I only ran 3 miles on Saturday because I was working my alumni race. As noted in my previous post, the undulating terrain wasn't ideal for my injury area, so I opted to "take the day off" by only running an easy 23 minutes or so while marking the course. This required a lot of start-stop running and a great deal of bending over to lift branches -- neither of which was great for the old injury. In an unrelated note, the heavens spit snow...the first I have seen this season.
On Sunday, I met Tom Deeg at Nickerson State Park for a "long" run. Joe Navas was suppose to meet us, but apparently he hates me and didn't show. My goal was to run 10 miles, which would be somewhat of a milestone. The weather was quite cold (30-35) and I shivered as I peeled off my running pants. I was itching to get going in order to warm up, but we kept the pace quite easy for the first 4 miles, which in retrospect was just fine. Soon, the bright sun rose higher in the sky and my head began to warm under my hat. The out-and-back 4 mile stretch has its share of ups and downs and we found ourselves getting into a nice rhythm on the way back home. Tom is relatively new to running, and, at the age of 29, ran Boston in 2:28 -- alongside his twin brother. He's definitely a marathon specialist and knows how to push. I guessed that he was probably the "slowest" 2:28 marathoner in the race since he owns PRs of 16:12 and 26:12. Running enthusiasts love these types; all work horse and distance tough. It was interesting to hear his tale of how the race unfolded last April and it certainly took away from the task at hand.
The uphills made my injury area a little tender, but I was determined to see this 10 through. After getting back to our cars, we hopped on the Cape Cod Rail Trail and proceeded east. I've actually run very little on this trail but it seems quite nice (think CCT). I glanced at the watch and noticed a 6:30 mile, but that's the only split I got. It was likely the fastest. I finished up with 70 minutes on the clock (about 13 minutes more than I had done previously) and felt okay -- not ideal, but not bad either -- just a little achiness. I got in 45 miles for the week.
2 comments:
I am a rude S.O.B.
I should have at least texted you, if not called.
There is hate, sir, but it is hardly mine for you, it is more surely my body for me.
I've been sick since turning 40 some 5 weeks ago (I call it "sick," while my 40+ running friends prefer to just call it "40.")
I felt like crap running 8 with Tom the day before at a slogging pace and I've felt like that for days on end here and there, with other spells seeming to tell me I'm doing just fine.
I go to the doc again tomorrow and I hope there's some explanation (besides "40," which I am not buying into for a moment.)
Anyway, I know I missed an opportunity to actually keep up with you without having to fake like I wasn't dying, and I hope to pay for that sometime in the future.
Glad you guys got to run the Cape on a lovely day.
Heal well and get speedy.
Thanks Joe. Yes, I know you've been ill and I'm sorry to read these reports. Hope you figure out what's wrong and recover soon!
See you around Christmas? I might jump in a CCAC race as a tempo/test.
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