R&R

I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve topped off a bad week of training with two strong training runs.  Last week, I was in Dallas, Texas for work, and due to the heat (good reason), my work schedule (bad reason), and laziness (horrible reason), I only managed to fit in one workout between Monday and Friday.  To boot, that workout was on a treadmill.
  
On Saturday morning, Lauren and I headed down the Cape for a day at the beach and a little R&R.  However, in our case, R&R more aptly stood for Run and Relaxation.  When we arrived into Orleans, we parked near the Cape Cod Rail Trail for a run before we hit the beach.  Without any specific plan, we decided to lace up and hit the trail to see what happens. 

To both of our surprises, our runs went very well.  Including our easy warm-up, Lauren and I ran for 2.5 miles before she turned around to cap off a 5 mile run.  At that time, I figured I’d run another 2.5 miles, and then turnaround to finish up with 10 miles for the day.   I ran miles 2.5 to 5.0 at about a 7:30 – 8:00 minute / mile pace.  Once I turned around, I picked it up and ran the next two miles at about a 7:15 – 7:30 minute / mile pace.  I had not run this fast for this long in a while, and it started to show around mile 7.5.  And this is where the Cape Cod Rail Trail saved the day.  In order to keep my tempo going through the end of the run, and not kill myself in the process, I ran at a tempo pace every other tenth of a mile.  I was able to do this because the trail had distance markings on trail every 10th of a mile.  I was able to finish the run right around 80 minutes, and then we set off to start the second of our two R’s.




Next comes Sunday morning.  After a great workout and a full day in the sun, Lauren and I sleep in until 9:00 AM or so (ok, maybe it was just me who slept in THAT late).  After a few cups of coffee, the standard English muffin with PB&J breakfast, and knocking out a few expense reports for work (always fun), I lace up and head out the door for my run.  I was very nervous.  My last long run was as successful as Tim Pawlenty’s Presidential campaign.  I ran 10 miles pretty hard yesterday, which would mean my legs would be tired today.  I hadn’t run on the road at all during the week, which could result in pulling a muscle because of running too much at one time.  Everything was lined up for another disaster of a run, and not only was I nervous that I could wind up walking home the last six miles, but I’d continue my O-fer streak of good long runs.  And there was always that far and away chance of missing my 8:00 PM flight to Dallas (but thanks to American Airlines, they gave me enough time to run an ultra marathon with their second 2+ hour delay in as many weeks.  And yes, that’s bitterness you’re reading).

I don’t know if it was the fact that I knew a bunch of friends running the Falmouth Road Race (Cara B., J D., and Stevie Mo) or Cape Ann Half Marathon (Steve C.).  I’m not sure if it was finally heeding the sage advice of Jim Wadsworth and Lauren by bringing some Gu's with me. It may or may not have been due to recently reading Born to Run.  And I don’t know if it was the overcast afternoon that kept the sun and heat at bay... but I do know that I finally completed a long run without any issues.  And it was awesome!

The plan was to run the same 18 mile route I had already done twice during this training program.  I told myself I would get the better of this route before I moved on to a new long run route.  The first eight miles went well.  About 6 miles (or 50 minutes) into the run, I had my first Gu (strawberry banana is the flavor of choice in the O’Reilly household), which provided an immediate source of energy.  I coasted for the next two miles, arriving at the convenience store in just over 65 minutes (8.25 miles).



Realizing that I was tight on time, and still a little unsure how the next 10 miles were going to turn out, I used the restroom, sucked back some water from the sink (stop judging…), purchased a 12 oz. Gatorade, and headed out on my way back home.  Still somewhat full from the Gu I had 15 minutes ago, I decided to hold off on having the Gatorade until I felt I needed it.  Miles 9, 10, and 11 went by smoothly, and glimmers of hope began to flicker through my pessimistic thoughts of the remaining miles.  Miles 12, 13, and 14 turned into “only 4 miles left…, only 3 miles left…” and so on.  And soon enough, I completed 18 miles in 2 hours and 33 minutes.  My legs felt well (as best they could after running for 2.5 hours), and I was happy and immediately motivated to start my next long run.  I had just run 28 miles in 30 hours, and salvaged what could have been a horrendous training week.



The goals for this week are to run three times in Dallas, and to run my first 20 mile long run for the training program.  If I am able to accomplish these goals, I should be able to run 50 miles this week, and be on my way to a successful Bay State.