32 must be my lucky number. I had another great run long today, with 32k being the distance.
Got an early start at 5:45 am, so I could end up at Sporting Life to pick up my race kit by 10 am. It was cool, but comfortable to start out, and I was wearing long tights and an extra vest over my long sleeve and short sleeve shirts.
Time drifted along quite quickly, as I chewed up the kilometers. I started seeing some runners going the other way along Queens Quay. They were out in shorts and t-shirts, and it started to make me feel a bit overdressed. Somehow, my body started heating up and I decided to ditch my outer layer.
What to do with clothes you don't want to carry for the remaining 20k of your run?? Place them inside a traffic safety barrel of course! I left the clothes inside a barrel on Lakeshore Blvd @ Cherry St. We were going to be heading down that way on Sunday for the "Steps for Life" 5k walk, so I thought it'd be easy to retreive them. As it turns out, it my idea worked like a charm. Christine had a good laugh when I retreived the clothes and got back to the car on Sunday afternoon!
So, back to Saturday's run. It was all good going north through the Lower Don Valley. Started seeing some cyclists going the other way after 7 am. I was running at a relaxed pace, and feeling quite good. They've been doing some re-alignment of the paved paths in the valley, re-planting trees/shrubs along the banks of the river. It was a sunny and warm day once the sun was up.
Made it past my previous office around 8 am. I felt pretty strong as I headed up behind the Science Centre and underneath Eglinton Ave W. I am a bit unfamiliar with the path system in the far upper reaches of the Don Valley, having only cycled there once with McGhie. I found out I was on the right track to make it up to Sunnybrook Park, and to end up on the hospital campus and out across Bayview Ave.
As could be expected on a 3-4 hour run, I needed a bit of a bathroom break at that point. I had never been inside any of the buildings at Sunnybrook, and didn't want to start looking around dressed as a sweaty, smelly runner - trying to hold it in!! I'm talking about the sitting kind of bathroom trip, not the standing kind. hehehe Eventually I saw someone entering a building and asked them if a public washroom was close. She pointed one out right inside the doorway. Bonus!
I emerged about 10 minutes later, feeling refreshed and ready to finish the last 6k of my run. That bathroom break really hit my legs hard. I could barely move when I tried to get running again. It was like Around the Bay all over again - except without the pain in my calf. I vowed to stop if my recurring injury reared its ugly head, but luckily it did not.
Got moving slowly, and resumed a slower pace than I had been making before my rest stop. The trip west on Blythwood and over to Yonge St was a bit of an undulating journey. Even small hills were a bit of a challenge up into the 30k range. I got to Sporting Life with just over thirty clicks done. I wanted to finish the full distance, so I ran up Yonge St and over to Lawrence @ Mount Pleasant and back to finish it! Yeah!
Picked up my race kit afterwards in the store. Although I didn't run the race on Sunday morning, I was all about collecting my t-shirt. Took the subway home and got there in time to take Alex to her little friend's birthday party. Getting out on my bike so soon after running was an interesting experience, and got me thinking about triathalons . . . hehehehe
Distance 32k (20 mi)
Time 3:47:52
Pace 7:07/km (11:23/mi)
HR max 236 (triggered by electronics at an intersection, I think)
HR avg 149
No "in-zone" number, as I was just trying to keep the HR low during the whole run. Noticed that I was below 136 for a good portion of the first 10k, creeping up about 10 bpm each 10k following that.
Split times (total time)
5k 32:58
10k 33:41 1:06:39
15k 32:09 1:38:48
20k 34:12 2:13:00
25k 31:48 2:44:48
30k 50:04 3:34:52 (10 min bathroom break!)
32k 13:00 3:47:52 | 