When I walked out the door this morning, I was pleased at not being hit across the face with the thick, hot air we've had for the last month on Saturday mornings. Don't get me wrong. It was still a hot, Houston, summer morning but just a little closer to bearable.
Michael continues to keep it fresh with new routes every week. This morning, we had a change of venue. We met at Fleet Feet, Rice Village and headed south around Rice, around Hermann Park, and out Braes Bayou. The paved run/bike trails along the bayou are really nice. Not a whole lot of people like around Memorial and Allen Parkway. At one point, I looked down the bank of the bayou and a huge red-tailed hawk was just sitting there on the ground, about 15 feet off the path. I stopped and just looked at it. It looked at me. Bored, the hawk eventually took off down the bank of the bayou and glided along the water, about a foot off the surface, like a fighter jet flying through a canyon. That was a joy to see.
Total, I got about 9.9 miles. It doesn't seem quite right rounding up to double digits. I'm waiting until next week for that. I'm not really getting any faster on my long runs but that's really not the goal right now, right? I'm covering the distance every week but I really can't fathom right now being able to finish in 6 hours come January. I'm running ~14:50 right now on average but with water stops and potty break, it's about 15:30. I know I just need to cover the distance but when is the speed gonna come? With cooler temps? I know the answer to this question and that's why continuing to lose weight is as critical to my marathon training as long runs and weekly mileage. That's where my speed is going to come from. It's just a matter of physics. Catherine wants me to get a big bulk of my goal weight off by middle of September, before my 15, 16, 18, 21 mile runs start and I really start ramping up weekly mileage. It's really hard during that kind of training to be cutting your calories and trying to lose a massive amount of weight. So, I've really gotta kick the weight loss up a notch over then next month, month and a half.
3 comments:
Hey Vic! Robin here... remember me? It is such a joy to see you still posting to your blog and still running!!! I have finished school with my bachelor's degree and will start grad school in the fall. This summer is all about getting healthy for me so I can handle having a family and a rigorous school schedule. I have lost 15 lbs. so far and have 15 more to go. I have not run for a long time but I remember the joy I had while doing it. I just get so frustrated with my lack of progress speedwise. Then I read your blog and you are at the same pace and DOING it! Almost double digits too...amazing. The highest I got was 7 miles. Now I have to pretty much start over :(
Anyway... sorry for the long comment. I just wanted to say hi and let you know what an encouragement it is for me to see you still here :)
Robin
lol I did not post under my blog name so that previous post was me from Beginner forum of RunnersWorld :)
Vic, you are doing great! Good run, good weight loss goals...keep it up!
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