Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Yesterday's Run - Livestock

Report:
Not exactly how I wanted to get my run in but I stuck to the route I had planned from last night and managed to eek out the time to get it done. Woohoo!

I started prepping for last night's run and, well, had some family speed bumps. Once those were smoothed over, I ended up with a booked morning with no chance to run my desired route without being terribly late to work. So I managed to get in early and take a long lunch. Thanks to peer pressure from Twitter, I was held accountable and did get my run in as planned, just later in the day. Which was probably better anyway since it was damn cold this morning and only sort-of cold this afternoon.

So as I sit here shirtless and sweaty from my shower, I realize I managed to pound out a run longer than I needed for the day. I'm aiming for 30+ miles this week and I know I need at least 5 miles for 4 days plus my half marathon race this weekend to meet my goal. And seeing as I can't stick to a plan worth shit, I think I'm going to have to try the weekly total method for a few weeks to see how that holds up.

Anyway, the run was fairly uneventful. Seeing as I live in the ass-end of the sticks, I didn't have much traffic on the gravel road and only a few cars on the paved portion. I did manage to score a WTF look from an old lady and the termite guy at her house. Can't say as I blame them. I'm sure I looked pretty damn sketchy.

Weather:
Temps were about 45F. Overcast skies with a hint of sun. Winds were moderate and shifting.

Fluids and Fuel:
Breakfast was water, yogurt, eggs, toast, and coffee. I took a little shot of Hammer Gel before the run. I ran with two bottles of Hammer Fizz (one grape and one lemon-lime). I also downed some Hammer Gel during the run (at about 30 minute intervals). Recovery was two small bottles of Ensure and a coffee.

Aches and Pains:
My right knee started to ache in the last mile but I think this was because I was over-striding in an effort to increase my speed. The early miles were also rough but just in a general sense. After I warmed up, around mile 3 or so, I felt pretty good and near mile 5 I felt like I was settling into a solid groove. Around mile 7 I feel like I lost the groove as I made the transition to pavement but I still kept fighting to get back into it.

Gear:
Wore my Brooks vest and I'm starting to really love it. Keeps me warm yet cool. The vent in the back lets air flow through if I unzip up front but not too cool when I zip it up. It also has a nice loop for my iPod headphone cable. I listened to a 3NonJogger podcast on the way out and music on the way back. Outside of that, no special gear.

Codename - Livestock
Like I said before, I live in the sticks. Some roads are more like the ass-end of the sticks. So running by a cow or two or four goats or a horse or two deer carcases is nothing new or exciting. Seeing deer stands every mile, beer cans every 100 yards, and rusty pickup trucks is the norm.

Splits:
Outbound - 46:07
Inbound - 44:16
Finish - 1:30:24 (PR for this route by about a minute)

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