4/26 Long Run

Out and on the run by 5:45 again. Cooler to start with, and I thought it might get colder like it did yesterday, so wore my gloves this time. Good choice. It's amazing how these little thin things can make a difference.

Pre long run prep probably left a little to be desired. Spent some time hanging out at friends (ours and Kaitlyn's) on Saturday night and had more Garlic Jim's pizza and Costco fruit Cheesecake than I should have. :)

Settled right into a good pace, and started feeling the love from yesterdays run for the first three or four miles. Just a light grin on my face. :) Not really worried about the run at all, it just seemed to move nicely, and I had a good rhythm and wasn't pushing the HR too hard. Was feeling my legs a little bit from Saturday's run initially, but nothing serious at all.

Didn't get out and get new GUs so I had to use up the last 5 I had an Orange Burst and my last 4 Chocolate Mints. Just enough for a run of this length.

I have never had as many problems with needing pit stops on a run. Ever. Just after the first GU and my turnaround onto the 'trails' on the Mill Creek side of 35th I realized that I needed to #2. I voided my bladder hoping that would buy me some time to make it to a PortaSan I had noticed on Seattle Hill Road, but not so much. Fortunately for me I have been paying attention to everyone elses horror stories and have started hauling some wipes in my gear pouches.

Decided to try the Village Green Drive/Seattle Hill Road loop again, and it was very pleasant. Especially since I hit it after having dealt with bodily waste issues and having my GU kick in. I actually had a lot of trouble for a mile or two keeping my speed and HR under control and in sync. My dropped like 10 points. Also confirmed that the entrance to the 'trail'/sidewalk on the South side of 148th is a bit of a ways in on 148th. Not very convenient.

Had to use a PortaSan on this secion of Seattle Hill Road to dispose of some of my efforts at hydration. Really? Again? I'm almost afraid of what would have happened if I had made an effort to hydrate on Saturday.

By the third GU the Chocolate Mint GUs started sitting sitting pretty heavy. They don't seem to digest quite like the 'normal' GUs. Back to the regulars when I finally pick up some new ones. Maybe Lemon Lime this time.

Stopped at Starbucks at about 12.5 miles in and made another pit stop (of both kinds)(Really?) and refilled both water bottles. My knees didn't appreciate the sitting down, and complained for a minute or two until we we got blood moving again.

Dang near had the crap scared out of me by a hybrid (Prius?)of some sort. No sound at all. Just appeared like a ghost. I remember hearing that the blind are worried about the hybrids, and I can see why now.

Again with seeing more other runners and walkers. It's a nice change, but where did all these people come from, and why are they running on my routes? :)

At some point in here I heard a song that made me think of the motto of one of my old units in the Army: B/6 FA. Celer et Audax. Swift and Bold. I had forgotten about that. A runner could do worse. :)

I've got to say that the last 4 or 5 miles was hard work. MY HR was jacked up so I had to walk a lot more to keep things down, and the overall pace slowed. Legs were feeling pretty tired too. Could have done a few more miles if I had been forced to, but I was pretty happy to stop running.

In the last mile Pandora pulled a song that has some of my favorite motivational lyrics. Assemblage 23's Naked:

Knocked to my knees
By the waves that continued to come
Each time I rise to my feet
I am knocked to the ground
But I am an element
Nothing can break me down
Amusingly, I would have bet money that element was elephant. Lyrics still work. :) )

The last 0.7 of the run was me reminding my body that the passenger in the brain case is in charge, and by god we're going to run... Makes no sense now, but it did when I was running. :) I was pretty frustrated by all the walking required the last few miles. Nothing like walking to get your HR down and then having the damned Garmin chirp at you 30 seconds later.

I was not exactly that helpful when we went out later to shop for some stuff for Val. A little tired and a little brain dead. That extra 3 miles (going from 9 to 12 on Saturday) seems to have made a big difference. Or, it could be, as Val pointed out, that I haven't had a really long run in 3 weeks, and have had some short weeks as well. :)

And another run with the kicking of the ankles. At the last minute I decided to save you guys from the gory details. Literally. I was going to photograph my ankles and the damage my shoes have wrought. Then downgraded the idea to pictures of the blood on the midsoles of the shoes. Then I just though I'd beat it to death using words instead. :)

Training Center says 18.7 miles in 3:36:10 (11:33/mile) @ 140 bpm.

Sports Tracks says somthing slightly different. Hmmmm. Guess I'll have to go play. :) A very satisfactory finish to my highest milage week ever. Just a tick over 52 miles.

At some point I had the thought that it might be an interesting Masters Thesis for a Sociology or Psychology student to try to correlate stubbornness, OCD, and addtictive personalities to race lengths and training volume. Hmmm...

Looked briefly at the complications of being an Race Director. I think I'll pass this year. :) Looks an awful lot like work.