Tuesday Night Easy Run

Headed out for my Easy Run tonight after dark.

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Easy Run. Dist: (5.70) mi. Pace-avg: (16:21). Speed-avg: (3.7)mph. Speed-max: (5.1)mph. Burned: (610) Calories.

Plan: Run (3) mi. @ a (17:27) pace for a total time of (52:23) mins.
Actual: Jog (3) mi. @ a (14:29) pace for a total time of (43:26.06) mins. Bracketed by a (1) mi. warm-up walk, and a (1.7) mi. cool-down walk.
Fuel: Pre-run: a strawberry yogurt and some Pringles Original about (2) hours beforehand; Mid-run: Gu Roctane Orange-Vanilla; Post-run: Dinner!

So I went out tonight after dark, partly because I was being lazy, and partly because the temps were in the high nineties. Also, I really wanted to try out my running lights with fresh batteries. As it happens the alkaline Duracell batteries I installed in the lights after Sunday's Long Run made the lights enormously brighter than with those Carbon-Zinc batteries. Those batteries that were shipped with the lights may have been running down while sitting on the shelf, and reading a Wikipedia article about them indicates they do not have a very long shelf life.

Now that I have the new batteries in, and completed an all after-dark run, I can say that the KnuckleLights(tm) live up to the advertising more than I had previously expected. It almost feels like you are running in a larger pool of light. I was even able to see more than five (5) feet in front of me when I pointed the lights down the path. I'm not sure I could even see that far with the previous batteries. I definitely feel safer running with brighter lights at night.

Tonight I was able to jog continuously for three (3) full miles. It felt good to finally make it that far without having to walk during the "Jog" phase. The splits in TC show:

Mile (1): (14:07)
Mile (2): (14:30)
Mile (3): (14:48)

I don't really know what it means yet, but that's OK.

Anyway, better stretch out and eat.

-Lancer!!

Long Run Sunday No.7

Went out for my Long Run today.

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Long Run. Dist: (12.38)mi. Pace-avg: (17:00). Speed-avg: (3.5)mph. Speed-max: (6.2)mph. Burned: (1358) Calories.

Plan: Run (10) mi. @ (17:33) pace, for a total time of (2:55:34) hrs.
Actual: Jog/Walk (10) mi. @ (16:49) avg pace, for a total time of (2:48:06.62) hrs. Bracketed by (1) mile warm-up and (1) mile cool-down walks.
Fuel: Pre-run: (2x) PowerBar ProteinPlus (Reduced Sugar) Bars (Chocolate Peanut Butter); Mid-run: (1x) pack of Sport Beans (Grape), had half the pack at around (3.5) miles in, then the rest on the return leg around mile (6) or (7); Post-run: Banana-Chocolate-Strawberry-Honey Smoothie (homemade), then dinner of leftover pizza and salad.

Finally got in my Long Run, even though it was later in the day than originally planned. It went pretty well overall, though my running lights crapped out on the return leg. Pretty sure it is the batteries, but I will have to check that out later.

OK. I just replaced the batteries that shipped with my KnuckleLights(tm), Panasonic Carbon-Zinc AAA batteries, with some good old-fashioned Duracell Coppertop AAA batteries. I tested them in the dark backyard and the light appears to be even brighter than with the Panasonic batteries. SWEET! Now I am really looking forward to using these on my next after dark run. I hope there will be even more depth of field visibility when jogging over uneven blacktop, et al.

While I was still on the return leg of my training run I was ambivalent about trying to jog in the dark, even though I had my SureFire with me. Once I got past the fenced off orchard and onto flatter ground I decided to give it a try. Dark as it was I was still able to see the dashes on the blacktop. There was plenty of ambient light pollution for some visibility, even without the running lights. I did use my SureFire for illumination from time to time, but not quite as often as in the past.

I met some goals today: I was able to jog continuously for (30) minutes or more on two parts of this evenings run. On the outbound leg I "jogged" [fast-walked, speed-wise, but it felt more like jogging] for (2.42) miles over (37) min. @ about a (15:33) pace. And on the return leg  I "jogged" (2.04) miles over (31) min. @ about a (15:33) pace. Both times I was trying to maintain the pace for a full (3) miles, but fell short.

I didn't eat much today before my run. For breakfast I had (2) slices of wheat toast with creamy peanut-butter, and two (2) mugs of tea with honey. I drank a good amount of water during the afternoon. Then I had the (2) PowerBars about one hour before my run. I did not feel weighed down and heavy at all during the run, but I was a bit worn down during the final cool-down.

OK, better stretch out before my muscles get too cooled off. Good night!

-Lancer!!

Yet Another Easy Run Tuesday

As noted above, today is time for an Easy Run. Especially since I skipped my Sunday Easy Run, even though I had already met my mileage quota for last week.

DC Bike Path: 1/2 Marathon Training, Easy Run. Dist: (6.31) mi. Pace-avg: (16:33). Speed-avg: (3.6)mph. Speed-max: (5.1)mph. Burned: (698) Calories.

Plan: Run (3) mi. @ a (17:33) pace, for a total time of (52:40)min.
Actual: Jog/Walk (3) mi. @ (15:16) pace, for total time of (45:47.26)min. Bracketed by warm-up and cool-down miles.
Fuel: Pre-run: Gu Roctane, Vanilla-Orange. (Meh.) Mid-run: Sport Beans, Orange. Post-run: Tall glass of OJ, a banana (little greenish, still) then Dinner!

Tonight's run was OK. Once I started the three (3) mile Jog phase, I felt like I was smothering in the humidity. My weather widget indicates it is (34)% (23)% humidity right now, might have been more humid earlier during the run; I didn't check beforehand. It feels like it was a mistake to take two (2) whole rest days after the 10K. I should have at least gone for a bike ride as a bit of cross-training, but I did not. I think I napped off and on most of Sunday, and went to the movies on Monday. I saw "Friends With Benefits" with Mila Kunis and some dude named Justin Timberlake; never heard of him. Mila was the real attraction. She was awesome and I really enjoyed the movie. If you haven't seen it yet, go before it is gone. I'm sure it will be just as funny if you rent it later, but some movies I just want to see on the big screen.

Tech Nerd: My brand new KnuckleLights(tm) arrived Friday, and I wasted no time opening the package and checking out the contents. I took my KnuckleLights(tm) out with me on tonight's "run," since I was leaving the house so late and I knew the sun would be down long before I got back.  
Quick impressions: They work as advertised. I did not have to blip my flashlight to let people know I was on the path, so please don't run into me, or run me down on your bike. In the dark sections of the park these were terrific. Once I got back on surface streets, the KnuckleLights(tm) were only useful in the long stretches between street lights, though I am sure drivers would have had no trouble seeing them (and me), but I saw no drivers going the other way.

KnuckleLights off.

KnuckleLights on. SureFire 6P for scale (5-in.).

KnuckleLights on, room lights off.

KnuckleLights on, room lights off.

The (4) LEDs per unit provide a diffuse light that is good for slow jogging and walking. At some point I will test these at a faster pace in full dark, during the coming fall and winter, if not sooner. The back and forth swinging of my arms may have contributed to a bit of unsteadiness on my feet with the lights moving back and forth. Since this was the first time I used them on a run I will be sure to make more observations about this on future training runs. I was actually still a bit sore from the 10K this past Saturday, so that may have also been a factor. Also, I was detecting a bad chemical taste in my mouth during my run. It may have been from my sunscreen running onto my water-bottle and the cap during my sweaty, slobbery run on Saturday. I hope that is the source, because then I can just scrub my bottle inside and out and there should be no more issues the rest of this training week.

Other News: I spoke to a couple people at a local career college this afternoon and will be signing up for at least one (1) IT Certification Prep class. I need the structure because my previous, um, "efforts" at self-study with my IT books has been less than successful. I am expecting to try and boot-strap myself along some self-guided self-study on top of taking the class (different subjects).

-Lancer!!