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Sunday, August 28, 2011

Exploration Day

Distance: 15.64 mi.
Time: 02:01:13 - 7:45 ppm.
Running Buddy

This would be another great time to check out the map on Running Buddy, if only to grasp the fact that I ran all over the place this morning (zoom in for added effect!). I grew up near Plaza-Midwood and for some reason decided I wanted to run through my old church and the old neighborhood. Starting near the intersection of Park and Seneca, I chose what I thought would be the quickest route there and took off.

I felt very tight at first and stopped to re-lace my shoes several times before getting comfortable. It is these minor comfort issues that originally led to me to stray from Nike; now, however, you had better believe I am willing to put up with it. After today's run I have put over 134 miles on the Air Pegasus and they are just now starting to show a very slight amount of wear. There are a few tread marks on the upper-midsole that have faded ever slightly. The insole looks as though a foot has never touched them. Other than some colorful McAlpine dirt, these shoes don't look much different than they did the day I pulled them off the shelf at Dick's.

Yet I digress... I ran down Selwyn, passed the Sunday churchgoers on Providence, and through the Eastover neighborhood behind my apartment, stopping for water on three separate occasions. From here I meandered towards Plaza-Midwood on Pecan Avenue...and realized I would not be touring the old 'hood. I was over 6 miles in and had 14 scheduled so I needed to abort the mission. Instead, I ran down Central and into town, touring through First and Fourth Wards and heading out by Frazier Park. I seem to remember knocking Frazier Park at one point, but while small, it's actually kind of cool. There is a small asphalt path that goes around a soccer field and I made a mental note that it would be a good place to do a shorter workout (not that I have any of those on the schedule anytime soon).

I was running around the stadium downtown when I made an error in judgment trying to figure out how far I was from where I started. A much-needed water stop at the Dowd and some stretching helped me recharge my batteries after about 11.4 miles. I had indeed underestimated my distance from "home" and therefore ending up running well over 15 miles. But I felt good, and I have run shorter than planned on almost every other long run, so I was fine with it.

"Active recovery" is an oxymoron, right? I spent the rest of the day eating, napping, lounging at the pool with friends, and updating this blog.

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