The Long Run

Ahhhh, Monday morning run.  Always interesting to see how those go.  Saturday was a pretty easy run which I needed but I spent a lot of the weekend painting my son's room and doing stuff around the house so it wasn't very relaxing.   But everything seemed to work out ok.   I biked to the Y and made sure to stretch out and ease into things.  I did 4.52 miles on the treadmill at about an 8:10 average pace, then headed outside.

It was a bit more humid than it had been but the sun was still low enough that it didn't beat down on me.   Wanted to do another 5.5 miles but miscalculated slightly and did 6.02 instead.  I did not look at my garmin while running except for maybe twice when I heard the mile split beep.  I was running by feel but I did not run at a very stead pace, it varied between 8:29 and 7:23.

Average pace outside: 7:50

Finished up inside with a few sets of weights then biked back home.

Today's run was just what I needed.  A change of place and a change of pace.  I met Dixie at 5:45 by the 7-11 near John Chestnut Park.  We used to run this area a lot this time last year but it had been a while.  Weather was typical, 76° and 90% humidity at the start, a little warmer but less humid at the end.  We took it out at a pretty easy pace but did not pick things up too much.  This run makes me feel ready for tomorrow's hard tempo run that I have planned.

Average pace: 8:27

On a sad note, my son's gerbil, Gary died yesterday.  He had been with us for 3 years and brought much joy to the family (well, as much as a gerbil can at least).  We will miss you Gary.

I was a little bit worried about this run as I was planning on pushing a little bit farther at this pace than I had pushed before.  I tried a similar run last fall and was not able to run it straight through.  Started out with an easy paced warm up of about 1.6 miles.   Then I paused for a bit, collected myself and took off.  I was going for 8 miles at 6:58 pace.  I was going on an out and back run from 54 to Starkey Blvd and then back.   First mile was pretty good, second not bad, the third was a bit of a struggle.  Things looked better after completing the 4th mile and reaching the turn around point.  Then it was one mile at a time.   The weather was on my side as the heat and humidity were not too bad although it was not quite as nice as my last tempo run.   Reaching 6 miles felt good, then finally as was at my last mile.   Sometimes the last mile feels easier but not today, it was hard but I held onto my pace.

splits were: 6:47, 6:50, 6:56, 6:40, 6:51, 6:48, 6:47, 6:47

Then I jogged a bit and ran an easy pace on the way back home. 

Average pace for entire run: 7:19

Cooled off in the pool, did some stretching, then biked the boys to school so Jenny could get in her run before.  It sure felt good to get this run out of the way and completed successfully.

It's a pretty tough week, but once this one is done, there are just two hard weeks left before I start backing off.

Today was an easy recovery run.  I biked up to the Y.  It almost felt chilly out while riding there.  Got inside and did some stretching and core work then got onto a treadmill for 3.2 miles.  I resisted the urge to push the pace, doing a reasonable job at that and ending up with about an 8:25~8:30 average pace.

Headed outside on an out and back course of 3.52 miles.  I ran by feel at what seemed like a comfortable pace.  I did not look at the garmin until I got back and saw that the average pace was 7:58.

Did a few sets of weights back inside and then biked back.

I'm mentally preparing myself for tomorrow's 16 mile long run.  Not sure why I'm worked up about it other than it's going to be Friday and I usually do my long runs on Saturday - except for that 14 mile run back in March where I injured myself on a Friday.   Hmmmm, maybe that is why I am worried?  I think I'll be ok this time.

Yesterday, I was a little bit worried about today's run as it is out of the ordinary for me to do my long run on a weekday.  But, fortunately everything seemed to work out ok.   I woke up and did not feel overly tired which was a good sign.   Warmed up with a loop around the neighborhood on the bike then started running right about 5:45.

I ran to the Y on a slightly indirect route, ran inside and topped off my water bottles then got going again, just a little over 10 miles left to go.

Ran out towards the horse farm but didn't quite have to go all the way to the end of the road to get my miles in.  Turned around and headed back.  I was running by feel and was feeling pretty good.    I did a good job of not looking at my Garmin at all during the run until the end.  Crossing back over Seven Springs Road was a bit of a challenge.  I didn't want to wait for the light so I figured I'd run against traffic until it cleared and then cross.  It didn't clear for almost a quarter of a mile, so then I finally crossed after what seemed like forever (next time I'll just wait for the light).

When I reached 13 miles, the sun was up but it was still quite nice out.  My pace had picked up but I was not sure how much.  Made sure not to intentionally push it.  At 15 miles I was feeling even better.  Made it inside my neighborhood and then looked at my garmin when it beeped, which was a 7:14 pace.   Last bit of the run turned out to be 7:22, 7:21, 7:14, and 0.41@7:17.    I hadn't quite reached my house yet but I saw that my garmin had lost the satellite signal.  It seems to do this pretty consistently at around 16-18 miles into a run, so I don't think this garmin will be going to Niagara Falls with me - perhaps old garmin 201, wife's garmin or possibly yet to be purchased garmin.

This basically wraps up week 1 of the last 3 hard weeks.  Tomorrow will be a fun 5K at the zoo with the family.

The whole family went to this 5K today at the zoo. 

I started out with Noah and Andy after having done a 0.25 warm up.  It was pretty crowded at the start as we didn't try and push up too close to the beginning.   The first mile runs outside of the zoo.  We crossed the first mile marker at 10:10.  Noah, Andy, and I were still together.  Unfortunately, just inside the zoo Noah slipped and fell down.   He was ok but his hands and knees were scraped up a bit (but no blood) and he was kind of upset.  He started running again but it took him a bit of time to compose himself.  I told Andy to keep going at his own pace and I stuck with Noah. 

The mile inside the zoo is pretty fun although it's not very easy since you are running up and down board walks, through the manatee exhibit under ground and around a lot of tight corners.

The third mile went a lot better although Noah periodically complained about something or other.  He didn't think he was doing that well because he was not with Andy but we were steadily passing a lot of people.

Finally we rounded the corner for the home stretch run to the finish line.  Noah really picked up the pace, running most of it near a 7:00 pace!

splits were: 10:10, 11:20, 9:54,  0:50

This was a huger PR for Noah and was just his second 5K.  Andy did not get a PR overall but this was his best time with no pacer, about a minute faster than his first run with no pacer.   They both got awards for 1st and 2nd place in the 9 and under group.

The race fee included free zoo admission so we spent a few hours walking around and enjoying the animals.

Jenny has a great race report with pictures, she PR'd on this not very easy course.