These long(er) mid-week runs are getting longer and longer, putting me later and later getting to work. Guess I'll just have to run them faster and faster. No, bad idea.
8 miles at Memorial Park on tap this morning. My legs are still sore from Sunday's race. The pain was subsiding but is back after this morning's run. It's not a bad kind of sore. It just feels like I ran 15.5 miles on Sunday and 8 miles this morning, which I have! So, it's a normal kind of crappy feeling, right? I must be crazy.
Speaking of pain, I did my 3 miles yesterday. Back in the day (what? a month ago?), I would have just skipped the first run after a race like the 25K, but I wanted to get out and just get a little blood flowing. I played it smart and I'm proud of that. Not that I COULD have run any faster. I just jogged very nice and easy and did 3 instead of the 4 that Hal scheduled. I don't think he knew about the 25K or he probably would have given me the day off completely. Here are the stats:
Total distance - 3.0 miles
Venue - Memorial Park
Mile 1 - 14:36
Mile 2 - 14:49
Mile 3 - 14:42
Total time - 44:08
Average pace - 14:43
Mission accomplished on those 3. It may seem strange but I'm quite proud of those 3. My thinking in the past was if I'm sore, I'm not running. But there comes a time when you're going to have to run sore. I'm in the final push of marathon training and it's going to be tough, so I have to be. I still must be smart to meet my primary goal of getting to the starting line, injury-free. But, I don' think a little soreness is justification to skip a workout. If I'm sore, I'll just run easy.
If sore, run easy? Well, that went out the door this morning. This morning's 8 miler was wonderful and just slightly uncomfortable. This may sound strange but one of the things I wanted to work on this morning was water breaks. I didn't really increase the frequency of my breaks but when I did stop, I drank plenty of water, probably the equivalent of one and a half cups at a regular water station. I've mentioned before that I've gotten in the habit in races of getting a cup, taking a sip or 2 and then pouring the rest on my head to cool off. So, I'm concentrating on drinking plenty when I stop. Must've worked because I was sweating considerably by the end of the run. It was sure a beautiful morning. Just PERFECT!!! Here's the run:
Venue - Memorial Park
Total distance - 8.0 miles
Mile 1 - 14:06
Mile 2 - 14:02
Mile 3 - 13:37
Mile 4 - 13:18
Mile 5 - 13:21
Mile 6 - 13:13
Mile 7 - 13:22
Mile 8 - 13:10
Total time - 1:48:12
Average pace - 13:32
For fun, I went back to the last time I ran 8 miles, August 21, and looked at my splits. The run that week was my long run. Here are the splits.
Mile 1 - 15:55
Mile 2 - 15:55
Mile 3 - 16:48
Mile 4 - 16:44
Mile 5 - 15:55
Mile 6 - 16:45
Mile 7 - 17:18
Mile 8 - 15:00
I posted "finished strong" for that last mile. Wow!!! What a difference God and physics have made lately.
Anyway, I know one thing. These tired, sore legs ain't hammerin' out no 10K tomorrow, that's for sure. When I went to packet pickup yesterday for the Turkey Trot, I stood there for a while trying to decide if I was going to do the 10K or the 5K. If I did the 10K, was I going to "really" race it or just mosey? If I chose the 5K, I was definitely going to hammer it. But the 5K isn't timed officially so why waste a PR on a FunRun? So, I took the 10K bib. Now, this morning, after careful thought and waddling back and forth to the coffee pot, FORGET THAT!!! I'm going over to Luke's at lunch to switch to the 5K. And I'm gonna jog it too. Besides, it will be fun to cheer June and Erica on at the finish for a change. I'm open to cheering more friends on (Pony, Jon, Miriam, Chip, David, Andrew, Jennie, or whoever else is going to be there) but the fact is that most will finish 6.2 before I even finish my 5K. It should be fun, though!
Lastly, I was just thinking about something. I've been consistenly averaging 20+ miles per week for the last 6 weeks or so. Now would be a good time to start marathon training. :o)
5 comments:
Wow, great job on the 8-miler. I feel like a slug not running all week. BTW, I will see ya at the Turkey Trot tomorrow!!!
you'll finish before me thats for sure!! and it will be fun to see your smiling face and blue-blue eyes!!!
Vic,
Once upon a time, during a run a long, long time ago, in (what seemed like at the time) a far off world, some priceless wisdom was bestowed upon me by a runner much more wise and sage than I. It is the single best piece of advice that I follow on a daily basis. He simply told me, "you can run through pain, but you should never run through an injury".
Good luck tomorrow! I wish I could be there but (as you would say) my much better half and myself will be in Vegas living la vida loca! Happy Thanksgiving!
Dang Vic - you are just getting faster and faster. That's pretty cool to compare your splits to that earlier 8-miler.
In a weird, twisted sorta way, I actually prefer to run when my legs are a little sore; it's almost like it loosens things up a bit and they invariably feel better after I've done that (assuming an easy run, not speed work).
Have fun downtown; I'm hanging out at a 10k closer to home.
And I am so very thankful to have you as a friend too!
Your improvement is awesome!! Keep up the great work! Can't wait to hear about the 5K!
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