Prerun meal: one cup of coffee, one cup of Kefir, two handfuls of peanuts. Yum!
I should mention that last night I decided to run my long run all at once, all in the morning, for fear that I would get caught up in other things . . . and I think I've made the right choice, but before I say any more about that:
Have you tried Kefir? It's a dream. Probiotic, 11g of protein. It's got carbs, it's easy on the stomach . . . it's the milk that drinks like a pudding! I came up with that slogan on my long run this morning. Thought I'd share it, so everybody could join me in celebrating.
I had in mind to run my 7.5-mile loop twice, but I changed my mind midstride and ended up running until I ran out of bike trail -- I figured, in part, I'd be less likely to stop in at my house after one 7.5-mile loop. I like my house, but it's too easy to stop in for a pee and find myself caught up for the next five hours taking care of the kids or grading papers or fixing the p-drain in the bathroom sink.
The bike trail is nice -- flat, predictable, uncrowded, goosey -- but a touch boring. I prefer hills, have always preferred hills. And turns. And to run along it for a total of fifteen miles, well, that's a lot to ask of this guy:
I kept a little bit better than a 9-minute pace, and turned around after eight miles (1:15:18). I did run a negative split (1:12:50). That's apparently good, I heard someone say in high school. And I've often checked folks' times and said, "Oooooh, negative splits. Way to go." But I don't know why I say that. Just something to say, I guess.
The two noteworthy events of the run are: 1.) first time in my life that the middle third of a run has been the best, most pleasant, easiest. While my knees and hips ached during miles 5-10, and I had sometimes a great notion * during 11-16, I coasted along miles 6-10. I felt fine. I even thought, maybe I'll add on my 3.4 mile loop to celebrate the long run when I get home. Nope! When I got home, I had another cup of Kefir -- Kefir, where have you been all these years -- some leftover green curry my spouse made the other day, and all the water in the spigot.
* Sometimes I live in the country,
Sometimes I live in the town,
Sometimes I take a great notion,
To jump in the river and drown.
And 2.) when I had about 35 minutes remaining in the run (1:55), I just about hit the wall. No specific ailments -- I didn't suddenly cramp up or get dizzy or dehydrated; I didn't lose my breath; my legs didn't give out -- I simply felt like I couldn't go on. Then I recalled an article from Runner's World and I'm going to guess it was from summer 2008 that focused on the psychology of exhaustion. The claim of the piece is that we (humans) tend to begin feeling exhausted just before we reach the halfway point of our physical limitations. I thought, yeah, right, I'll show you physical limitations, and I kept my same pace with the new determination to collapse sometime soon. That'll show Psychology! Unfortunately, I started feeling better after another mile and a half, and made it hope without losing my shit, so to speak.
At any rate, it's true, I celebrate folks who run the ultramarathons, especially as I have yet to run a half, but my celebration of the great distance runners shouldn't stop me from being very pleased with my own version of the long run. So, here's to me. I'm happy about today's run.
Sunday: 15.3
Monday: -----
Tuesday: 5.1
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 6.1
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 6.0
Monday: 3.4
Tuesday: 4.0
Wednesday: 16.0
Previous:126.6 miles
Year To Date: 146.6miles.
Running Days: 26
Days off: 6
Today's example of math: For anybody who can't find their abacus, I'll do the math for you: if I keep up at this rate, I'll run 435 miles this month . . .
I should mention that last night I decided to run my long run all at once, all in the morning, for fear that I would get caught up in other things . . . and I think I've made the right choice, but before I say any more about that:
Have you tried Kefir? It's a dream. Probiotic, 11g of protein. It's got carbs, it's easy on the stomach . . . it's the milk that drinks like a pudding! I came up with that slogan on my long run this morning. Thought I'd share it, so everybody could join me in celebrating.
I had in mind to run my 7.5-mile loop twice, but I changed my mind midstride and ended up running until I ran out of bike trail -- I figured, in part, I'd be less likely to stop in at my house after one 7.5-mile loop. I like my house, but it's too easy to stop in for a pee and find myself caught up for the next five hours taking care of the kids or grading papers or fixing the p-drain in the bathroom sink.
The bike trail is nice -- flat, predictable, uncrowded, goosey -- but a touch boring. I prefer hills, have always preferred hills. And turns. And to run along it for a total of fifteen miles, well, that's a lot to ask of this guy:
I kept a little bit better than a 9-minute pace, and turned around after eight miles (1:15:18). I did run a negative split (1:12:50). That's apparently good, I heard someone say in high school. And I've often checked folks' times and said, "Oooooh, negative splits. Way to go." But I don't know why I say that. Just something to say, I guess.
The two noteworthy events of the run are: 1.) first time in my life that the middle third of a run has been the best, most pleasant, easiest. While my knees and hips ached during miles 5-10, and I had sometimes a great notion * during 11-16, I coasted along miles 6-10. I felt fine. I even thought, maybe I'll add on my 3.4 mile loop to celebrate the long run when I get home. Nope! When I got home, I had another cup of Kefir -- Kefir, where have you been all these years -- some leftover green curry my spouse made the other day, and all the water in the spigot.
* Sometimes I live in the country,
Sometimes I live in the town,
Sometimes I take a great notion,
To jump in the river and drown.
And 2.) when I had about 35 minutes remaining in the run (1:55), I just about hit the wall. No specific ailments -- I didn't suddenly cramp up or get dizzy or dehydrated; I didn't lose my breath; my legs didn't give out -- I simply felt like I couldn't go on. Then I recalled an article from Runner's World and I'm going to guess it was from summer 2008 that focused on the psychology of exhaustion. The claim of the piece is that we (humans) tend to begin feeling exhausted just before we reach the halfway point of our physical limitations. I thought, yeah, right, I'll show you physical limitations, and I kept my same pace with the new determination to collapse sometime soon. That'll show Psychology! Unfortunately, I started feeling better after another mile and a half, and made it hope without losing my shit, so to speak.
At any rate, it's true, I celebrate folks who run the ultramarathons, especially as I have yet to run a half, but my celebration of the great distance runners shouldn't stop me from being very pleased with my own version of the long run. So, here's to me. I'm happy about today's run.
Eleven Day Tally
Sunday: 15.3
Monday: -----
Tuesday: 5.1
Wednesday: 3.4
Thursday: 6.1
Friday: 3.4
Saturday: 3.4
Sunday: 6.0
Monday: 3.4
Tuesday: 4.0
Wednesday: 16.0
Previous:126.6 miles
Year To Date: 146.6miles.
Running Days: 26
Days off: 6
Today's example of math: For anybody who can't find their abacus, I'll do the math for you: if I keep up at this rate, I'll run 435 miles this month . . .
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