I arrived at training on Wednesday morning ready to take on the 12 mile steady state that was originally planned for the morning workout. I had felt fine on my second run the night before and woke up feeling almost 100% so I was looking forward to getting back on the marathon program. I left early so I could get a 5 minute jog and then stretch in before the others arrived. Once I got out to Greg’s house, he decided that we should back off of the workout as I would still be feeling the after effects of being ill. He said I should just run 6 miles at a pretty easy pace and call it a day. I was a little bummed not to be getting in the distance but I knew he was right so I was fine with his decision. Once I had warmed up with the guys, I set off on the workout alone (Fasil and James were doing one of their last marathon workouts of 2kms) on the 6 mile steady state around a 1.1 mile loop we call mountain shadows. Greg wanted me to run at around 5.30 pace and so I set off very conservatively and was surprised how easy the first mile of 5.17 felt. I was running with the brakes on and I felt as though I was doing an easy run so I was happy with that. This continued until around mile 4 and although I kept the same pace, it became a little harder as my lack of energy crept in. I finished up fine for the 6 miles in 32.04 and then warmed down with the guys followed by some more stretching. I got home, had a shower and some breakfast and then spent the next 90 minutes trying to sleep but to no avail. Julie and I had slept so much over the past couple of nights that I think I was simply sleeped out. This was probably a good thing as I had a lot to do before Julie got off work and we headed down to Phoenix. I rushed out to the mall to get some suit trousers and then quickly packed my bag (we’re heading to a wedding over the weekend) before heading out for a run on the trails before Buffalo park. It was such a nice day so the run was really enjoyable. I really didn’t feel tired from the morning so that was a good sign that my strength is coming back. I didn’t have time to do any drills or strides after the run as I had to quickly shower before picking Julie up from work and heading down the mountain to Phoenix.
I woke up yesterday morning at 4.50am so that I could get 10 miles in before we left for Louisville, Kentucky for our friends, Erika and Mikes wedding. It was a really nice temperature outside and not the oppressive heat that I am used to running in when I am in Phoenix. I did a few loops of my regular running routes and then quickly showered and ate before we headed out to the airport for our flight at 8.15am. Luckily I now work for Greg and his online coaching business so I’m able to work as long as I have my computer and an internet hook up. This allowed me to design a few training programs on the flight and kill some time before catching our next flight in Memphis.
We arrived there around 4.50pm and made out way to the rental car area. I had booked a car from National and I was pleasantly surprised when they told me that the car I was supposed to get wasn’t back yet so would I mind if I got a free upgrade to a Buick Lacrosse or a Chevy Camaro…Um, Camaro please! Julie looked at me very strangely as she had no idea what either of the cars were. She quickly got the gist when we got to the car and there was a shiny transformer ready to be driven off. We headed out to Cherokee Park where Erica was having a BBQ with her family and friends and the first thing I noticed was how many runners and cyclists there were. This made it easy for me to quickly get changed and follow the hoards around the park to get my second run in. It was, however, very hilly and I was tired from the start (probably from the early morning and travel also). I just jogged around and tried to familiarize myself with the area as I would probably have to do my long run here on Saturday. I stopped after 50 minutes and guzzled down some food at the BBQ before we headed off to Erica and Mike’s house. It turned out it was just half a mile away from the park so at least I had somewhere to run all weekend. We all showered and headed out for a quick celebratory drink before crashing hard in bed.
I woke up this morning to bright sunshine blasting through the windows. There were no curtains so it was nice way to wake up but when I looked at my watch it said it was 4.30am. I was a little annoyed as I wanted to sleep a lot longer until I realized that I hadn’t put my watch forward yet and it was actually 7.30am. Better… Julie and I headed out to a local coffee shop to wake up a little before I went out for an 80 minute run around the area. I wanted to scout out a flatter option for my long run and finally found a 1 mile loop at an adjoining park that would make my life a little easier tomorrow morning. It’s going to mean a lot of loops but there are a few detours I can take to make things a little more interesting instead of the dizzying thought of 22 loops. I felt pretty tired for the first 30 minutes of the run until the coffee kicked in and I started to feel a lot better. I finally shifted out of first gear and got rolling on the hills before heading back to the house. The girls were all heading out the door to get their nails done so that left me with an quiet, empty house to fall asleep and rest in for a few hours before I head out for a second run. Erica informed that they don’t have an iron in the house so hopefully I won’t look too tatty at the posh restaurant we’re going to.
I think there is a pre wedding long run tomorrow morning (both Mike and Erica were good collegiate runners and are now bike nuts) for the guests and friends so hopefully I can persuade someone to give me my drinks and gels on my run. If not, I guess I will just stick to the mile loop and grab my drink from the car every 3 laps.
We fly back on Sunday evening to Phoenix and then either have a late night drive up the mountain or a very early start as both Julie and I have to be at work and training at 8am.
I may not be able to update the blog over the next few days as we’ll be busy with the wedding but I’ll certainly have something up on Monday. I hope everyone has a good weekend and enjoys the autumn weather!
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