Running journal, Saturday, 2006-02-18

Running journal, Saturday, 2006-02-18
Resting heart rate: 57 bpm (60 second test)
Day: Saturday
Date: 2006-02-18
Weather: Mostly cloudy
Temp: 13.3 C (56 F)
Time: 07:30-10:30
Terrain: mostly flat, a few mild hills
Comments: Awoke at 05:15 with five hours sleep. Ate one Apple Cinnamon Powerbar, drank four-to-six ounces of water every 30 minutes until 07:15. A chilly 6.7 C (44 F) this morning at 07:30. When I ended at 10:30, it was about 10 C (50 F). Galloway recommends wearing long-sleeve T, shorts or tights or wind pants, socks or mittens or gloves for 4.4-9.4 C (40-49 F) weather. Unfortunately I read this after I ran, because my hands did feel cold today without gloves. Forgot to wear my sunglasses, I think because I was not thinking clearly due to lack of sleep. Started running slow due to the chill. After five miles, I began feeling euphoric and full of energy, running at a faster clip. This feeling lasted until miles 9-10, when my legs began stiffening, and my posture began leaning forward a bit from upright. I felt progressively more fatigued over the next three miles, and decided (was forced? ;) ) to "dial down" my pace during the last 1.5 miles, which helped reduce fatigue. I now realize it was a mistake to push myself faster when I felt excited, happy, and strong. Lesson learned. At the first way station, I relieved myself, and passed an older jogger. He did not acknowledge my greeting of, "Good morning." When he passed me later, I did not say anything, and he was silent. Only after he passed me on his return near Goethe Park did he smile as I said, "Hello again." :) I ate one-half of a Powerbar at my first walk break on the return, then continued eating one bite on each subsequent walk break. Felt irritated that my pedometer switches to hour-minute time after 60 minutes, losing the seconds display. So I reset the timer twice so I could better time my walk breaks. Unfortunately, I lose my step count when I do this. :P A watch designed for runners would help a lot, because my current method is to twist my body in mid-stride and lift my shirt to check my pedometer timer, which is awkward. Animal sightings: four female black-tailed deer, two jackrabbits, white-tailed kite, western scrub-jay, and a tree full of plain titmouses. On the return, after three deer crossed very close to a female jogger running toward me, her jaw dropped and she beamed, remarking, "How beautiful." :) I smiled, sharing the moment, and said playfully, "Don't get run over." ;) Decided it would be fun to have a tee-shirt that says, "Good Morning" on it and watch others' reactions. ;) I beat the Greater Sacramento/Northern Nevada Leukemia & Lymphoma Society "Team In Training" (TNT, or GSNNLLSTNT ;)) bicycle group to the trail this morning, and passed them as they assembled in Goethe Park. They passed me around the 14.5 mile mark on the return. One of them had attached a black mohawk to the top of their helmet. Funny. :) Passed a crowd of unmarked joggers as I crossed the Goethe Park bridge. I assume they were also participating in the TNT marathon program. I said hello to many people today, and generally the response was good. Some people seemed tired the first time I passed them, but when I passed them on the return, they laughed and smiled at my greeting, "Hello again." :) I wanted to say, "Hey y'all," to the crowd I passed on Goethe Bridge, but most of them were chatting with one another, and I respected that. I passed a heavy-set woman on the return who was walking slowly. She smiled, and greeted me matter-of-factly by saying, "Well you sure look happy today." I loved her dry humor, and laughed, saying, "I try as best I can, given the circumstances." ;) Near the 19 mile marker, as I dialed down my pace, two young women passed me, and I said, "Good morning, how are you?" to which they replied in a playful, sparkly, confident tone, "Great!" :) Just before that, a middle-aged man passed me at a fast clip, with well-defined muscles in his legs. He seemed to glide, and I felt happy watching his pace. Perhaps someday I will get to that point. :) Felt no leg chafing today. I worry about that before each long run because the stinging irritation can easily ruin an otherwise enjoyable run. After the run, I attended a party at 12:00, and by 15:30, I was exhausted. I came home and crashed from 16:00-20:00, another indication I ran too fast. Overall I enjoyed the early-morning run, and look forward to an even better next one. Interestingly, it took me about 90 minutes (1:30, 12.41 minutes/mile) to run the first seven miles, but 80 (1:20, 11.03 minutes/mile) to return. So this data does seem to validate the walk-break theory -- I ran a stronger second-half than the first by 10 minutes. :) Even more so when I consider that the return ascended by about 75 feet. It did feel like I was running some of those miles in just over two walk breaks during my euphoric period. ;) This does help indicate a realistic pace for future long runs -- two minutes/mile slower than I could run today is about 12.5 minutes/mile.
Run Time: 2:50 minutes (170 minutes, 11.72 minutes/mile)
Goal Time: 2:30 (150 minutes, 11 minutes/mile pace)
Distance: 23.38 km (14.5 mi) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=27902
Total Distance For Year: 114.4 km (70.9 mi)
Weight (after run): 78.4 kg (172.87 lbs)
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Stiff calf muscles on return, left muscles behind knee a bit sore. Left pinkie-toe showing signs of friction (some skin loss, callous).
Foods eaten today: Powerbar (two, 460 cal), veggie tempeh with dark bread, salmon spread, chicken pasta salad, potato salad, soy milk, ham soup, chocolate hazel-nut cake, tea, tomatoes.