« Re-Training the Mind | Main | Using that Thing Over My Shoulders »
February 11, 2006
Pre-Snow Run
As always, getting up this morning was not easy. It turns out that it was for the best since it is now snowing pretty heavily and the national weather service is calling for a significant snowstorm. I shouldn't be complaining since apparently those in the Boston area are supposed to get hammered with this storm.
Our run this morning was supposed to be a ten mile marathon pace run. That's interesting, because I don't really have a marathon pace. Sure, I've run a few, but none have been up to any kind of standard. We were talking about that on our run this morning. Sometimes there are circumstances completely out of your control in a marathon that cause you to not run up to expectations. Not that any of this really mattered for me today anyway. I was supposed to just do a long run since my tempo/marathon pace run was last weekend. The parting words I got were along the lines of "don't do anything stupid". We went off in groups that were five minutes apart with the theory that everyone would finish together. Well, some groups were more than five minutes apart-I think there was an 80 minute, 75 minute, 70 minute, and sub-60 minute group. J advised me to run with the 70 minute group since M wanted to run about 7:20s and would be running with that group.
I headed out early to do a long warm up since the least running after getting done the ten mile segment sounded appealing. I did the normal warm-up plus a few laps around the track for about 23 minutes of warming up, probably a little over 3 miles. The ten mile course is an out and back, with the front half being much harder than the second half. A was running with us and giving us mile splits. Most of the crew wanted to run back faster than going out, not a terribly difficult task on this course. I didn't pay too much attention to what A was calling out, I was just trying to stay relaxed and not really go out of control. My legs were feeling Thursday night's hills and I felt like I needed a bathroom. Things were going fine until the sixth mile, completely uphill, which we went through in 6:49. The next mile was 6:42, then I started losing contact some. At nine miles we were catching the other groups, so I couldn't hear what A called out. Then she and my usual buddy J really picked up the pace and M was falling off calling to get me with her. I just didn't have that much oomph left in my legs, but the last mile was pretty quick. I finished the ten mile loop in 69:30, so just under 7 minute pace overall.
I stopped for a minute to take off my fleece and then continued running. I did about a mile on the track with J who went on to tell me that I ran it too fast, it should have been around 72 minutes. I put the blame on M since he told me she was aiming for that time and just ran with her. It didn't feel hard and my legs just didn't really want to run under 6:30s. After the mile on the track, I went out on the warm-down course and then did a few more laps on the track to get to two hours. J was still hanging around when I got back and I made a point to let him know that the ten mile portion didn't really affect the rest of my run. My guess is that it was about 17 miles.
I rode the bike at the gym for half an hour to warm up my legs again before I stretched. My butt felt really tight, I think from sitting so much. I was going to lift quite a bit, but didn't have as much time as I thought I would since I saw someone who I used to work with. I knew that I had to get back to shower and shave my legs before the massage that I got scheduled. She worked on my legs, which really weren't too bad. My piriformis was tight, but that is normal. It was actually tighter than it normally is. She also worked on my shoulders and neck because I've been feeling really tight in that area from trying to sleep on the plane and lugging around my luggage. The right side came out, but the left side is still all knotted up. My running form, my shoulders hunched up to my ears, did not help that situation at all.
It looks like tomorrow may be the first time that I get to try out my Yaktrax. If we are as snowed in as they are predicting, I'm going to be making bagels from scratch tomorrow. I love to make fresh bread, but only do it when it snows and I can't go anywhere. We used to do that when I was a kid and it is a tradition to me now.
Posted by Blondie at February 11, 2006 04:33 PM
Comments
mmmm...bagel making...good idea. i am already bored and it hasn't even snowed here yet!! excellent LONG run this morning. and i totally shave before massages and before doctors appointments too. I just think it's polite!
Posted by: Audrey at February 11, 2006 05:57 PM
Sounds like an interesting long run. So much for 7:20s!
Good luck running in all the snow tomorrow and good luck with the Yaktrax! They hurt my feet so much!
Posted by: Meghan at February 11, 2006 08:59 PM