The Long Run

A pretty good run this morning. Didn't get running until just before 7:00. The start of the run was warmer than Saturday morning's start but the end was probably not quite as hot. I took a tip from something I had read recently and made sure to do a route that I don't usually do. I didn't cross over Mitchell Road but instead stayed on the side by the Y. First mile was pretty slow at 9:29, second mile was not too bad at 8:35. I don't remember what the next few miles were but somewhere between 8:00 and 8:15. Last three miles were at 7:39, 7:38, and 7:17. Jogged for another .1 and then went inside for some cool down on the treadmill for about 6 more minutes.

Average pace: 8:05

My plan for today was to take it easy until I felt like going faster but not push too hard, so that is pretty much what I did.  I was satisfied with today's run especially after running 18 on Saturday.  I felt like I was recovered from that run, if I had not been then maybe I had pushed too hard on Saturday.  Fortunately it looks like I did not push too hard.  I have 20 miles  coming up this Saturday which I'm going to try and stick to an 8:15 pace

Temp was 80° at the start with 71% humidity.

I'm not sure how many miles I have put on the two pairs of running shoes but it is probably starting to get up there. So, once I get a new pair I'm going to start keeping track of how many miles I have put on them. I'd hate to start having painful runs because I forgot to get new shoes!

No running today.  Just 30 minutes on the arc trainer.  I might do a short run on Friday in addition to longer runs tomorrow and Thursday as well as the long run on Saturday.  If I do that then I can get one mile more than last week which was my longest week so far - not counting the week where I did 50 because I did my previous weeks long run a day late.

I did see some of my running friends as I was heading into the Y.  They sure looked hot and sweaty! 

This morning's run was not the best run ever.  At one point it almost seemed like it was going to be a disaster, but fortunately it ended up as a run that was not that bad.   My upper back had a small knot in it which partially restricted my breathing.  I'm not sure where the knot came from.  Temp was 80° with about 75% humidity.  At first it did not feel too bad.

I warmed up a little bit inside at first then started my run.  Did 2 miles at a slow pace (9:15ish) - (my ankles felt tight, not painful, just tight) then picked up a little bit for 0.5 miles, then planned on doing 3 X 1 mile repeats at 6:32 pace.  I held the pace at first but then had trouble holding on.  It was slipping away from me and I slowed down to 6:50 at one point, got a little back towards the end and finished with 6:46 but it took a lot out of me.  At that point I really felt like scrapping the whole run or at least heading back inside and finishing on the treadmill.  However, after I slowed down a bit I kept on going and bargained with myself to at least do 7 miles.  Things got a little bit better although I did take a couple short walk breaks.  When I got to 7 miles I went past the parking lot by 0.5 miles, turned around and came back to finish 8 miles. 

At the end of my run all of my minor aches and tight muscles had gotten worked out.  I didn't make my goals for mile intervals but at least I put in the miles.  Sometimes, the first mile can be difficult, then the other ones get better, so I wondered if I had at least tried the second mile repeat what would have happened.

 Average pace: 8:23
 

Today turned out pretty good.  I showed up at the Y about 5:30, but not sure when other people were running.  None of my usual running friends were there so after warming up and stretching for a little bit I got moving.   I thought I would do about 8 miles and maybe throw in some tempo in the middle of it.  As I was into my first mile I saw Dixie drive by so I headed back to the Y.  Keith and he were going to go to the track and do 3 X 1600 at a 6:30 - 6:40 pace.   I told them about how poorly I had done at yesterday's attempt and decided for a "rematch".   It certainly is a lot easier when you run with other people.  I warmed up some more with Keith and Dixie and then we got over to the track.  The first 1600 felt hard but doable.  The second one was maybe a little bit easier than the first one and was a little bit faster.  The third one was not too bad and came in right around the pace of the first one.  Dixie took the lead for each one so I just followed behind him, he was in front until the last 1600 where he faded a bit, fell behind and came in about 10 seconds after Keith and I - not bad at all since he had recently taken some time off from running.

After the third one I felt like I could have done one more if I had to which made me feel really good.  Much better than yesterday.  Plan for the rest of the week is a few slow miles tomorrow and then 20 on Saturday.  If I do this then I'll have a few more miles than last week. 

Splits were 6:32, 6:25, and 6:30 

After the 1600's I did almost another 3 miles.

Temp was about the same as yesterday, 80° with 80% humidity.

Easy run today of just 3 miles.   I did 45 last week and didn't want to jump up too far this week.  I ran outside although I had strongly considered running inside due to the humidity of about 85% and 80º temp.  But fortunately I wasn't planning on going too far and some reason the stickiness didn't really bother me.

I started out with a warm up inside of 10 minutes on a stationary bike along with some stretching.  Did my run in 24:25, came back inside for another 7 minutes on the bike for a cool down followed by about 20 minutes of not too strenuous weights and some ab work.

I did not bring my Garmin today, otherwise I would have constantly been looking at the pace.  I need to do this more often as there are a good number of well known routes with known mileage. 

Today's run was pretty good overall. Not everything went exactly as planned but it all seemed to work out somehow. I was going to get to the park gate a little bit early and then run 2 miles, then run 13 with Keith and Dixie, then do 5 miles on my own. When I got to the gate it was pretty clearly marked for no parking. So, I ended up waiting there until just before 6:00, then Keith showed up and then Dixie. But the gate was not unlocked yet. Just after 6:00 the park worker showed up, unlocked the gate and then locked it behind him. He came back about 15 minutes later and then unlocked the gate. So, we went in and got ready for our run. Keith and Dixie were planning on 13 but I talked them into 14. The morning was a typical Florida August morning with 81° temp and 87% humidity. I also realized today that I had been writing down the wrong humidity for my notes. I had been looking at the humidity at the time I wrote my blog instead of when I ran. I realized today that the humidity rapidly drops each morning when the sun comes up. Probably a fact that was obvious to everyone else.

We took off running at an easy pace of 8:45 for the first mile. There were several nasty flies buzzing around us for the second mile. Their bites can be pretty nasty so we seemed to pick up the pace a little bit. The outside part of my shins felt tight which often happens to me on a training run. It's not painful, just bothersome and uncomfortable. After just over 4 miles the started feeling better. At seven miles we turned around to head back. The weather was decent at that point with the sun still low and the humidity down slightly. All of the water stops were filled full with very chilly water. We stopped a lot for refills. I did not bring my water belt but just carried a 16 oz bottle of water. The good part was I didn't have the water belt, the bad part was I had to carry a bottle of water for 14 miles.

At 11 miles we ran into Eudair who was just heading out. We talked her into running back with us. Keith started to get some calf cramps so he slowed down a bit and Dixie stayed with him. At one point Eudair and I had picked things up and we did mile 12 at 7:08 pace, next mile was 7:44. We got back to the parking lot where we stopped for a short time and I finished off my Accelerade. Then we headed back to the trail for the last 6 miles. It was getting hotter and hotter with the sun up higher now. Finally, at 3 miles we turned around and headed back. The heat was pretty bad at this point but we kept going, and kept about an 8:15 pace. Then finally it was over. My second ever 20 mile run.

The average pace was 8:24. I would have liked 8:19 but considering the conditions I was pretty happy with the pace.

It was extremely fortunate that Keith and Dixie ran with me for most of the first 14 miles, and also very lucky that we ran into Eudair. For the last 6 miles I was going to listen to my ipod shuffle but it decided to die on me.