I think the big reason for it being so tough was that I haven't run on pavement for anywhere near this long in quite awhile. I usually run on stone trail or if I do hit the pavement, it is for about 6 miles. The other thing that put a lot of stress on my legs was that I wore my minimal shoes for the entire duration of the run. The most I had done in them up to that point was 8 miles.
To get the miles in, I told Kelley and Flo that I'd be arriving at 6:35 AM. I still can't believe I keep getting up this early. Telling others that I'll be early holds me accountable. I couldn't even fall asleep until after 1 AM. I had very little sleep. The group was meeting up at the Delaware Canal State Park on the South Side of Easton. It is right next to the dam on the Lehigh River.
Kelley showed up a few minutes late as always. I had not heard from Flo yet, so I just took off with Kelley. It was a nice and peaceful run. We ran along the same canal path that Flo and I did last week, so that part kind of sucked. There is a lot of shade in that area. That was great. It was cool at the beginning, but got quite humid by the end of the day.
The time with Kelley flew by. Even though we run together quite a bit, we still always seem to have plenty to say. That's funny too because we both claim to be anti social. The pace was nice and comfortable. Just about the only interesting thing was that Kelley had to dodge a small dead rodent again. She seems to do that a lot. Before I knew it we were done and ready to go with the main group. We had a nice 6 miles together.
The last few weeks, I've been alternating shoes. Since I got blisters yesterday with my other shoes, I stuck to the minimal shoes. I'm happy to report that the blistered areas didn't bother me at all today with socks and Bodyglide on. It is still a little raw now that I am walking around.
When the main group got going, I hung with Mertz. He went fast enough (under 7:45 pace) to get in a good workout, but not fast enough to kill me. He's running a 5k tomorrow and only wanted to do an easy 3 miles. We also had a good chat, including about the new bag check policy for the NYC Marathon. It is quite crazy that they now won't check bags for all those thousands of people. I only see Mertz at these group runs, so it is good to catch up with him and chat. I also love running at a quicker pace.
Before Mertz turned around, I heard someone coming up from behind and hanging back just behind us. I figured it was either Flo or Kelley. I was correct that it was Flo. That was good because Kelley and I run and talk together plenty. I'm sure she enjoyed running with someone else too. Flo forgot to set her alarm and missed the early start.Flo and I cruised along. We ran around 1.5 miles together. All of it was comfortably under an 8 minute pace. As we got into one of the parks, we split up. She went left and I went right. I wasn't sure where she was heading. I haven't run here before, so I didn't know where we'd end up meeting up. I kept going until my turn around point. It was interesting because almost immediately after I left Flo, I started thinking about my legs and realized that they were hurting. That next mile pace dropped from 7:50 to 8:23. It's amazing how much tougher running alone is when compared to going with someone.
I eventually headed back at Hugh Moore Park. I turned around earlier than I wanted to because the trail was turning into a dirt trail. The park is cool because there is a dam there as well. It is a chain dam and there used to be an old amusement park on the island in the middle of the river. I forgot that there were mules right along the path as well. They pull a canal boat. I guess Flo ran along this canal towpath. I never did see her there. This would have been a great spot to have a GoPro camera to take some pictures.
Coming back I ran into a bunch of the BCR folks heading out. Mel told me that Flo was looking for me up ahead. I had no idea where. Eventually I passed a couple of the other runners and heard someone yell for me from behind. I turned around and Flo was there too.
Flo and I ran together for a couple more miles. I considered telling her to go ahead because I was getting very sore and hurting. I was sweating like crazy too and probably dehydrated. Finally with 1.5 miles left, I told her to just go on without me. She said she was feeling great and I wasn't. I just wanted to cruise on in.
Before getting to the one small pedestrian bridge, I ran a short out and back along the canal towpath. That allowed me to make up for turning around early. The final mile was so tough. My legs were sore and I just wanted to quit. Of course I knew I wasn't going to. This route is actually a bit tricky. There are some small hills. They are no big deal, but more hills than these flat group runs usually have. When I was falling apart at the end, they were killing me.
The humidity destroyed me as well. I was able to hydrate a little before the main group starting running. I didn't have much water with me. I was drenched with sweat. Even without a shirt, my lightweight shorts were soaked. It was like I went swimming in the river. I can't wait for summer to end. The heat hasn't been bad lately, but it still has just been so humid.
I was finally done and it was a big relief. I ran the 13 miles in just over 1:46. I guess it is safe to say that I'll have no problem breaking 1:45 in the half marathon in two months. It was another good mix of comfortable running and some challenging running. For once, just finishing was difficult. It was an excellent workout.
I am quite sore now and I'm sure I'll be even worse tomorrow. My muscles sure got a workout, especially my quads. I was so sore that just lifting my knee and trying to put my socks on was a chore. I felt a muscle cramp up in my upper legs when I did that.
I wasn't hungry, but I did go to breakfast at the Key City Diner with the group. I've actually never eaten there before. If I did, it was one time long, long ago. We used to have a student teacher whose family ran the place. It was a good meal. I went mainly to socialize. I ended up talking mostly to Dave and Kelley, but it was good to meet a couple other people as well. I just wish I could eat more after running.
Tomorrow will definitely be a much needed day off and next week is a much needed cut back week. I will still run as often, just with less mileage. I'll cut back into the low 30s. My long run with go from 13 miles to 8 miles. That is good because I'll be traveling next weekend and I'll really need to squeeze the runs in. I have run 22 of the 25 days thus far this month and certainly can use a bit of a break.
Monday will likely be some hill repeats. I'm not cutting back too much on the speed stuff. Hill repeats will allow for a little less mileage than the normal Monday sessions. Kelley might join me for the hill repeats. Tuesday will be easy again and then Wednesday will have more speedwork. It is should be a fun week all around.
13 miles - 1:46:25 (8:11 pace)
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