Perfect Day

Yesterday (Saturday), was absolutely THE perfect day of for running so far in 2007. Not only was the weather perfect but and awesome group of Striders were out in force to lay some sole through Bear Creek park.

My schedule called for 14 easy miles. So, I was going to start around 5:30 or 5:45 and do the Big Bear Creek route with an extra lap around the soccer fields and finish ~about~ the time the rest of the Striders were completing 11. My start was a little TOO civilized though with a 7:45 arrival and the prospect of timing my finish with the Striders pretty much out the door.

I knew I would at least get to see the Strider pack out on the course and talk a little trash, even if it was just for a brief, passing moment. But much to my surprise and luck, Bill drove up very civilized, like me. For Bill, it wasn't laziness or wanting to sleep later. He actually thought for some strange reson that the Striders were starting at 8, not at 7. I say lucky for me because Speedy "Bill" Gonzalez was more than happy to run easy, providing me a rare running partner for my long run.

I had a great run. The weather was perfect and Bill and I talked trash for the better part of 2 and a half hours. When we ran into the Strider pack, there were reports that the back side of the park was flooded so Bill and I decided to finish our loop in Bear Creek, head back to the parking lot for 2 minutes of recovery and trash talking with the Striders, then 2.5 out Cullen and back, and repeat the Bear Creek loop. I felt good the entire run. My splits were all over the place but I stopped a few times for water. After those breaks, I felt good and always seemed to restart a little faster than when I stopped.

Here are the stats:
Total distance - 14 miles
Total time - 3:15:21
Splits - 14:10 / 13:50 / 13:52 / 14:23 / 14:02 / 13:45 / 13:31 / 13:54 / 14:22 / 14:09 / 13:28 / 13:46 / 14:15 / 13:48
Average pace - 13:57

This ended up being a bit faster than expected but the temps made for an easier effort. If I'm remembering right, this 14 miles sure came a lot easier than the last time I attempted that distance. Actually, looking back just now at my logs, yesterday was my FIRST attempt at the 14 mile distance. Last Fall, I jumped from 13 to the 25K with a 10 miler in between. My pace for the 25K was 14:05 and that put me down for a couple of days. The day after this 14 miles, I'm actually feeling like going out before supper for an easy 3. Well, it's progress. I sure like looking back at my logs and blog and seeing where I've been. That's fun.