Friday, June 20, 2014

Closing in on 80

Last week, I ran 80 miles.  I've done that a few times before.  I started this week off so well, that I made 90 miles a goal.  I'll get there, but it definitely hasn't been easy.

The hard part is that I've had no one to run with in the mornings to get me to do another 6-7 mile run.  That would've been huge, especially today, when I slept in.  I still needed 23 miles before today.

The weather was nice and cool, at least for this time of year.  I still knew that I'd be hot and sweaty in the afternoon, so I ran shirtless.  That was a good choice.

I wanted a softer surface today, so I opted to go to the Route 33 Boat Launch.  I would run on the stone/dirt trail toward Freemansburg.  Since I'm having blister problems, I went with my older shoes.  They seemed to feel much better and more roomy.  I didn't have any issues with that today.

I headed out nice and easy.  In the beginning, a bunch of kids were jumping off of a tree and into the Lehigh River.  I got very annoyed in this narrow singletrack section.  Three sets of bikers went past me and I had to move for them.  I saw some more bikers later on, but really not that many.  There should not have been so many in such a short stretch.

As usual, mile 1 was slow and I got faster.  My body definitely wasn't feeling great.  I can't say it was terrible either.  I wasn't exactly sore, my legs just felt dead.  I think that was due to the running, plus lifting weights last night too.

I cruised along, past people and dogs.  You can't see the river too often in this section, unless you really look over.  A lot of the run looks the same.  I really wanted 13 miles today, so I was hoping to go out 6.5 miles.  I knew that that would take me out very far though.

I got to miles 2 and 3.  Things were getting a little faster and I began running sub 8 minute miles.  Still, I didn't feel all that great.  It became obvious that I would turn around early.

After several miles of everything looking the same, there was finally a picnic bench and a clear view of the river.  I knew I was near Freemansburg.  I started running that stretch.

Most of the trail had been shaded up to that point, but now, I was in the sun.  That was tricky.  I tried to tell myself to slow down.  I hit mile 4 and wanted to keep going.  I hoped to make it to 4.5 miles at least.

There were a lot of geese as I ran this section.  Shortly after mile 4, I felt like there were too many to run through.  I turned around at 4.1 miles.  I'd be over 8 miles when I got back to the car anyway.

I kept going and was headed back now.  It was a relief to get back into the shade.  With my legs feeling kind of crappy, the miles clicked off slowly.  I knew I had to focus on getting back to the car and not worry about any other mileage.

Eventually, I got to miles 5, 6 and 7.  I could tell that I was getting closer and closer to the Route 33 Boat Launch.  I didn't think I was picking the pace up, but it looks like I got faster.  The kids were gone from the swimming hole.

I got back to the parking lot and was over mile 8.  The parking lot was exposed to the sun and it was hot.  I was fairly soaked by this point, although it was mostly just my chest.

I decided to head onto the paved trail.  I'd run out to mile 9.2 and turn around and have a brief walk back when I hit mile 10.  Then, I'd call it a day.  My legs just didn't have more than that and it was still a productive day.

It seemed a little while until I got to the turnaround point.  I did and then I cruised on back.  I always enjoy looking at my watch frequently in the last mile.  I try to take it off an hold it in that final mile too.  That is a symbol that I am nearly done.  Finally, I was done after a fairly quick final mile.

I hoped to run more and feel better, but the run was still solid.  I wish I could've had a second run in for the day, but I ran out of time.  I went to a baseball game in the evening.  I'll just have to pick it up tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow, I plan to run the Wilson Partners in Education 5k at Wilson High School.  That was my first comeback race way back in 2009.  I'm quite beat up now, so I don't know how well I'll run, but it will definitely be much faster than that day.  I may either run home from the race or run later on for extra mileage.  I need 13 total miles tomorrow, to reach 90 for the week.  That would be my first 90 mile week ever.

10 miles - 1:19:00 (7:54 pace)

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