The Long Run

10 ez

 Ok, maybe I'll add a little more than that.

I let too much time go by between running and writing, and on top of that as I was finishing up this entry I had a key combination that sent me back a previous page and lost everything I wrote.  Went to the Y this morning, 4.1 miles on the treadmill at 8:05 pace.

Headed outside.  It was raining at first so I left the ipod behind.  6.11 miles at 7:41 pace.  The rain actually felt nice and didn't last too long.  Heated up a bit by the end.

I received my Boston booklet today and saw my picture in it.  Julie and Jeff had already received theirs by Saturday and said they saw my picture.  I was expecting that I was in some group shot. It was kind of neat to see it was just me with my name and time and the page with other people around my time.

Also received (via UPS) more RAM for my home computer, figuring I might be able to postpone buying a new one a little bit longer by spending just $30.

Little bit different run this morning.  Met up with Dixie, Raj, and Tim at the 7-11 near the high school, just before 6:00.  Ran up the bike trail along East Lake to the hilly neighborhood.  It was warmer out than yesterday but was tolerable.  Ran 4 miles in the neighborhood and then headed back.  Pace was relatively easy throughout, but went a little bit faster on the downhills and held steady on the up hills.

Finished 7 miles when back at the 7-11 so Dixie could get going.  Tim, Raj, and I ran another mile to finish up with 8.  Raj asked where I came up with 8 from, told him it was my goal for today so I could make my goal for the week.  Answer was good enough for him and me.

Average pace: 8:30

After the run did new Inflict workout (about 30 minutes)

Running with Jenny tomorrow!

I ran with my wife this morning and her friend Cherise.   We did 7 miles together starting from our house and meandering through the neighborhood and past the golf course where we took advantage of the cold drinking fountains.

After doing 7 together, I continued around for a loop around our neighborhood (1.7 miles), but by that time I was close to having 9 miles so I went a little bit farther.  Picked it up a little for the last two miles but nothing too fast.

Average pace: 8:30

Thursday morning run with the Striders over at Longleaf.  Pretty nice morning, no rain, not too humid, just a little warm.  I'll take it.  Same 8ish mile route as last few weeks, up the Starkey Blvd. bike trail into Alico pass and then back.  A group of us set out together, but most turned around at 2.75 miles.  Dixie went with me to the 4 mile point.  I got him talking (which wasn't too hard to do) to make the run go by faster. 

Average pace: 8:06

Socialized for just a bit (most everyone had left already by the time I got back).

Got back home and did another Inflict workout (about 30 minutes).

Average pace: 7:47

6.6 miles

Third Friday run in a row!  I'm trying to make this a habit so that when I ramp up my miles for the week I'll be used to spreading them out over 6 days instead of 5.  This is something I have been meaning to do for a while now but often felt I needed that second day off from running.

I woke up early and had plenty of time for morning routine type stuff.  I warmed up with a bike ride around the neighborhood and it might have been my imagination but it almost felt cool outside.

I set out at an easy pace on the route that Jenny and I would have run had Jenny been running with me this morning,  Felt pretty good, kept it pretty easy for the first 2 miles than started picking up some speed.

Got back to the house after 5.5 miles.  I dropped off the small water bottle I had been carrying and then went out another 0.5 miles before turning around.  Decided to go faster for the last 0.5 miles (6:45 pace), then slowed down for a bit before walking for a cool down.

15.64 miles @ 7:41 pace, 78° , 93% humidity

Arrived at Starkey park just before 6:00.  I had no idea who I was going to run with or perhaps would just run by myself as several of the people I usually start out with were out of town today.  Jenny (not my wife), her friend Laura, and one of her friends were leaving and invited me along.  We ran out together to the 4 mile water stop averaging miles between 8:30 and 9:00.  At about 2 miles there was some heavy smoke from a recent controlled burn and we had no idea how long it would last, fortunately it cleared once we got past the high tension power lines.  The rest of the run was pretty uneventful for a while.

After a brief stop to stretch at 4 miles, I said good bye to the ladies and went out ahead and picked up the pace.  Went out just past 7.5 miles and then turned around.  The sun was just starting to rise up enough to clear the tops of the tall pine trees along the Suncoast highway, I was glad I was on my way back.

I caught back up to Jenny and company, then I saw Mike and Eric and Eric's friend Dan heading out to turn around at 6.5 miles.  So I slowed down a bit then turned around and went slow for a bit until the had turned around and made it back to me.  That's when the fun began.  Both Mike and Eric are fast, and Dan is even a bit faster than Eric.   The remaining miles were mostly between 6:50 and 7:10.  I struggled a little bit to hang on and did a pretty good job, although if it was just me I probably would have gone a little bit slower.  Sometimes a little suffering trying to keep up with faster people is a good exercise.

With the extra back and forth, I ended up with just a little more than the planned 15 miles.  Felt really good at the end.

Spent some time at social hour and met some newer members that just joined the group.  Talked to one lady who is going to run Dallas White Rock marathon this December for her first marathon, which is the one which Jenny (my wife) will run.  This newest member (I think Casey) is a very fast 10Ker (something about Olympic trials qualifier I thought I heard).

Some combination of or perhaps all of Dan, Mike, and Eric might show up at six next week for 14 miles or so.  I have a tough time starting out fast like Mike and Eric seem to do, but fortunately Dan says he likes to start out slower too for the first few miles.

 Here is a controlled burn picture just for drama: