Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Long Run before Boston

Do I dare say it? Do I dare run it? I had a 24 mile run planned for today. I kept thinking, should I even be running today? A hard race yesterday and I want to run how many miles.


Nicole and I went to church early today so I could get an earlier start on my run. We got back home just before 11am. I got all my stuff ready and was out the door by about 11:25. I really wanted to get out a little sooner, but what can you do?

The first mile was a little tough. I wasn't quite limping, but I felt slightly awkward. The first mile is at small incline, so it's never the best mile. Mile 2 is downhill so I can cruise and work on my pace. Most of my long runs are at Cherry Creek State Park. Today was an extra challenge for several reasons. First, I had to get the mileage in so I took extra loops and paths around the park. Second, my brother David met me at mile 19. I needed a pit stop, so I called David a few days before and asked if he would be interested.

I had everything mapped out and I was supposed to meet David at mile 18. I was running behind schedule and was figuring I was going to run 18 miles in 2 hours. What was I thinking? I wasn't planning on running that fast. Around mile 13 I lost my glove. I took my glove off so I could get a gel. I put the glove under my armpit and the glove someone ran away. I realized I lost my glove, so I ran back to find it. I kept running and running in the wrong direction. I tried hard to find my glove, and never did. I asked a walker along the path if she seen it? She said she mostly looks down and didn't see it.

Shortly before I spoke with the walker, I speedy girl flew by. She was at warp speed and headed in the direction I was supposed to be going. The chase was on when I turned back around. I tried catching her. Almost thought she might have my glove...yeah right. I came close, but never did. She ended up turning around and we waved at each other. She didn't have my glove. Darn.

I was getting close to where David and I were supposed to meet. I pulled out my cell phone and let him know that I was coming by shortly. I told him less than 15 minutes and I will be there. Down hill most the way. My pit stop was just after mile 19. David brought me some water. I mixed my GU20 packet into my water bottle and I was good to go.

Five miles left and David was running with me. I didn't want to slow down my pace, but I didn't want to wear David out. The pace was still pretty fast, but David managed...until we hit a big hill. He struggled a little, but we met each other at the stoplight. I was extremely impressed with his running and pumped that I had some company. 2 more miles and we were home. The pace slowed down a little. No worries because the last 2 miles were supposed to be a cool down.

We finished and the run was over. We rested a little bit, and I took David back to our meeting spot. I drove back home looking forward to a nice long nap. Ariel woke up shortly after my shower...no nap for Daddy. We went out shopping for a few things. I was at a snails pace. Nicole even called me Grandpa.

The day after was pretty rough. I decided I was going to take the day off and swim instead. Great idea. Hopefully the days to come my legs will recover.

Here were my mile splits:
Miles 1-10: 8:21, 7:42, 7:35, 7:29, 7:43, 7:39, 7:53, 7:45, 7:55, 7:40
Miles 11-20: 7:32, 7:43, 7:50, 7:44, 7:30, 7:34, 7:28, 7:42, 8:09, 8:22
Miles 21-24: 7:43, 8:01, 8:11, 8:05

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Way to go Eric. Glad you had a good long run. How is the tibialis and gastroc/soleus?

I ran around the park once for 2 miles. See you at the Rock and Roll Denver.

Cousin Brian

Andy said...

Sweet! Nice split times... It is always good to have that running partner from time to time, especially on long runs. A friend of mine that recently moved back to Nashville, I would be his "David" and meet him for the last 6-9 miles of his runs. I would bring some sort of gel and water/Accelerade and it would also provide some company. Glad everything seems to be going well with your training!