Running journal, Saturday, 2006-02-11

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-02-11
Resting heart rate: 52 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Saturday
Date: 2006-02-11
Weather: Sunny, not a cloud in the sky
Temp: 22.2 C (72 F)
Time: 11:50 - 13:20 (90 minutes total, including two five-minute warm-up/cool-down sessions)
Terrain: Flat
Comments: At 12.3 minutes/mile average pace (including walk-breaks) I will finish a marathon in 5.37 hours. :) Under six hours is my goal for the first one. I hope I will gain strength as I continue, and reduce that number. The Greater Sacramento/Northern Nevada Leukemia & Lymphoma Society "Team In Training" (TNT, or GSNNLLSTNT ;)) bicycle group's Skills Test was today from 10:00-14:00, and swarmed around me on the out and return parts. According to their recorded phone message, they started at William Pond Park at 10:00 or so and I assume they went out to the Nimbus Fish Hatchery and turned around (Link: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=17821), about a 18-mile ride. I forgot to bring a hand-towel today, but my new waterproof Safeway Sport Sunblock Lotion (SPF 30) did not seem to blind me like the waterproof REI Bonding Base Sunblock (SPF 45) I used on Wednesday, so perhaps I do not need it. So many people listen to music while they exercise. I would like to say hello, but they just run by in a musical bubble. At the 17-mile marker, I took a walk-break and a woman passed me, and I paced myself about thirty meters behind her for two miles. I used the rubber-band mental trick again, and it seemed to help keep me upright. I noticed I was tending to lean forward on the return trip as I tired. When I moved my hips forward a bit (like the rubber-band was attached to them and pulling me forward) it moved my chest higher and I ran easier. I noticed a hub-cap on the left-side of the trail near the Sunrise overpass on the way out. On the return trip I planned to place it in the trash, but someone had already done it. :) I was happy to see that I am not the only person who values a clean trail. :) What I do not understand is the trash I see on Bridge St. right before the north side of the bridge. Aluminum cans, glass bottles, Jamba Juice cups, fast food trays. I do not understand why someone would come to such a beautiful spot and dump garbage on the ground. I guess they value their own time, energy, and clean cars more than they do the cleanliness of the area they just enjoyed. My current favorite pre- and post-race song is Beausoleil's (Cajun) "La Chanson De Cinquante Sous" (The 50 Cent Song), from their 1987 album, "Hot Chili Mama," on the Arhoolie label. :) It is a fun, dancey, tropical tune, something you could drink a margarita or a Corona to. Thought about wearing sunglasses today, wondering about how the UV rays affect my eyes. Will research. Every day seems to be getting warmer, bit-by-bit. I noticed tree flowers in bloom on the bluffs. I ate a chocolate PowerBar this morning, my first PowerBar ever, and I felt super-charged when I began running. :) That was the only thing I ate this morning. I ate a banana when I returned. I plan to start forming the habit of treating my long runs like I would a race situation, so I may acclimate myself to the hydration, low-fat diet, and fueling regimen necessary. I will begin that habit next Saturday, when I run 14 miles. I went to sleep last night at 22:00, planning to awake at 05:00 and begin running my long ones at 07:30 so I am used to it when I run my first marathon. Unfortunately, I did not fall asleep until around 01:00. :P So I awoke at 09:45. Note: I forgot this was my off week so while I wanted to run 14 miles today, my schedule says 6. ;)
Run Time: 1:20, 80 minutes, 12.3 minutes/mile (one-minute walk-breaks approximately every four minutes).
Goal Time: n/a
Miles: 6.5, http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=17758
Total Miles For Year: 43.3
Weight (after run): 80.8 kg (178.164 lbs), 23% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Clipped my left ankle (mildly) again today, on the return. It did not hurt though. I think the probability of this happening increases when I shorten my stride and quicken my turnover rate, as I do when I slow my pace.