Saturday's Run: A Reminder that the Earth is Still Spinning...Fast

My hope Friday night as I went to bed was that the wind would calm overnight. I think the opposite was the case. I knew I was in trouble Saturday morning when I awoke and I could hear the wind chimes dinging and our neighbor's flag pole clanging in their front yard.

I arrived at Veteran's Park to learn that no one else in my pace group was running, so I started down the trail on the east side of the river alone. Twenty-two miles later, I was running on the same side of the river (different direction) alone. It was a tough run.

There was construction all over the place. I hit my first orange fence around 9 miles in, just past Turkey Mountain and the water treatment plant. I could see that there actually was nothing going on, at least not within the visible distance, so I ran around the fence and continued on the path. A couple more open orange fences later and I finally came upon a work crew. One guy was sitting in a city truck on the running path. One guy was using a power digger, and three guys were standing off to the side. The entire operation affected less than 50 yards of the area, yet roughly a mile of the path was closed. I was able to run through the grass and easily avoid the workers. One more orange fence and I was through the construction area.

As I approached 11 miles, I saw signs up around the pedestrian bridge warning that the "bike path" was closed. I reasoned that I was on the running path, not the bike path, and I went ahead and crossed the bridge. The wind was literally blowing me from side to side, but the bridge was still very much passable.

I soon found myself at the end of the charted path, so I had to start creating my own path in order to hit 22 miles. I circled north and west on Southwest Blvd, back to the west side of the river and followed the path all of the way down the the orange construction fence that I had exited roughly an hour previous. I decided not to cross it again, even though it meant that I would have to make up 2 miles somewhere else. I turned around and headed back north.

I hit the pedestrian bridge again about 18 miles in. I began feeling very fatigued--much more fatigued than I had felt at the same point in my 20-mile run two weeks previous. I am hoping/assuming that the early fatigue was due to running, at this point, 8 miles directly into the northern wind.

As I crossed the bridge, again, being blown all over the place, I debated on whether to turn left or right at the end of the bridge. Right would mean adding an extra mile south (and my 9th mile directly into the wind) and back in order to hit 22 miles. Left meant heading home early and hitting only about 20 miles for the day. I decided to go right, and as I did, my mind flashed to Anchorman, when Ron Burgundy jumped into the bears' den at the San Diego Zoo: I immediately regretted this decision. My feet were hurting (well past due for new shoes), and I had absolutely no energy left. I made it down to 41st and turned around. At this point, I made a quick call to my wife for some company and encouragement on this last stretch. After we hung up, I ran and walked the rest of the way to my car.

Extrapolated, I would not have made a full 26.2 in under 4 hours, a fact that concerned me very much in light of the work I have invested in this series of training. My hope is that it will not be as windy in OKC, but the truth is, it likely will be, and perhaps even worse.

I did happen to see one of the most awesome sights I've ever seen on a long run: a huge bald eagle flew almost directly overhead when I was running past the base of Turkey Mountain. It had a pretty large fish in its talons. As far as I can remember, it's the first time I've seen a bald eagle like that, so close, in its natural habitat. I'm no nature guy, but it really was an amazing sight.

This coming Saturday, for the 24-mile run, my plan is to start out between 8:20-8:30 and simply sustain that pace as long as I possibly can. No 8-minute miles. Just a constant, steady, sustainable pace.

Still no stats--hopefully our computer will be fixed on Wednesday.

Note to Self: There are No Guarantees on Race Day

This morning's 6-miler in wind and rain reminded me that there are no guarantees with regard to conditions on race day. It reminded me about OKC last year, my first marathon. Amazing that I ran another one after those conditions. This morning, as I was running north directly into the wind and rain, I kept thinking to myself, "it could very well be like this in OKC." (Perhaps even worse!) I don't mind running in the rain--it's actually kind of nice. But 26.2 miles with gusts of wind pelting me in the face with cold rain drops? I think that could get old. It got me thinking about my friends in the Runner's World group who have run 20, 30, 40+ marathons. In light of the sheer number of marathons these runners have taken part in, probability would dictate that they have had some windy, rainy races. Between living in Oklahoma and signing up for races in March and April, it's bound to happen to me too.

No stats today. My home computer is down. Six miles, 8.01 m/m avg. pace.

Running Unfettered

I felt like I had shed several pounds for my 8-miler this morning. A dead battery in my Garmin meant it would be staying home, along with its cousin, the heart rate monitor. I also left my headlight at home, as I knew the Spring sun would be shining before I finished my run. And the mild temps this morning called for shorts instead of tights.

Next iteration: a commando run in short sleeves. (Don't worry, the shedding stops there.)

Revisiting the Creek Headed East

Ever since I strained my groin muscle toward the end of last year, I have, consciously or not, stayed away from the Creek Turnpike Trail headed east beginning at Garnett. (This is the path I was on when the strain occurred.) For whatever reason, I decided to run there this morning. It went well--no strains to speak of. The layout and location of hills gave me a good workout--the furlough made my body "forget" this section of the path.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 658 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 03/18/10 Up/Downhill: [+324/-324] Time: 07:51 AM Difficulty: 2.7 / 5.0 Weather: Overcast 47 F temp; 68% humidity 47 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 6.01 miles Time: 0:47:43 Speed: 7.6 mph Pace: 7' 56 /mi Heart Rate: 164 bpm (Avg) Calories: 788 236 bpm (Peak) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 02 +0' 06 7.5 -0.1 +7 ft 2 8' 09 +0' 13 7.4 -0.2 +50 ft 3 8' 03 +0' 07 7.5 -0.1 -13 ft 4 7' 54 -0' 02 7.6 +0.0 +13 ft 5 7' 44 -0' 12 7.8 +0.2 -50 ft 6 7' 43 -0' 13 7.8 +0.2 -7 ft Versus average of 7' 56 min/mile

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Breaking 8

Personal best 6-mile.
(I know it's something the rest of my running group does on a regular basis.)

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 647 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: -7 ft Date: 03/15/10 Up/Downhill: [+334/-341] Time: 11:43 AM Difficulty: 2.8 / 5.0 Weather: A Few Clouds 56 F temp; 59% humidity 56 F heat index; winds N 12 Performance Distance: 6.00 miles Time: 0:47:50 Speed: 7.5 mph Pace: 7' 58 /mi Calories: 784 Map Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 7' 57 -0' 01 7.5 +0.0 0 ft 2 8' 03 +0' 05 7.5 -0.1 -49 ft 3 8' 03 +0' 05 7.4 -0.1 0 ft 4 7' 40 -0' 18 7.8 +0.3 +3 ft 5 8' 10 +0' 12 7.3 -0.2 +52 ft 6 7' 51 -0' 07 7.6 +0.1 -14 ft Versus average of 7' 58 min/mile

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An Uphill End to 20 Miles

Saturday's 20 mile run was a little lonely. I had intended to run some early miles with Dave and anyone else from the Ethiopian Elites who was interested, but ended up missing them by about 5 minutes--my own fault, I was late. I decided that since I was there, I would go ahead and make good use of my time, so I started out on what ended up being a 7-mile modified Route 66 route that took me up 15th, across through the Woodward Park area, and back to Veterans Park on the Midland Valley Trail. It was a nice route--just wish the weather had been a little nicer. I started getting some cold drizzle about 5 miles in, and it remained cloudy for much of the morning.

After completing this loop, I met up with Dave and the group to run 3 miles from Veteran's Park to Runner's World. Since I was not running the St. Patrick's Day 5K, I turned around and headed back to the Park for 13 miles. Got to see some familiar faces once I got there. Enjoyed saying hello to Robb, Dawn, and Stephanie.

For my last 7 miles, I decided to hit Riverside. Typically, this path would not be my preference, but I knew it well, and knew well how to get pretty close to 7 miles. I headed north and crossed to the west side of the river on Southwest. I then ran south past the pedestrian bridge for about half a mile, turned around, and crossed the bridge to the Midland Valley trail, which I followed to 15th. From there, I ran back to Veteran's Park, still lacking about 8/10 of a mile. I ran on the sidewalk on the east side of Riverside Drive. As I approached Denver, I knew what was coming. I was in my 19th mile, and for some strange reason, I went ahead and turned northeast on Denver and hit that ridiculous hill. By the time I made it to the top to turn around, I was practically walking. I regained some strength on the way back down and was feeling good knowing that I could have tacked on an additional 6 miles without crashing.

One discipline this long run helped me with was that of focusing on pace over a long period of time rather than time or distance. Looking at time and distance that late in a long run can become a little discouraging for me, so I decided to focus instead on maintaining pace, and not only did it relieve the discouragement, but I think it helped me to run faster, as I was only thinking about keeping my current pace under 9. Maintaining that sub-9 minute pace is what is going to enable me to cross the line in OKC in under 4 hours. It was a good lesson.

I have no idea what happened at mile 11.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 658 ft Location: Tulsa, OK Elev. Gain: +3 ft Date: 03/13/10 Up/Downhill: [+859/-856] Time: 06:41 AM Difficulty: 3.9 / 5.0 Weather: Overcast 45 F temp; 76% humidity 45 F heat index; winds NW 6 Performance Distance: 20.08 miles Time: 2:53:49 Speed: 6.9 mph Pace: 8' 39 /mi Calories: 2619 Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 52 +0' 13 6.8 -0.2 +76 ft 2 8' 51 +0' 12 6.8 -0.2 -9 ft 3 8' 40 +0' 01 6.9 -0.0 +20 ft 4 8' 36 -0' 03 7.0 +0.0 -43 ft 5 8' 29 -0' 10 7.1 +0.1 -50 ft 6 8' 34 -0' 05 7.0 +0.1 +23 ft 7 8' 45 +0' 06 6.8 -0.1 -3 ft 8 8' 46 +0' 07 6.8 -0.1 -3 ft 9 8' 01 -0' 38 7.5 +0.5 -13 ft 10 7' 48 -0' 51 7.7 +0.8 -6 ft 11 10' 04 +1' 25 6.0 -1.0 +9 ft 12 8' 27 -0' 12 7.1 +0.2 -13 ft 13 8' 42 +0' 03 6.9 -0.0 +33 ft 14 8' 32 -0' 07 7.0 +0.1 -40 ft 15 8' 38 -0' 01 6.9 +0.0 +13 ft 16 8' 30 -0' 09 7.0 +0.1 -10 ft 17 8' 38 -0' 01 6.9 +0.0 -6 ft 18 9' 02 +0' 23 6.6 -0.3 +29 ft 19 8' 59 +0' 20 6.7 -0.3 -3 ft 20 9' 10 +0' 31 6.5 -0.4 -4 ft end 9' 17 +0' 38 6.5 -0.5 +3 ft Versus average of 8' 39 min/mile

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Where is the Garmin pace level entitled "trudge"?

This morning, I felt like I was wearing full leg casts as I started out on a surprisingly cold, Wednesday-morning 8-miler. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Monday night's 11.5 mile slog was relatively intense (although my pace does not indicate it), and my legs were still a little stiff this morning from the hilly outing (and the horrible sleep I got that night as a result).

I began my run this morning at a pace I can only describe as a "trudge." I headed west on the Creek, starting at Garnett, and when I hit the "Sidewalk Closed" sign at Mingo, I seriously considered just turning around and heading back to my car. Knowing that the sign was most likely there because construction workers had forgotten to remove it, and knowing that weary runs are some of the most important runs to embrace, I trudged on. Indeed, the Trail was completely intact and free of any impediments. (Someday, I will rail about how the Creek Turnpike Trail is the red-headed stepchild of Tulsa's civic fitness efforts, but not today.) One good thing about this morning's run: every mile except one (the hill at Sheridan at mile 4) was a little faster than the previous mile. My initial average pace was much slower than 8:30 min./mile, but by the end of the run, I was able to salvage things and come in barely under that bar. I keep telling myself that really, all I need to do is keep it at or under 9 minutes in order to hit my goal at my next marathon. However, it would be nice to soundly beat 4 hours.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 695 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 03/03/10 Up/Downhill: [+534/-534] Time: 05:45 AM Difficulty: 4.2 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 25 F temp; 84% humidity 25 F heat index; winds Calm Performance Distance: 8.00 miles Time: 1:07:49 Speed: 7.1 mph Pace: 8' 29 /mi Heart Rate: 158 bpm (Avg) Calories: 1039 197 bpm (Peak) Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 45 +0' 16 6.8 -0.2 +42 ft 2 8' 37 +0' 08 7.0 -0.1 +52 ft 3 8' 31 +0' 02 7.0 -0.0 -52 ft 4 8' 44 +0' 15 6.9 -0.2 +62 ft 5 8' 24 -0' 05 7.1 +0.1 -59 ft 6 8' 22 -0' 07 7.2 +0.1 +49 ft 7 8' 21 -0' 08 7.2 +0.1 -56 ft end 8' 11 -0' 18 7.3 +0.3 -40 ft Versus average of 8' 29 min/mile

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108 Hours Later

Having not run since last Thursday morning, I was ready for a run of decent distance and effort. I missed Saturday's 20-miler after having stayed out too late the night before (best friend's 40th birthday), and knowing that I would not have enough time to get in any more than 8 miles before work on Monday morning, I decided to wait until Monday evening to run. This is the longest break I have taken from running since my recovery week following the Las Vegas Rock n' Roll marathon, and I was getting antsy.

My goal was to run 14 miles on my own on the Creek Turnpike Trail headed east starting at 145th. This section is particularly hilly. I headed out around 8:30ish, just in time to avoid being subjected to the DVR'ed final episode of The Bachelor that was being aired at the Posey residence.

I was tired, but started out at a decent pace. Despite the hills, I was feeling good all of the way to my hitherto uncharted territory a mile east of County Line, a path which took me all of the way to the NSU-BA campus. Once I hit NSU, the Trail ended. I looked down, and I had only run about 5 1/2 miles. I looped wide around the campus and decided to head back.

My overall pace was not as quick as I'd hoped, but I was well-winded and a little worn out, so I decided to head back to the car at 11.5 miles. Not really the distance I was looking for, but it did the trick.

Apparently my brain mistakenly thought that it was a morning run rather than an evening run, as I could not fall asleep for hours last night. Finally, after a middle-of-the-night rerun of Community, I dozed off for maybe 4-5 hours of less than restful sleep.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 663 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: -4 ft Date: 03/01/10 Up/Downhill: [+734/-738] Time: 08:34 PM Difficulty: 4.0 / 5.0 Weather: Fair 40 F temp; 59% humidity 40 F heat index; winds N 9 Performance Distance: 11.55 miles Time: 1:37:12 Speed: 7.1 mph Pace: 8' 25 /mi Calories: 1499 Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 07 -0' 18 7.4 +0.3 +10 ft 2 8' 26 +0' 01 7.1 -0.0 -20 ft 3 8' 21 -0' 04 7.2 +0.1 -39 ft 4 8' 30 +0' 05 7.0 -0.1 +43 ft 5 8' 24 -0' 01 7.1 +0.0 -10 ft 6 8' 37 +0' 12 7.0 -0.2 +17 ft 7 8' 27 +0' 02 7.1 -0.0 -50 ft 8 8' 13 -0' 12 7.3 +0.2 -6 ft 9 8' 17 -0' 08 7.2 +0.1 +19 ft 10 8' 41 +0' 16 6.9 -0.2 +52 ft 11 8' 24 -0' 01 7.1 +0.0 -17 ft end 8' 29 +0' 04 7.1 -0.1 -3 ft Versus average of 8' 25 min/mile

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