Dick Snot - The Run

Today's run was another positive one. Probably the second or third in the past couple of weeks. Which is pretty rare for me so I'm enjoying it as much as I can. I managed to meet the goal in my training plan and even squeak in an extra mile under the time goal. All while taking a sump in the last half mile. Ha!

Meandered my fat ass down the trail and felt sleepy but okay. My sides, back, and ass weren't hurting as much as they were earlier in the week so that was nice. I was maybe 3 miles into my run before I realized that the 2 hour mark was my goal for my February race. As in I want to run 8 mile loops in two hours or less in February. So it suddenly became my goal for today's run. Which I didn't really need the extra pressure since the terrain isn't exactly the same and I had plenty of time to beat that mark. But it was still nice to have that as a bit of a measuring stick to focus on.

Along my run I saw two deer, several hunters' trucks, two walkers, and one hallucination. I swear I saw another runner but as I continued down the trail the runner never materialized and all I saw was a post and a tree stump. Yup. Should have had more coffee.

I did have a bit of an upset stomach the last two or three miles and I think it was a combination of too much corn yesterday, too much milk yesterday, and having my second pouch of applesauce too soon after the first one. I kept plodding along and made it to half a mile from the end of my run before I needed to purge my colon. After that I was able to hoof it back at a decent pace.

Photos:

Some crazy mushrooms at the start of my run.

The railroad tracks at the midway point of my run.

Vine: 


Weather:
Temps were about 35F at the start but warmed to about 45F by the end. Sky was clear, sun was out, no humidity, and barely any wind.

Fluids and Fuel:
Before the run I had a little bit of iced coffee and a small coffee cake bar. During the run I had about two bottles worth of plain water. I took my first applesauce pouch at 45 minutes and my second one at an hour and 15 minutes. I should have waited another 15 minutes but I survived. Recovery was two lousy breakfast burritos and an iced latte.

Aches and Pains:
My right knee felt a little tired around mile 5 or so but the pain went away. Or I managed to ignore it enough to not notice.

Gear:
Wore a winter hat, gloves, Buff, thermal shirt, long sleeve shirt, shorts, pants, and gaiters. Took my Nathan hydration pack and my voice recorder.

Heart Rate:
I really, really tried to focus on my zones early in the run and managed them well through the first 6 and a half miles. Then I saw the walkers and knew I had to pass them in the last mile and a half before my car. So I pushed the pace, a little, until I got to my car. Then I realized I still had time to squeeze in another mile so I did. The last half mile, after my dump, was pretty speedy and my heart rate was high.

Splits:
Mile 1 - 13:40 (AVG HR 131)
Mile 2 - 14:00 (AVG HR 138)
Mile 3 - 14:02 (AVG HR 143)
Mile 4 - 14:26 (AVG HR 144)
Parking Lot Spur - 3:42 (AVG HR 134)
Mile 5 - 14:02 (AVG HR 144)
Mile 6 - 13:17 (AVG HR 149)
Mile 7 - 13:18 (AVG HR 150)
Mile 8 - 12:16 (AVG HR 165)
Mile 9 - 13:18 (AVG HR 165) (includes poop break)
Finish - 2:06:05
MIN HR - 85
AVG HR - 147
MAX HR - 186