14 miler
Finally, an entry about running! My plan was to go in early and knock out fourteen miles before getting to work today, but I had some ideas on the drive in that I wanted to get down before they were lost forever - so I ended up taking a long lunch instead to get them in. And I’m glad that I did, now; the weather today was cold (er, to a Texan, that is) even though it was quite warm where the sun was shining directly.
I did two laps of the seven mile Town Lake loop, running from MoPac to I-35; the first took 1:02:38 and the second was 59:32, with a break between them to stretch and drink. I did both without looking at my watch, and went about :30 too fast on the first lap and 1:00 too fast on the second lap. Its good that running quickly is becoming easier to do, but bad from a training perspective because I’ll probably pay for that over the next few days. These laps should be taking me 1:06 to keep my target 9:30 long run pace.
Still, it was nice to be out there on my own two feet again. The left calf is a little tight, but on the whole it was just a fun run.
Popularity: 69%
Dec 13th 2004
5:34 PM
Richard, you had a strong run today, but try to remember that long runs have their purpose, to build endurance, and that is supposed to be sort of separate from speed. You should try to focus on keeping the pace even more relaxed on those long ones, especially with the runs coming up the next couple of weeks on your schedule. You don’t want to get hurt trying to run all your long runs at race pace (or close to it). I learned this the hard way years ago, and you know how grumpy we can be if we can’t run for a while.
Dec 13th 2004
5:45 PM
Thanks for your comment Jay, and I agree 100%. I’m a little surprised at my last lap, considering that I wasn’t trying to run fast at all. Maybe I should have been paying more attention to my pace watch! I’ll be very careful to slow down as I head into my upcoming 19-20 milers - with the exception of the Buda 30K, of course.
Dec 13th 2004
6:51 PM
Another thing you can try that’s kind of fun is to plan and focus from the beginning of the run on how fast you will run the last mile. I did that on my two 20s so far this season and it’s worked well. If you get that into your head well enough you will naturally run the rest of the run at the right speed so you have plenty of energy.
I was shocked at how well that worked on my 22 Saturday. I really did feel like I only ran the last two miles, and about half an hour after the run I was totally recovered.
Dec 13th 2004
8:12 PM
Well, considering you did it without looking at your watch, its damn good. I think its tough not to jump into a cruising pace, rather than the training pace you need. I find that I do the same thing, but more intentionally because I’m looking at my watch. I need to be more disciplined at doing the workout that is called for.
Dec 14th 2004
8:47 AM
I’m really trying to learn how to do this - slow down. Good lord, Richard, did you ever think I’d be saying I have to slow down!? I’m always running “as fast as I can”, and I know I’m going to hurt myself or (worse) train so poorly that I won’t finish the half. I’m torn because using the treadmill to pace myself is helpful, but on the runs over 5 miles or so, it’s so maddingly, frustratingly, BORING that I want to cry. I need some strategies!! - Mia
Dec 14th 2004
9:00 AM
Mia - check your email :-)
Dec 14th 2004
2:37 PM
14 miles in the middle of the work day? Don’t you need a nap after such a long run? Are you not falling asleep at your desk by the time home time crawls around?
Dec 14th 2004
11:05 PM
Good stuff. I can’t wait to be writing about a similar experience - just happy to be running!