Goal: Easy 4-5 miles
Actual: 4.7 @ 8:12/mi. avg.
Much to my surprise, I was able to convince Christi to join a few of us for yet another run this evening. After putting the word out, we were able to draw Adam, Rob, and RFYL young athlete Zach Gray into a nice cool summer night trot from Old Bell. We missed a few others, but I knew it would be a nice night on the greenway no matter who showed. After planning this run for a week, I discovered my headlamp batteries were dead, and that apparently my backup batteries were just old dead batteries too. Then one-by-one, realized that only Christi and Rob had working headlamps. A little frustrating, but we weren't to be deterred. The weather was brisk and the pace was a little swift for what I had in mind, nonetheless we all rolled with it approaching 7:00 pace as we hit the Shue Sea. Adam, Christi, and I agreed to head back together after the lake while Rob and Zach continued on to finish their nine miler. On the way back, our trio agreed that our speed was a bit more than desired. It's always nice to be smart in the midst of our insanity. The ironic part, is that even while being "smart," real runners always prove themselves to be a little foolish. I have no explanation for it, but Adam and I bounded into fartleks by the slight beam of light coming from Christi's loan headlamp. A half mile of this nonsense and we were back at Old Bell calling it a night with a short quarter mile of cool down. I have not been this excited leading into an event since Frosty 50, but not so excited for taking tomorrow off from running. Good times, great people. I am truly blessed for opportunities like this.
Showing posts with label Old Bell. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Old Bell. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
One Down, Two to Go
Goal: 7-10 Miles 7:30 - 9:00/mi.
Actual: 9 Miles @ 8:24/mi. w/ some 7:15 pickup
Who Does Hills for Warm Up?
With so few days left until we leave for Blue Ridge Relay, I knew I wanted to take advantage of another "day off" from work in time to "taper" just before the relay. Since it's Tuesday, why not start with some decent mileage at the Miner's Run. Before bed last night, I decided I would arrive early to park at Spanish Trace and get my last elongated hill in before BRR. I started off abruptly but easy up Monroe Rd. for a mile, not feeling any burn. Turning onto Sardis Rd North I prepared for the mile descent. Surprisingly, I felt very comfortable cruising at comfortable pace and just let myself flow down the hill. I felt so good, I decided to change plans and go right back up as soon as I hit Sardis Rd. itself. The climb back my legs may have burned a little, but really I was just glad to stretch the legs out.
The main purposes of this portion of my morning run was to get in some last minute hill training, try out my new reflective vest, and get a feel for how well my ASR's could transition back onto asphalt. I will most likely use these for Leg 2 of the Relay. If anyone is looking for a good trainer that can function on trail due to it's water resistance, sturdy midsole, and durable upper, I love my Brooks Adrenaline ASR7's. I can't wait until the ASR-GTX is in my budget too. My Nathan vest looks really cool, but after a couple miles it was extremely awkward, fitting much like a plus-sized NCAA women's half singlet would fit me. I am certainly glad I decided to change the routine.
Running down the greenway to meet the group, I was cruising comfortably at 7:45 fearing that the the rest of CRC might soon be dropping sub 7:30 by the time I saw them. As I saw the pack approaching in the dark with headlamps streamlined I pulled to the side to avoid causing fright only to find myself the frightened party as Kahn shouted, "Identify yourself!" Geez, I'm no good at yelling to communicate to people, so I just tried to spit out some gibberish in hopes that I could really just concentrate on getting my wheels spinning in time.
Spritely and and ever so comfortably, we bounded down the greenway to the XC course. Being in front, gleaning from the wisdom/antics of Kahn, I hardly noticed I was in front until one mile into the XC course. Avoiding any owl attacks, we continued the brisk 7:15 pace and picked up Beigay. Realizing I was still in front, I admitted to Kahn, "I can't lead up the hill today." He obliged as Paul quickly clamored, "Can we please not do the hill today!?" I was more than thankful to hear this from Paul. Coming up to the Shue Sea I was approaching the end of my mileage and I let the group continue without me. Headed back to the car came up .6 short and decided to tack on striders. Felt really really good. The Miner's passed the Spanish Trace a few minutes later and I let out a cheer. I'm just so thankful for the Miner's Run in particular.
Every joint and muscle flowed as smoothly as can be expected today. Only the slightest twinge after I finished, but no time to dwell on how great it was. One down, two to go.
Actual: 9 Miles @ 8:24/mi. w/ some 7:15 pickup
Who Does Hills for Warm Up?
With so few days left until we leave for Blue Ridge Relay, I knew I wanted to take advantage of another "day off" from work in time to "taper" just before the relay. Since it's Tuesday, why not start with some decent mileage at the Miner's Run. Before bed last night, I decided I would arrive early to park at Spanish Trace and get my last elongated hill in before BRR. I started off abruptly but easy up Monroe Rd. for a mile, not feeling any burn. Turning onto Sardis Rd North I prepared for the mile descent. Surprisingly, I felt very comfortable cruising at comfortable pace and just let myself flow down the hill. I felt so good, I decided to change plans and go right back up as soon as I hit Sardis Rd. itself. The climb back my legs may have burned a little, but really I was just glad to stretch the legs out.
 |
| Seriously love these shoes. Photo courtesy of RunningWarehouse.com |
Running down the greenway to meet the group, I was cruising comfortably at 7:45 fearing that the the rest of CRC might soon be dropping sub 7:30 by the time I saw them. As I saw the pack approaching in the dark with headlamps streamlined I pulled to the side to avoid causing fright only to find myself the frightened party as Kahn shouted, "Identify yourself!" Geez, I'm no good at yelling to communicate to people, so I just tried to spit out some gibberish in hopes that I could really just concentrate on getting my wheels spinning in time.
 |
| A peak at a typical miner's run as Megan leads the pack. |
Spritely and and ever so comfortably, we bounded down the greenway to the XC course. Being in front, gleaning from the wisdom/antics of Kahn, I hardly noticed I was in front until one mile into the XC course. Avoiding any owl attacks, we continued the brisk 7:15 pace and picked up Beigay. Realizing I was still in front, I admitted to Kahn, "I can't lead up the hill today." He obliged as Paul quickly clamored, "Can we please not do the hill today!?" I was more than thankful to hear this from Paul. Coming up to the Shue Sea I was approaching the end of my mileage and I let the group continue without me. Headed back to the car came up .6 short and decided to tack on striders. Felt really really good. The Miner's passed the Spanish Trace a few minutes later and I let out a cheer. I'm just so thankful for the Miner's Run in particular.
Every joint and muscle flowed as smoothly as can be expected today. Only the slightest twinge after I finished, but no time to dwell on how great it was. One down, two to go.
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