Distance: 18 mi.
Time: 2:22:55 - 7:56 ppm.
After being in a rut for the last two weeks, I was prepared for this long run to hurt, and I was not disappointed. Aiding the pain was me getting caught up with a couple things yesterday, not eating enough, and some sneakily bad humidity. Nevertheless, I was determined to hit 18 miles, and I did.
I met Mike Mitchell at 8:00 at Old Bell. Mike prefers the later times; I do not, but figured I could get up before 6 and eat something before meeting, so that's what I did. I am hoping to soon get in a groove with the long runs, doing what I'll do on race day, and so I'm trying to figure out what that groove will be.
The problem with running with Mitchell is he's a good bit faster than me, and so we started off a little quicker than I would have preferred for a long run. Back in the Campbell Creek section of the greenway we started gaining on an older guy who would soon be our running buddy for the next few miles. Matt Rich was wearing a CRC hat and regaled us with Boring Stories of Glory Days - 2:40 marathons, the Heartbreak Hill in Boston, and so on. We passed That Really Fast Older Dude - if you've run McAlpine, you know who I'm talking about: always wearing purple-and-gold shorts, always looking straight ahead and ignoring your greetings, and always running about 6-minute pace. Well, Matt knew him, and they slapped hands, proving that this dude is in fact somewhat human. Matt told us his name is Tom Briggs and that he's in low-15 5k shape but hasn't raced in 20 years. I can't decide if that's weird or awesome. For the record, I can definitely see myself being that guy who's too cool to show up for races in aboutfive fifteen years, but I suppose it's a lot less "cool" when you're not all that fast.
Anyway, I stopped for a bathroom break at the park, with plans to rendezvous with Mike and Matt later. My pit stop showed me that what I did the night before/morning of wasn't the race week plan. I'll try something else next time. I kept the pace under 7:30 as I headed back down the greenway, where Mike joined me in going back to the car. We took water, Gatorade, and a bit of fuel. It wasn't enough. I/we started slowing down. Matt rejoined us for a bit before taking off in another direction for good. Mike and I were hurting - him because of some Achilles pain and me from a lack of energy. He discussed a strategy to get through a tough long run: think about the run in checkpoints, not miles. We were on the course now and decided the finish line would be the next checkpoint. The second weir would be the next, Boyce Park the next after that, etc. Down the back loop Mike dropped off to stretch his Achilles. I kept going - slowly. He rejoined me for a bit before stopping for good to walk back.
I hit my next two checkpoints, stopping for water at Boyce, and then continuing to stop to walk. I was near the end of my run but determined to get in 18. Ever the glutton for punishment, I decided to finish my run on the Old Bell hills. Why not? I wanted to see how I would handle some rolling hills while feeling like I was dead. I didn't handle it very well today, but I got in the miles.
The good news is I was able to recover pretty well later in the day, and I'm confident fall weather will be upon us any week now...hopefully.
Time: 2:22:55 - 7:56 ppm.
After being in a rut for the last two weeks, I was prepared for this long run to hurt, and I was not disappointed. Aiding the pain was me getting caught up with a couple things yesterday, not eating enough, and some sneakily bad humidity. Nevertheless, I was determined to hit 18 miles, and I did.
I met Mike Mitchell at 8:00 at Old Bell. Mike prefers the later times; I do not, but figured I could get up before 6 and eat something before meeting, so that's what I did. I am hoping to soon get in a groove with the long runs, doing what I'll do on race day, and so I'm trying to figure out what that groove will be.
The problem with running with Mitchell is he's a good bit faster than me, and so we started off a little quicker than I would have preferred for a long run. Back in the Campbell Creek section of the greenway we started gaining on an older guy who would soon be our running buddy for the next few miles. Matt Rich was wearing a CRC hat and regaled us with Boring Stories of Glory Days - 2:40 marathons, the Heartbreak Hill in Boston, and so on. We passed That Really Fast Older Dude - if you've run McAlpine, you know who I'm talking about: always wearing purple-and-gold shorts, always looking straight ahead and ignoring your greetings, and always running about 6-minute pace. Well, Matt knew him, and they slapped hands, proving that this dude is in fact somewhat human. Matt told us his name is Tom Briggs and that he's in low-15 5k shape but hasn't raced in 20 years. I can't decide if that's weird or awesome. For the record, I can definitely see myself being that guy who's too cool to show up for races in about
Anyway, I stopped for a bathroom break at the park, with plans to rendezvous with Mike and Matt later. My pit stop showed me that what I did the night before/morning of wasn't the race week plan. I'll try something else next time. I kept the pace under 7:30 as I headed back down the greenway, where Mike joined me in going back to the car. We took water, Gatorade, and a bit of fuel. It wasn't enough. I/we started slowing down. Matt rejoined us for a bit before taking off in another direction for good. Mike and I were hurting - him because of some Achilles pain and me from a lack of energy. He discussed a strategy to get through a tough long run: think about the run in checkpoints, not miles. We were on the course now and decided the finish line would be the next checkpoint. The second weir would be the next, Boyce Park the next after that, etc. Down the back loop Mike dropped off to stretch his Achilles. I kept going - slowly. He rejoined me for a bit before stopping for good to walk back.
I hit my next two checkpoints, stopping for water at Boyce, and then continuing to stop to walk. I was near the end of my run but determined to get in 18. Ever the glutton for punishment, I decided to finish my run on the Old Bell hills. Why not? I wanted to see how I would handle some rolling hills while feeling like I was dead. I didn't handle it very well today, but I got in the miles.
The good news is I was able to recover pretty well later in the day, and I'm confident fall weather will be upon us any week now...hopefully.
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