Running Journal, Sunday, 2007-03-18

Running Journal, Sunday, 2007-03-18
Resting heart rate: n/a
Body Mass Index (BMI): (kilograms/(meters^2)) 22.089
Weather: n/a
Temp: 22.2 C (73 F)
Time: 14:43-19:27, 18:05-18:50
Terrain: mostly flat, mild hills
Comments: 26 miles today. 23 trail, three at the gym. Felt a lot of exhaustion coming home, I think due to pushing seven miles farther than my previous long run of 19 (plus four walking). The heat played a factor too. The exercise at the gym seems to be paying off--I ran continuously for 5.0-mph the whole way. I felt relaxed and full of energy most of the run. The gu shots helped keep me going, though I have to rethink the 4x-sodium ones. After I finished I couldn't get any water out of my system, which felt uncomfortable. About one mile out on my run, I passed a man who asked, "Going the whole 28 miles today?" I replied I intended to go 26, and he clapped his hands and gave me encouragement. The Parkway runs 23 miles, so I'm not sure what he's talking about. Passed a deer at mile one, watched a ground squirrel almost run under a boy's bike at mile three, passed a flock of 20 wild turkeys (within 10 feet!) at mile 20, and passed three deer at mile 22. I heard the call of the mystery bird at mile eight, and saw its head poking up from the grass. Around mile 9, I passed a bunch of teens running in the shallows and surfing on wakeboards for several feet. On the way back, I passed the lot of them (20?), and one of the drunken ones in front exclaimed playfully, "Hey, a jogger. He must be a Blood." Cute. One of the males in the group hoisted an empty keg over his head. Lots of bikers out on the Parkway until around supper time. By sunset, I passed people rarely if at all outside the parks. The miniature trains were running yesterday--the first time I've seen them, I believe. I enjoyed hearing falling seed pods clattering off the asphalt of the trail like raindrops. I learned that I ran faster keeping my hands near my waist, keeping my arms straighter rather than holding them up near my chest. Another thought that helped was thinking, "Only 12 more minutes until the next mile." I broke up each mile into three running and walking sections this way, and it helped a lot with visualizing each mile. I can get my head around 12 minutes, or three four-minute sections. The sun set at 19:15, and as I walked up to the pedestrian bridge I passed a small group of Slavic teens listening to someone playing an acoustic guitar and singing a song. The sodium light on the other side indicated I calculated the right time/distance to run on the trail. The drive home took 15 minutes, and I walked in and still felt exhausted. Off to the gym Dawn and I went so I might finish the last three miles. I went straight upstairs, where I walked for five minutes, then started into a 5.0-mph pace. I didn't take any walk breaks. After about 40 minutes, I stopped and walked over to Dawn. We left and I drove home shakily. After a glass of Gookinaid and 30 minutes of bed rest, I felt well again. I chalk the exhaustion up to running seven miles longer than my previous longest run of 19 miles, plus the heat. My next long run is 28 miles in three weeks.
Exercise Time: 4:44 (284 minutes). Split at 17:03 (2:20, or 140 minutes). Second half 2:24, or 144 minutes. Overall 12:20 pace (5:23 marathon pace). First half 12:10 pace (5:18 marathon pace). Second half 12:31 pace (5:27 marathon pace).
Goal Time: n/a
Distance (running): 41.84 km (26.0 mi)
Total Running Distance For Year: 380.29 km (246.11 mi)
Weight (after exercise): 75.6 kg (166.7 lbs), 16% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Exhaustion. Second toe from the left on the right foot sore.
Foods eaten today: Mini-bagels with cream cheese, fruit assortment, orange juice, pastry, banana, gu shots, powerbar, bean and cheese burrito, blueberry muesli cereal with soy milk, cheese pizza bagel