Another 12 Miles

Finally made it out for my long run last night - a scheduled 14 miles. Although I've been trying to get sleep and eat well, and even though I hadn't run since Friday, I still felt sluggish and tired. I talked myself through the first three miles and began to settle in for my first 7 mile loop, though at a very slow pace. When I finished the first loop, I wanted very much to just head home. I continued on into the second loop, but when I got to the turn-off for my 5 mile loop, I decided to let myself off the hook and just do 12 miles. I may add a mile or two to my recover run this evening.

Interestingly, my pace increased for the second loop and around 9 miles into the run, just as I started heading for home, I dug into a moderate hill and suddenly began to feel light. Not light-headed, just smooth and easy for the first time in the run. I've never experienced "runners high" but I imagine that might be what it feels like. For about 2 miles, I felt like I could run forever and my pace hovered around a 10:15 mile (up from 11:45 or so).

This week, I'll get in a short recovery run today and try for some speed work Thursday if the legs feel up to it. Then we're off to the East Coast for 10 days. We'll spend this weekend in New Hampshire for a wedding, then spend about a week in NYC.

Getting Back Up To Speed

Went out for my 5 mile tempo run today, which is still pretty slow - my training plan called for 3 miles at a 10:04 minute mile. I started slowly (my first mile was 10:47), but felt good from the start and knew I could pick up the pace considerably once I passed the 1 mile mark. I ended up averaging 9:32 for the next 4 miles, my fastest run in a couple of months. The best part was that the increased speed wasn't a struggle at all. I'd planned to slow to a jog for the last mile, but I found myself keeping the same pace without much effort. Overall, I feel like I'm about back to where I was before "the slump," and feel much more confident about the the next 8 weeks. It's nice to know it's possible to take a month and a half off and not have to start from scratch again afterwards.

Regardless of that, I'm beginning to feel vary nervous about the marathon. On almost every run, I catch myself calculating the percentage of marathon distance (19% today), judging my pace and guessing at how long I could maintain it. Part of that's good - a way to start preparing and predicting for the actual event. Part of it is the steady accumulation of nerves that will not lessen until the race (or, run) is over.

Biking, Running

I finally biked to work for the first time today - an easy downhill ride. About 3 minutes into the ride, a biker just in front of me caught a pedestrian that darted into his path, skidded, swiveled and went flying, he in one direction, his bike in the other. The pedestrian went on the attack, yelling about responsibility and following the same laws as cars. He even picked up a rock. Granted, cyclists in the city often disregard the law, running stop signs and lights, and careening through traffic. But you don't jump out in front of a car and then blame the driver for not looking out for you. They both seemed fine, so I continued on, but later I wondered if that was bad form - should I have stopped to help?

The way back was . . . painful. I kept shifting down but I couldn't seem to get low enough. I came home sweating more than I have on any run, though the ride is only 2.5 miles. Basically, it shamed me. I'm hoping that I can tell a different story three weeks from now.

Went for an easy recovery run when I got home - just 4 miles at a slow jog. As usually for my recovery runs, the first two miles were a struggle, in fact, I wanted to head home after the first 2 mile loop. But that's nothing new. Sometimes, you just run.

Vallejo 12 Miles

Mostly we've spent the weekend lounging around the house we're sitting, playing with the dogs, reading, napping, watching movies, and generally doing nothing. But we did head out for our scheduled 12 miles this afternoon. Out along the Vallejo waterfront, across the bridge to Mare Island, around the island, and out and back again along the water. Mare Island is a former Naval Base, now under a redevelopment plan that struck us as more hopeful than realistic. Set back somewhat from the former military housing sit rows of neat new houses in various stages of completion, mostly empty. Behind them, down still unpaved roads, we discovered the former prison and next to it, some basic training facilities - ropes to climb, logs to jump, etc. Around mile 5, we stopped and ate our energy gels (a new experiment) and drank our water, then continued on around the island before heading back toward the bridge. The day was warmer than we're used to, but we both had good energy until the last two miles, when the run devolved into an exercise of how much farther we could drag ourselves. When the nano showed 12 miles, I stopped, even though I had doubts about its accuracy. We'd been running for 2 hours, 12 minutes, and I had estimated our 12 miles to last more like 2 hours, 15 minutes. When we got back to the house, I mapped the run and discovered that at most, we may have been off by about a tenth of a mile. Good enough for me.

Keeping Up

More slow short runs this week. A 4 mile recovery run Wednesday, and a 3.5 mile fast(er) run today. I had to cut it short today in order to meet up with a friend who was dropping off his car with us, but that should leave me with lots of energy for my 12 miler on Sunday.

We're house sitting in Vallejo this weekend, which will give us some new places to explore, including the park where the Zodiac Killer made one of his first murders back in the late 60s. No, I don't plan to run there, especially not alone! Actually, Vallejo is quite charming, though still "up and coming." I imagine someday it too will be a very desirable and completely unfordable Bay Area town, but right now it's oddly empty, surprising slow paced, and in need of a paint job. It also boasts one of the most authentic Mexican restaurants in the Bay, which I hope is still there.

In Blogland, Phil, will be running the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon in San Diego on Sunday - send him a note if you get a chance!