Cold long run

 Training  Comments Off on Cold long run
Mar 092013
 

20130316-110044.jpgBright and sunny day post snowstorm.  The roads were narrow and the shoulder was basically slippery snow.  I just had to get outside after too many days on the treadmill.  After 8 miles and many near misses with crazy car drivers I gratefully arrived back at my house.

Long run at dawn

 Training Log  Comments Off on Long run at dawn
Aug 052012
 

I had set up everything the night before:

  • Clothes
  • GPS watch all charged
  • heart rate strap
  • iPhone charged
  • Dual 22 oz water bottles washed
  • Headphones located

I set the alarm for 4:30 am and was up and out the door in 15 minutes after making my usual pre-run shake.  When I got to the parking lot at the head of the Peabody Independence Bike path there was nobody there… just the way I like it.  It was brutally muggy, 80 degrees with a heat index of 92.. which is *not* the way I like it.  I kept the music off for a while so I could just enjoy the sounds surrounding me.

I saw rabbits all over the place as well as deer, geese, frogs, swans and a ton of birds.  I kept the pace low and steady and only stopped a few times to take pictures. After a while I switched to an audio book I have been enjoying and lost myself in the run and the book.

It was so muggy and hot eventually my sweat overcame the “moisture wicking” properties of my shirt and I started chafing.  I should have taken the shirt off but instead I ignored the symptoms and ended up paying with that awful runners penalty: bloody nipples.

9.5 mile long run

 2011 Boston Marathon Training  Comments Off on 9.5 mile long run
Nov 212010
 

Brutal.  Ok I just have to say that.  It was a deeply unpleasent experience.  I left a few minutes before dawn.  Conditions were clear and 38 degrees.  I knew I was in trouble 2 miles in when I was already feeling tired.  I had switched to intervals of run 4 min, walk 1 min since all the recommendations is to walk a min.  I hated it.   By mile 5 I was pretty miserable and at some point I switched back to my normal 3 min run, 30 second walk.  I think for some reason the 1 min walking is too long, very hard to get moving again.  I need to do some research to see if 30 seconds will be enough to reduce lactic acid buildup.  I think all the miles this week wore me down.  I am very glad next week is a cutback week.  At mile 8 I was feeling a lot of discomfort in my left foot and shin and my right calf.  I stopped and stretched thoroughly for 5 minutes and then continued.  That made a huge difference.

My heart rate distribution shows most of the run was spent in the aerobic zone, but roughly 20 percent was in the aerobic threshhold zone, which means I was probably going too fast for part of the long run.  Sheesh, the one rule for long runs is “don’t run too fast” and I can’t even get that right!

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