Since the stress fracture, I've really been taking my time getting back into the running shape I want to be in. It's worked well in that I've built up the speed on the shorter distances but now it's time to start focusing more on the long runs.
Today I finally got in a 20+ miler and was able to do so relatively comfortably. Granted, I ran slow and the last few miles (which are uphill) were tough, but overall it went really well. I was a bit disappointed at my overall pace at first (9:40/mile), as normally in top shape I'd cover this distance on these trails between 9:10-9:20 pretty comfortably. But then I got to thinking that this was my first real long run since June, so with that perspective in mind I shouldn't complain much.
We had a good-sized group, despite a lot of our regulars not being able to make it. Jim, Blaine, Al, Lily, Susanna, Erin and Mercedes were all present, but we all did different distances. I was blessed with Lily's company until mile 18.3, when she opted to head back.
But before then, Jim earned the quote of the day. Jim had been mentioning some of society's problems which prompted a question from Al:
Al: Have you no faith in humanity?
Jim: Oh, I have plenty of faith in humanity (sarcasm). I just hope I'm alive long enough to when we nuke one another and destroy the world so I can see it.
That cracked me up. Also, worth noting that refueling on oranges and bananas after a little over eight miles really hit the spot and prevented any chances of bonking. I love oranges especially. They've become one of my top foods in ultras or any long run.
Ran 21.2 miles @ 9:40/mile pace.
AHR/MHR - 139/161
Trails, very muddy.
Very hilly.
Mid 40s to mid 50s, partly cloudy, breezy.
Brooks Cascadia 3, shorts, short sleeved shirts, Moeben sleeves (rolled down after three or so miles).
4 comments:
It's great to see you're running strong Jamie. Sadly - I don't have faith in humanity. I'm quite confident that we will destroy ourselves although unlike Jim, I hope I or my kids are not around for the end!
Good solid run. The pavce will come down in time.
Thanks for the orange, it did really hit the spot!
See you on Wednesday at 8:30(ish).
Nice run. I was getting a haricut a while back and overheard the religiously zealou male stylist and female client discussing the end of the world and the stylist in conclusion says, "Don't you wish it would hurry up and happen so they'd see that we were right."
I'm Val's brother btw.
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