I run for many reasons . . .

for weight loss; for stress release; for cardio fitness; for fun; and sometimes for character. When Ben tells me he doesn’t want to do something I often reply. “Son, character includes doing what we should even when we don’t want to.”

So hopefully Saturday’s run proved a little character.

I had 13 miles to run, per my program, and I was genuinely excited to do it. Last was week’s 12 miles went well. It was faster then the previous week’s 12 miles ,and I recovered quickly. In my mind I was going 13.1 miles so I could say I’d run a half marathon distance. I started by adding a mile to the beginning of the route so that I wouldn’t have to add it at the end when I might not want to. And that first mile turned about to be kind of quick at 8:36 minutes. I guess the excitement pushed me a bit. My second mile settled down at 8:54. Then, half way through my third mile I turned on to a connecting trail and started into the wind, which was gusting up to 30 mph. My fourth mile (usually my third) is always a bit tough because it’s up a gradual incline. That plus the wind had my heart rate at 180 bpm even though I was only doing a 9:33 pace.

By the time I hit my turn around my heart rate had been over 175 for an hour. Gratefully I’d arranged for Kristi to bring me water at my turn around, and part of me considered getting in the car and calling it a day, but I wanted to do my 13 miles. I figured the way home would be a tail wind so I kept going.

But the return wasn’t much fun. By then I was plodding. It’s generous to call it a jog. But I just kept moving. In the end it took me 2:15:44 hours to do 13 miles. My ahr was 176 bpm. My heart was at 170 bpm for a little over two hours.
Fortunately I had Monday off and the rain cleared by noon so I got in a nice 3.5 mile recovery in 31:42 ahr was 166 bpm. I took it easy, but it felt weird. I don’t know if I could have gotten my heart up to 180 bpm if I’d wanted to. I’m going to really push to get another mid-week run in. And I’m going to do a speed workout on Saturday. The following Saturday will by my 10k for time. Hopefully the weather and family will accommodate that schedule.

P.S. I did 12 miles a couple of weeks ago. It was about 20 seconds faster then the first time I did it; a mightly good run for me.

Saturday 12 miles

My program has me signed up for 11 miles Monday, but my first run all week was Saturday. It’s been a little busy. So this week not only did I miss all my easy runs, but for the first time I missed my speed workout. I warmed up easy and settled into a nice easy pace. When I started I was actually thinking of doing a half marathon distance since I was well rested. In the end I was quite happy to stop at 12 miles. And those last two were a struggle.

Pace – AHR
1. 9:14 – 158
2. 9:26 – 163
3. 9:33 – 164
4. 9:18 – 171
5. 9:22 – 175
6. 9:24 – 174
7. 9:02 – 172
8. 9:03 – 174
9. 9:02 – 177
10. 9:06 – 180
11. 9:44 – 178
12. 9:47 – 181

It was basically an out and back run. I ran out my usual trail, but headed out towards Costco when I’d normally loop back home. When I got to six miles I started back. And I guess because I was happy to be heading home miles seven, eight, and nine were faster than I thought; and quite comfortable to do. Mile ten was actually a bit slower, but for some reason that one killed me. While I was running it I thought I’d really pushed that tenth mile. I came up on someone and tried to reel her in. But when she took a different direction, and I continued on. I guess by miles 11 and 12 I was dehydrated and out of fuel. I pushed and got my heart rate up, but my times were not good. It wasn’t the strong finish I was hoping for.

All it all it was the longest run I’ve ever done, and I did it in under 2 hours so I’m happy. But then I think I was a little careless. I went to a blood drive, and fasted. That wasn’t really using the old thinker. It’s drained me a bit. I drank a lot of water between the run and blood drive and would probably have been okay, but fasting may have been a bit too much.

I don’t know if it’s related, but yesterday afternoon my right ankle started hurting out of the blue. The soreness is on the outside starting below that little ball part and reaching up my leg a bit, but still below my calf. I’ve been trying to eat well since breaking my fast and really hydrating. It’s the strangest injury/soreness. It’s not bad enough to affect my stride walking, but I’m going to get on the treadmill tonight and I’ll have to see how it feels there.