Sunday came, and it came earlier that it should have....turns out getting up at 6:00 am to go for a long slow 10 miler is really hard when you stay up with the neighbors drinking wine, or scotch depending on the presence of a "Y" Chromosome, until 12:00. We had an extra girl that night so I would be on the hook for pancakes in the am before the extra had to go home...so 6:00 am or after breakfast was on the tab.
Hmm, 6:00 am the alarm screams at me to get up, I tell it where it can stick its snooze button. About an hour and a half later...I'm up and getting my griddle prepped and my cast iron skillet hot for the bacon. I get the double-batch of pancakes going and a pound of bacon cooking (any extra bacon becomes BLT's for lunch for me). I know I am running as soon as the girls are eating so I toast a mini bagel and spread a little peanut butter on it, and drink an orange juice that was left over from last weekend's party for Number 1. Pancakes ready, on the table, syrup heated up, jam pots on the table...OK girls, eat! I go get ready.
It was a bit cold yesterday and my calves have been complaining about all this running I've been doing, so I put on my compression socks and my warm tights. I'm a "Shorts over" guy, so my shorts and my long sleeved warm shirt from Nike, and a short-sleeved race shirt over that. Grab my sneakers and my iPod and then have to wait for the Mrs to shower....oh well. I can wait a few more minutes. The extra's mom came and gathered her up, so I was only watching my 4. The Mrs. finished her shower, I gave her kiss and said, see you in a couple.
I was planning on about 9-10 miles, I can shave off some at the ends as my loops go by side roads that I can adjust for how my legs feel. I was thinking at about mile 5 that I might do just that, but by the time I hit the back road with all my favorite rollers, I just had to finish them off, even though I knew I was going to be a long 10 closer to 10.5. My foot still has a little twinge of pain in it, and my left calf is giving me some grief. But, I finished the run, and walked my normal three laps up and down my street, which is nearly a mile at that point for my cool down. Then a few leg stretches. I should do more, but I always have hated stretching. Maybe I should go take a yoga class during the next couple of weeks? Anyway, I finished the 10.5 with a 10:45 pace. This is still a little faster than I want for the marathon. Is that odd, that I want to run slower for that race?
So I was wondering where I was at on my mileage for this pair of shoes since they are feeling a little flat. I keep close tabs on my miles so I know when I started on this pair, and had to run the numbers. I have about 20 miles more on this pair than the pair I retired last year because they felt flat. Hmm, I might have to look into why I am only getting 240 miles out of a pair of shoes. It couldn't be because I am only a pound or two away from running Clydesdale class could it? Fortunately, I have a new pair of kicks waiting in the wings, a pair of Nike Pegasus that have been warn for a day of walking around to "break them in". When I go out tomorrow, they will be on my feet to see how they feel.
I'll let you know how they feel.
Cheers
What a nice dad you are :)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you got to have a great run! I was getting worried w/ all the preamble that something may have thwarted your running plan.
Good work. Dad and runner. I dont not get alot of mileage out of my kicks either. I attribute my problem to being slightly bow legged and the road surface I run on.
ReplyDeleteClydesdale class? I have gained so much weight since my injury -- that I have become the poster child for that class!
I'm currently just under 240, and I get about 400 miles out of my shoes ... but I usually buy gel inserts, and then when they go flat I put in the original inserts and run a bit more ... I find a pair of $20 inserts stretch the life of the shoe out
ReplyDelete@Andrew, that is a good idea. I might have to give that a try. It might help extend the life of the shoes.
ReplyDelete@C2, I'm "technically" about 4 pounds shy of that official class weight, but if I were to go lift weights like I should, I could get there pretty easily. How funny is it that if I were in "better shape" I would class UP to an official Clydesdale.
Natty- I am sure that "IF" I do run the full this fall - you would put me to shame. As for me being over wgt.; this is the heaviest that I have ever been in my life. I feel like Jabba!
ReplyDeleteThat's real scrifice!! Cooking bacon and heading out for a run while someone else eats it...
ReplyDeleteSounds like all is going wel
with running:)