again.  I did get rained on for about 2 minutes while running which actually felt quite nice.  Temp was just over 70.

Going to spectate again for Jenny at the IronGirl 10K race in Clearwater tomorrow, I'll do my long run on Sunday again like last week, only 12 miles this weekend.

I am grateful to have gotten through another good week of running relatively unscathed.  My slightly sore hip from earlier in the week has completely resolved, feeling pretty good now.