Sunday, April 22, 2007
The Lonely Mountain
Today's Run: 11.3m
Run Time: 2:21:13 (12:41 minutes per mile on average)
Total Miles to Date: 533.8
Thoughts on the Run:
I'd like to think the mountain was lonely and missed me. But perhaps that's going a little far. Does it really care if I'm there to brave the 800 foot bluff? I'm confident there was a great showing today ... the weather was fantastic and there probably were dozens, if not hundreds, of tourists and locales enjoying the weather and hiking up and down the various trails of Kennesaw. But me? I didn't make it.
This week wasn't the best week. After a great hill workout, I missed my other two workouts. And it wasn't due to injury, although perhaps the fact I missed them was not all bad, and gave me some extra room to heal. Just a lot going on, busy schedule, etc, so the excuses crept in and the runs crept out.
Don't get me wrong ... I'm still hungry, but obviously I need to kick it up a notch and make it "willing to run 8 miles in the middle of the night" hungry instead of just writing it off. But, next week is a new week and new opportunity.
I DID run today. The reason I didn't go to the mountain was because my daughter had a great ceremony at church today that I wouldn't miss, and she wanted to spend some time at the park. So, I needed to cut out the commute time, run something that I could pace myself faster than a 15-minute mile and actually have some energy to play. I wasn't able to hit the run until afternoon which is why Kennesaw was out of the question ... it would be 45 minutes of drive time plus 5 hours on the mountain to reach my goal of 20.
Instead, I did something like this:
Just click it for the full-sized version.
As you can tell, it was only half of the promised distance. So what gives?
Well, first, a few NICE things about the run. I got to run my neighborhood which is notoriously hilly. It's no 800-foot climb in the first mile, but has it's share. The other thing was that it was hot. The race report shows 77 but I know it was in the mid 80s on parts. That was good because I need the experience for the run running up as it is smack in the middle of May when it will be HOT.
I loaded up my pack with 4 gels, 4 sodium pills, then filled the hydration pack with 60 ounces of fluid, naively thinking this would last me the full run. I had my wife and daughter drive me out to Canton Highway (5) and drop me off. Then I was on my way.
The first 5 miles went surprisingly well. I felt great. Despite the heat, I was taking plenty of fluid every 15 minutes or so and just nailed the miles as if they were nothing but an easy warm-up. 20 miles didn't seem so bad after all. The second 5 miles were more hilly and the sun was hotter, so it slowed me down. Didn't take me out, however. I did start to swell quite a bit and had some stomach pains. I was taking an S-cap and gel shot every hour and drinking lots of fluid so now I'm still confused whether I was drinking TOO much or NOT enough and if the salt was too little or overkill. I'll figure it out ... just when I had it right for the cold, I have to switch it for the heat. I suspect it was "not enough" due to the large salt stains on my pack and shirt.
I hammered out 10 miles and felt like, yes, this is a little more slow but I can definitely do 20. The plan was to make a huge loop, then come back onto Towne Lake Parkway that runs past our park, and call my ladies when I reached the park.
As I came out to start the big (final) loop, however, my friend from last week hit. It was on almost the same section of road so now I suspect the combination of running with shoes that have 500 miles under their belt and the camber of the road are what the problem is ... anyway, I got the same pain in my ankle and foot.
I didn't even think twice about trying to push it. I just stopped right there, started walking, and called my wife. "Surprise! Let's do the park sooner." She showed up with a fresh shirt and shoes. We went to the park and had a blast ... I know I had it in me to do another 10 because I had plenty of energy, just couldn't walk well on my foot. So, more ice tonight!
Afterwards we came home and I emptied out my pack. Guess what? I was down to only about 6 ounces of fluid left. So it would have been a tough 10 miles with no fluids ... next time I'll be prepared. I think I was drinking the right amount because a post-run weigh-in had me right the same weight as when I started (210 ... seems I've hit a plateau and maintained for two weeks ... that's the fun of the "tens" ... seems like most people, myself included, erect a psychological barrier over 200, 210, 220, etc ... 200 is a big one too but I intend to be there soon).
So ... great run considering, now my foot hurts so I'm glad I didn't push it.
I've had a blast this week creating and posting up extra videos to the site (there is a new category in the articles section). I think I'll start recording a few new audios or perhaps even videos to pair with some articles, etc.
Now it's time for a nice dinner, bath, and some more family time!
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Run Time: 2:21:13 (12:41 minutes per mile on average)
Total Miles to Date: 533.8
Thoughts on the Run:
I'd like to think the mountain was lonely and missed me. But perhaps that's going a little far. Does it really care if I'm there to brave the 800 foot bluff? I'm confident there was a great showing today ... the weather was fantastic and there probably were dozens, if not hundreds, of tourists and locales enjoying the weather and hiking up and down the various trails of Kennesaw. But me? I didn't make it.
This week wasn't the best week. After a great hill workout, I missed my other two workouts. And it wasn't due to injury, although perhaps the fact I missed them was not all bad, and gave me some extra room to heal. Just a lot going on, busy schedule, etc, so the excuses crept in and the runs crept out.
Don't get me wrong ... I'm still hungry, but obviously I need to kick it up a notch and make it "willing to run 8 miles in the middle of the night" hungry instead of just writing it off. But, next week is a new week and new opportunity.
I DID run today. The reason I didn't go to the mountain was because my daughter had a great ceremony at church today that I wouldn't miss, and she wanted to spend some time at the park. So, I needed to cut out the commute time, run something that I could pace myself faster than a 15-minute mile and actually have some energy to play. I wasn't able to hit the run until afternoon which is why Kennesaw was out of the question ... it would be 45 minutes of drive time plus 5 hours on the mountain to reach my goal of 20.
Instead, I did something like this:
Just click it for the full-sized version.
As you can tell, it was only half of the promised distance. So what gives?
Well, first, a few NICE things about the run. I got to run my neighborhood which is notoriously hilly. It's no 800-foot climb in the first mile, but has it's share. The other thing was that it was hot. The race report shows 77 but I know it was in the mid 80s on parts. That was good because I need the experience for the run running up as it is smack in the middle of May when it will be HOT.
I loaded up my pack with 4 gels, 4 sodium pills, then filled the hydration pack with 60 ounces of fluid, naively thinking this would last me the full run. I had my wife and daughter drive me out to Canton Highway (5) and drop me off. Then I was on my way.
The first 5 miles went surprisingly well. I felt great. Despite the heat, I was taking plenty of fluid every 15 minutes or so and just nailed the miles as if they were nothing but an easy warm-up. 20 miles didn't seem so bad after all. The second 5 miles were more hilly and the sun was hotter, so it slowed me down. Didn't take me out, however. I did start to swell quite a bit and had some stomach pains. I was taking an S-cap and gel shot every hour and drinking lots of fluid so now I'm still confused whether I was drinking TOO much or NOT enough and if the salt was too little or overkill. I'll figure it out ... just when I had it right for the cold, I have to switch it for the heat. I suspect it was "not enough" due to the large salt stains on my pack and shirt.
I hammered out 10 miles and felt like, yes, this is a little more slow but I can definitely do 20. The plan was to make a huge loop, then come back onto Towne Lake Parkway that runs past our park, and call my ladies when I reached the park.
As I came out to start the big (final) loop, however, my friend from last week hit. It was on almost the same section of road so now I suspect the combination of running with shoes that have 500 miles under their belt and the camber of the road are what the problem is ... anyway, I got the same pain in my ankle and foot.
I didn't even think twice about trying to push it. I just stopped right there, started walking, and called my wife. "Surprise! Let's do the park sooner." She showed up with a fresh shirt and shoes. We went to the park and had a blast ... I know I had it in me to do another 10 because I had plenty of energy, just couldn't walk well on my foot. So, more ice tonight!
Afterwards we came home and I emptied out my pack. Guess what? I was down to only about 6 ounces of fluid left. So it would have been a tough 10 miles with no fluids ... next time I'll be prepared. I think I was drinking the right amount because a post-run weigh-in had me right the same weight as when I started (210 ... seems I've hit a plateau and maintained for two weeks ... that's the fun of the "tens" ... seems like most people, myself included, erect a psychological barrier over 200, 210, 220, etc ... 200 is a big one too but I intend to be there soon).
So ... great run considering, now my foot hurts so I'm glad I didn't push it.
I've had a blast this week creating and posting up extra videos to the site (there is a new category in the articles section). I think I'll start recording a few new audios or perhaps even videos to pair with some articles, etc.
Now it's time for a nice dinner, bath, and some more family time!
Warmly,
Jeremy Likness
Labels: long run
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