Sunday Long Run No.11

Today's plan calls for a Long Run.

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Long Run. Dist: (10.64)mi. Pace-avg: (17:13). Speed-avg: (3.5)mph. Speed-max: (6.0)mph. Burned: (1165) Calories. Running lights.

Plan: Run (13)mi. @ a (16:55) pace, for a total of (3:40:00)hrs.
Actual: Jog/walked (9.64)mi. @ a (17:18) avg pace, bracketed by a (1)mi. warm-up walk, and a (0.0)mi. cool-down walk.
Fuel: Pre-run: PowerBar Energy Gel (Strawberry-Banana); Mid-run: Honey Stinger Stinger Waffle (Honey); Post-run: PowerBar Energy Blasts (Strawberry Banana).

Tonight's Long Run went OK, but was incomplete due to a persistent ache in my left foot between my 3rd and 4th toes at the ball of my foot. I'm not sure what caused this to begin with, but this was only my second training run using my new Brooks running shoes. Maybe my shoes need a little more break-in time, or maybe I was overcompensating in some way by pushing off with my left foot more than in the past. Tonight the pain did not begin till I was well into the return leg of my run, so I got some good mileage out of the run. This intermittent pain sometimes occurs when I walk around the house barefoot too much. In any event, I did not want to just suck it up and power through the pain: It is only (6) weeks till the Las Vegas Half Marathon and I do not want to create more injuries before-hand.

Do you think the cars will see me?

I hope the drivers can see me on the road.

I was able to jog continuously for the first (6.03)mi. of tonight's run, then I walked about (0.22)mi., then resumed jogging for another (1.76)mi. before I had to stop and just walk the rest of the way. I wore my new Nike Element Long Sleeve running shirt with the tall collar and was suitably impressed: It kept me warm enough and cool enough at the same time; I did not overheat and oversweat. I brought along my new Brooks night running shell just in case it cooled off too much by the river, but it did not. It was very handy to have it folded up in its storage pocket and carrying it in an add-on pouch on my running belt. It's almost time to change the batteries again in my running lights. I was able to run long stretches in the park without the lights to conserve battery life, but some sections were too dark without the lights. No moon was out tonight, but there were several cyclists on my return leg that had multiple high power LED lights on their bikes and helmets. It was nice to see other people taking safety seriously.

-Lancer!!

Long Run No.9

2011-09-04, Sunday

After blowing off the rest of my scheduled runs this week, it is now time to execute my Long Run, anyway.

DC Bike Path/Surface streets: 1/2 Marathon Training, Long Run. Dist: (13.09)mi. Pace-avg: (17:09). Speed-avg: (3.5)mph. Speed-max: (5.9)mph. Burned: (1440) Calories. Running lights.

Plan: Run (11) mi. @ a (17:22) pace, for a total time of (3:11:07) hrs.
Actual: Jog/Walk (11) mi. @ a (16:58) avg. pace for a total time of (3:06:34.89)hrs.
Fuel: Pre-run: GU Roctane (Vanilla-Orange); Mid-run: Sport Beans (Berry); Post-run: PowerBar Energy Blasts (Strawberry-Banana).

I have been a little down in the dumps all week, possibly because I have not been running, or exercising at all, this week. Clearly, this has been a mistake. Tonight, while getting prepped and dressed for my run I was actually getting pretty excited about it. Perhaps I should just make sure I dress for my run, even when I don't feel like it, to make sure I stay motivated to get out and do it.

Tonight's run went quite well: There was no one else on the trail in the park tonight, so that was quite nice. The batteries in my running lights need to be changed already (too many night runs). I did turn off the lights during long sections of the path tonight, and there was still enough light to see the trail, even with no moon out. I was thinking of running on surface streets around the perimeter of the park (all the way out and back), but decided that with the Labor Day weekend there will definitely be too many inebriated knuckleheads out on the roads behind the wheel, and running in the park poses no danger of being run-down by said knuckleheads (at least, so far). Besides, running on the streets means breathing far too much exhaust from passing cars, and that would just suck; so fie on that.

I read this article earlier in the week on active.com, which mentioned "sugar belly" from consuming too much sugar in ones hydration and fuelingand was glad I was not overdoing the sugar in my "training diet": for hydration on my runs I stick to straight filtered water, although my fuel definitely has sugar in it.

Weekly Mileage: Planned: (23) mi. Actual: (13.09)mi.
Shortfall: (9.91) mi.

Post-run Weight: (197.8) lbs.

-Lancer!!

Thursday Night Speedwork No.3

Went out for a Speedwork training session tonight.

DC Bike Path/Surface Streets: 1/2 Marathon Training, Speedwork. Dist: (7.52)mi. Pace-avg: (16:11). Speed-avg: (3.7)mph. Speed-max: (5.7)mph. Burned: (839) Calories.

Plan: Run (3x) (1600) meter intervals with (800) meter recovery jogs in-between each interval.
Actual: Jog/Fastwalk (4x) (1600) meter intervals @ a (14:49) pace, with (800) meter recovery jogs in-between. Bracketed by (1) mi. warm-up and (1) mi. cool-down walks. Oops.
Fuel: Pre-run: Late lunch; Mid-run: PowerBar Energy Blasts, Strawberry-Banana; Post-run: Banana-Chocolate-Honey Smoothie, then Dinner!

So, I made a mistake and actually jogged (1) mile more than I was supposed to. That's what happens when I avoid the computer before my run. Although, it might not be a bad idea to actually print out the training plans like other people do, so I don't have to turn on the computer. I already had the workout loaded on my Garmin Tuesday night, so that would not have been a problem. I just wanted to avoid distractions like FB, and others. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger, right? I must be getting stronger, since I am clearly not dead; not even Undead. Although I was a bit woozy.

During my cool-down walk home I was trying to attach my running lights to my fuel-belt and ended up dropping one of them. I wanted to keep my hands free so I could finish off the remaining Energy Chews. Well, the light went out as soon as it hit the ground. Since it landed on the power button I figured,"No problem." I pick it up and click the button a couple of times, no light. "Great," I thought, "already broken." I clipped it to my belt, finished off the 'Chews, then took a look at it. I was able to pop open the battery compartment and sure enough, the batteries had dislodged when I dropped the unit. I snapped the batteries back into place, tested the light (it worked) then snapped the battery compartment closed. I was very happy I didn't break it.

Tomorrow's training run is a mere (2) mi. Easy Run. I'll try not to overdo it.

-Lancer!!