I haven't run since Thursday. The last few weeks, I've been going easy on the legs. I've only been doing a long run and a fast session. I'm trying to still get some quality sessions in without doing too much. I am supplementing it with biking. I rode 15 miles on Friday and 14 miles on Saturday. I've also lifted some weights and did some pilates. I'm trying to eat healthier too. Hopefully I'll lose some weight.
Since it is Sunday, that meant a long run. On Monday, I ran a 20 miler, so I needed to back off this weekend. The goal was to run 14 miles. I've headed to what is becoming my usual location of Penn Pump Park. I actually like running on pavement. I started off from there after 6 PM. I worked in the morning and didn't get around to running until then.
It was windy and not too hot temperature wise, but apparently it was very humid. I took my shirt off after a few miles and was still soaked by the end of the run. It was like I went swimming.
I began by heading out toward Mill Race Park. I didn't feel strong, but not terrible either. It seemed more like it might've been from fatigue after the all the exercise, rather than my normal quad soreness. I don't know.
In the beginning, I ran a faster pace because I was running on more of my mid foot or forefoot. That's sort of how I had to run, because when I went slower my quads just felt awkward. I cruised along.
I ran out past Mill Race Park. I was then to Tatamy. I wanted to go out farther during this stint. I ran on the stone path for a short bit. I went all the way out to the end of the path. That was at 2.4 miles.
The start of long runs are always so tough. The legs don't come in yet and knowing how many miles are left to go is a mental challenge. That's why it was great to have Chris and Emily run with me in the beginning of last week's 20 miler.
I headed back and it was pretty uneventful. When I got back to Penn's Grant Open Space, I went there. It is a nice wooded path along a smaller creek. It has some minor up and down, so that was good to do in the beginning. This section added about .8 miles to the run. I was now approaching 5 miles.
I had decent form and pace, throughout this first segment. Most of the miles were under 9 minutes. That's still kind of slow compared to where I used to be, but a decent pace for me now. I was back at Penn Pump Park about 5.25 miles into the run. I stopped for some much needed water in this humidity.
I didn't want to stop too long because it is tough to get going again. That was the case as I headed into the closed section. I didn't want to go all the way to the Arts Trail, so I was headed to the end of the trail and then a little bit onto Bushkill Drive. I ended up going out about 1.25 miles.
I arrived back at the car at 8.25 miles. I was so beat at this point. My legs were dead and the humidity was getting to me. I was about to quit. I decided that I need to be mentally stronger, so after a water stop, I pushed on.
I was going slow again as I headed back toward Mill Race Park. I now had 5.75 miles to complete the run. I had no idea how that would happen, so I just focused on small pieces of the run.
When I got back to Penn's Grant Open Space, I headed out on that briefly. It was about a quarter mile. That was a nice, little addition. This time, I only planned on going back to Tatamy and turning around. When I arrived there, I was just under 11 miles into the run. I decided to run to the 11 mile point and turn around.
It was hard to believe I still had 3 miles to go. I was so exhausted and the legs were dead. I guess the one good thing is that they weren't getting any worse. When I was 4.44 miles out, I thought about getting to 3.33 miles. Now, I was at 2.22 miles left. I got to mile 12 and pushed on.
When I was back at Penn Pump Park, I was at the half marathon distance. I headed back onto the closed section. That didn't last though. I noticed that the newer pavement was hard on my legs.
I went back on the normal path. That was much better, although this final mile was a struggle. I wasn't feeling good at any time during the run, but this last mile was noticeably worse.
I headed out less than a mile. Then, I went back and stopped just before Penn Pump Park. It was a relief to be done. I needed a lot of water afterward and I walked briefly. It was good to not be as sore as I was last week. I just hope that one day I can feel like this after a 20 mile run. That might take some time.
I was very disappointed with how crappy I felt, but so glad I pushed through. I've had a busy weekend and my body could probably use some rest. I'd like to add some more running days this week. If I do that, it will only be 3 or 4 mile runs, not 8+ mile midweek runs. I had been doing a lot of those and they might've been wearing me down too.
Tomorrow, I'm not running. I might do an easy half hour ride just to loosen up the legs. I'd like to run at Trexler on Tuesday. That would be short. Then, I'll try a hard run again on Thursday. Dave Decker has another Loopy Run on Saturday. I don't want to do too much this week, so I'll have to see how I feel then and let that determine how many loops I run.
14 miles - 2:11:06 (9:22 pace)
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