Today’s Run

Time – 2:18:36
Distance – 13.2 miles
Pace – 10:29 min/mi
Elevation – 382 ft.

Strava says my Suffer Score was “Extreme” at 171. Apparently, long runs can do that. It was a bit tiring at the end and much cooler than I expected with the wind (15–20 MPH from the northwest..that’s cold stuff right there!). I made a short-sleeve shirt and shorts work with my Runwell ball cap, but when I got out into an open area, it was chilly. I’ll have to take wind chill into account more closely next time when I prepare. All in all, for a half marathon distance, it was a good run. I maintained pace VERY consistently throughout. I’ve got that pace and heart rate locked in. I’d like to get to a point where I can run more at “Endurance” pace (below 122 BPM), but that’s a little ways off at a reasonable speed. I can hold this one with proper food and hydration for a long time if necessary. I needed salt and electrolytes near the end, so I’ll need to take that into consideration for the future. I don’t have a source picked out yet, so it’s time to research.

What I Find Myself Paying Attention To On The Run

• The leaves haven’t turned yet. It’s the Ides of October and the trees are (mostly) green. Lots of leaves have fallen, but the really wooded areas near here have not done much in the way of colors yet. Time to Wikipedia leaf peeping and Autumn leaf color, because I have an addiction to information found online.
• Cold temperatures have WAY more nuance than they used to. I now understand why you can buy three different version of the same coat at Eddie Bauer with different linings, fills, or thicknesses. I used to only have two coats: one for rain, and one for cold. Everything else was just a fat guy in a T-shirt.
• Drivers don’t look both ways very often before moving. Sometimes you get a person that pays attention, but most people only look at the direction of traffic that will hit them first. They don’t glance the other way until they are rolling (sometimes its only a crawl, but the wheels are turning). LOTS of people making right turns don’t look to the right, which means they miss people (or runners) wanting to get into the crosswalk. I’ve had to wait on more than a few people who would crush me if I didn’t stop because they won’t look, despite the fact that the crosswalk has the right of way. Thus, defensive running.
• Nothing is better than running under a blue sky. Can’t be beat…

Today’s Run

Time – 1:00:06
Distance – 6.2 miles
Pace – 9:34 min/mi
Elevation – 150 ft.

 

I went out to run 5 miles, and did 6.2. This run felt great! I’m really able to take advantage of my fitness and do some quick days. I had a fast mile in the middle (according to Strava, an 8:39, which is the fastest I can remember), a new 5K PR, and a new 10K PR. This isn’t exactly good when I already had two fast days this week and I was thinking the long run would be in the morning, but I’ll have to push it to Sunday, instead. Easy miles tomorrow!

I Know I Keep Going On About This

It’s getting repetitious, I’m sure, to hear me go on and on about how great I’m running, or how fast I feel, when I’m only just getting to runs with a pace under 10:00/mile. And that’s fair, it is probably getting a little old. Certainly, the goal of this blog isn’t to toot my own horn (although, what is the purpose of most blogs, anyway…). I don’t want this to be about how great I am, or “Look at the good I’m doing!”

Instead, I’m using this blog as a way to get a long view of my running as I continue down this path. I know that the days will come when I will feel like running just sucks, or that I’m not getting any better, or that it’s all been a waste. Those will be the days that I’ll turn around and look back at runs like this.

I’ve said it before, every run is another day working on the house that is my fitness. They build and strengthen the walls, the interior, the roof. Every run adds more structure, more stability, and more capability to the heart, the lungs, the bones, and the joints and connective tissues. By going out and moving whenever I can, I get healthier than I was yesterday.

Today I ran the fastest 1/2 mile, 1 mile, 1K, 2 mile, 5K, and 10K I’ve ever run on Strava. They are also all most likely the fastest I’ve ever run those distances, period. I’m the lightest I’ve ever been weight-wise. I’m in the best shape and have the best mental state I could have. I probably need to drink more water, if my kidneys have anything to say about it, though…

Of course not everything is rosy. Baby Girl arrives in about 6 weeks, and I don’t feel anywhere near ready. We need to pay off some bills. Little Buddy and the Teenager are growing up a lot faster than I would like, and I have to start my Master’s thesis in 8 weeks. There’s a ton on my plate at work, and I need to be spending more time studying and learning for that.

To steal from Robert Frost…“But today, today I ran fast, and that has made all the difference…”