Running Journal, Sunday, 2007-01-21

Running Journal, Sunday, 2007-01-21
Resting heart rate: 61 bpm (60 second test, afternoon)
Body Mass Index (BMI): (kilograms/(meters^2)) 22.73
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): 1873
Weather: Mostly sunny, windy, 9 m/s wind
Temp: 14 C (57.2 F)
Time: 13:59-17:06, 18:25-19:15
Terrain: flat
Comments: An electric winter afternoon in California. The gusting winds blew away the valley air pollution allowing rare glimpses of the snow-capped Sierra Nevadas to the west. The temperature and wind felt pleasant, gushing through the tree branches and tall grasses. I started late so after mental calculations of how to get in 18 miles before sunset, I chose to run west: a flatter route and easier as I jumped from 10 miles last Sunday to 18 today. Knowing the sun sets at 17:15 allowed me to run as far as I could until ~15:35, when I'd turn around and return to the pedestrian bridge. As it turns out, this had the unintended benefit of relaxing me from pressuring myself to run too fast or set an unrealistic distance goal. As I walked from my car to the pedestrian bridge, I ran into a group of 40-something female runners preparing to run up the Bridge Street hill. They began running before I could identify who they were. After a quarter-mile, a young couple passed me. Just before the half-mile point, I passed them again, as they had stopped and pulled out a pet duck on a leash from a clear plastic carrier on the bike. ^_^ Very cute. The woman placed a small dish of water and food on the ground as the duck ruffled it's feathers. I ran slowly enough to feel relaxed and comfortable, which had the unintended result of allowing me time to think about ideas and things going on in my life. I jotted down ideas with the paper and pad I carry with me on all runs, filling it completely up. :) One idea was to purchase a disposable cell phone to carry with me on marathons, so I might call Dawn to let her know where to meet me along the course in case I'm running faster or slower than expected. As I passed the 3.5 mile mark, I thought I'd enjoy making a list of the parks I run through: Hagan Park, Goethe Park, William B. Pond Park, and Sunrise Bar today. I enjoyed passing three horses and their owners out for a ride. At mile five I noticed signs indicating that a field had been sprayed on Jan 17 & 18 with glyphosate (used to be known as RoundUp), an herbicide used to help restore native grasses. The sign listed 874-6451 as the contact for more info. Somewhere along this point I noticed I had my old pair of sneakers on. :P How embarrassing. ;) I remembered to wear my sunblock and sunglasses though. I also brought two gu gels and drank four-six ounces of water every 20 minutes. At mile six I passed one of my favorite trees on the journey, a pine with six-inch pinecones. Perhaps I'll make a list of my favorite trees along my runs. Running over the bridge to Willam B. Pond Park, I noticed a flotilla of gulls anchored in the shallow, rocky sandbar. The bridge is named after "Mr. Bike Trail." At mile seven I turned back. Drinking water every 20 minutes hit a snag on the return. The water fountain near mile eight that I expected to work didn't, probably because of the recent cold. So the next water break didn't come for another 1.5 miles. At mile 9.5 I noticed someone removed the discarded lawn chair from the small creek running under the bridge. At the start of today's run I thought, It's not how you feel when you run; it's how you feel when you finish. This helped me focus on running conservatively and comfortably and not go out aggressively. One game I played in the final miles was to step in the horse-prints in the trail. I finished the 14 miles feeling tired but strong, and right at sunset. After returning home I answered a question I had regarding civil twilight. Dawn and I immediately chose to go to California Family Fitness. I hopped on the treadmill and realized the 3-1 run/walk ratio would be hard to implement there. I chose instead to run the four miles straight through at a 5.0/mph pace. I kept this up fairly well for about three miles before feeling drained from hunger and lack of breaks. I reduced speed to 4.5/mph pace, then increased to 5.5/mph when I felt some energy return. I watched the US premiere of the Steve Irwin special Ocean's Deadliest with Philippe Cousteau Jr. on Animal Planet, after catching the end of their memorial to Mr. Irwin, Crikey, What an Adventure! Mr. Irwin had wrapped up production on Ocean's Deadliest when he was killed by a stingray. Dawn and I relaxed in the hot tub for about 25 minutes. It felt great. When I stood up, I felt very dizzy, mildly nauseous, and it took about 15 minutes for me to recover my strength. o_O All in all a very positive 18-mile run today.
Running Time: First 14 miles in 3:07 (187 minutes, 13:21/mile pace); split time 15:30 (91 minutes, 13:00/mile pace); second half 96 minutes, 13:43/mile pace. Final four miles in ~47 minutes, 11:45/mile pace.
Goal Time: 3:30
Distance (running): 29.03 km (18.00 mi)
Total Running Distance For Year: 85.29 km (52.89 mi)
Weight (after run): 77.8 kg (171.55 lbs), 17% body fat
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Felt pain in left knee for a little bit at start of run.
Foods eaten today: Trader Joe's low-fat berry granola with soy milk, banana, Clif Shot (chocolate), Chocolate PowerBar, PowerBar PowerGel shot (tangerine), Red Robin veggie mushroom-swiss burger, cheese sticks