Drive to Tucson for Baseball

Friday morning I ran 22.8 miles in the morning. I woke up extremely early and was out the door before 6am. I was still asleep for the first 13 miles and picked up the pace towards the end. I went over my time by about 20min. I ran just over 3 hours. I took the day off at work because I had a feeling it would help my day.

Next stop that morning was the Dentist. Nicole and I both had an appointment so we drove together. We went to Arby's and had Fish Sandwiches afterwards. As we headed home we decided to stop at Target. We might have spent too long in the store?

Came home and took a nap. I was hoping to get a 1-3 hour nap, but only got 30min. Darn. My best friend Joe came and picked me up about 4:15pm. We left Denver just before 6pm. Where did we go???

Tucson, AZ for a Rockies Spring Training Baseball Game

Yes, we drove. The drive is about 13-14 hours and we drove all night. Each of us only got about 1-2 hours of sleep along the way. I held up pretty darn good considering I ran nearly 23 miles in the morning.

The trip was pretty neat. We had tons of fun and lots of wild stories.

My long run was originally scheduled for Saturday, so I changed it and ran Friday instead. I took Saturday off. We were very sleep deprived and didn't sleep until 10pm Saturday night.

I woke up about 5:15am to run in Tucson. Talk about a fantastic experience. I love running in other places. I enjoyed the mountains in the backdrop, cactus, birds, other misc plants, rabbits, and boar. BOAR. About a mile into my run I nearly ran into 6 wild boar. One was on the sidewalk headed towards me. I tell the story much better in person, but it was shocking to see the boar walking around like foxes or deer. I am glad none of them charged at me.

We drove back to Denver on Sunday morning about 8am. We passed through New Mexico and back to Colorado. What a trip. We needed more time and may fly next time. Road trip with the guys before baby's born. PERFECT Timing!!

Next stop is Salt Lake City in mid April.

Am I ready?

There are only 41 days left until Salt Lake City Marathon. I ran 20 miles today. I ran with the Runners Roost Running Club Group. There were a couple fast guys who planned on running at 7-7:15 pace. They actually ended up running at 6:45-7:00 pace.

The first mile was at a slower pace. I didn't want to be crazy and go all out on the first mile. The first mile was a 8:15 pace. The only problem was that miles 2-3 were extremely fast because I wanted to catch the fast guys. They were running pretty fast to, so I had to work extra hard to catch them.

We stopped at Mile 4 or 5 for a water/gel break. We stopped again at Mile 8.

Miles 11-13 the other guys started to pick up the pace. Most miles prior were at 7min miles. They started running 6:40 mile pace. They inched their way past me as the next few miles passed. They kept getting further away, but still in sight. Further, further and eventually gone. I kept a pretty good pace on my own, but I was slowing down.

Total Time: 2:24:34
Pace: 7:14/mile
Distance: 20 miles

Miles 1-5: 7:07/mile
Miles 6-10: 7:00/mile
Miles 11-15: 7:10/mile
Miles 16-20: 7:36/mile

Mile 18 was slower because the uphill was pretty steep. Mile 20 was slower too because I was finishing up and tried to relax. All other miles were under 7:30 and most were under 7:10.

What a fast day. Am I ready for SLC Marathon. I sure hope so. I will try to not run super fast miles at the start. The first mile will be a little faster and I should feel stronger because of the taper. Lots more training to still do and I will keep at it. I have another long for the next few weeks.

My 2009 Totals

My 2009 Totals (Swim, Bike, Run)

January
Swim: 0 meters (0 miles)
Bike: 65.68 miles
Run: 133.51 miles

February
Swim: 4,600 meters (3.07 miles)
Bike: 24.28 miles
Run: 210.62 miles
March
Swim: 6,000 meters (4.0 miles)
Bike: 0 miles
Run: 229.31 miles

April
Swim: 4,700 meters (3.13 miles)
Bike: 0 miles
Run: 126.93 miles

May
Swim: 0 meters (0 miles)
Bike: 0 miles
Run: 116.18 miles

June
Swim: 3,300 meters (2.2 miles)
Bike: 59.17 miles
Run: 150.78 miles

July
Swim: 4,400 meters (1.73 miles)
Bike: 145.88 miles
Run: 123.17 miles

August
Swim: 5,100 meters (3.4 miles)
Bike: 173.32 miles
Run: 138.60 miles

September
Swim: 3,075 meters (2.05 miles)
Bike: 187.18 miles
Run: 156.10 miles

October
Swim: 0 meters (0 miles)
Bike: 0 miles
Run: 160.23 miles

November
Swim: 0 meters (0 miles)
Bike: 0 miles
Run: 234.12 miles

December (As of 12/30/2009)
Swim: 0 meters (0 miles)
Bike: 0 miles
Run: 277.18 miles

Total (As of 12/30/2009)
Swim: 31,175 meters (20.78 miles)
Bike: 655.51 miles
Run: 2,056.73 miles