XX

This past weekend I had my first 20M run since April. I love to say: “It’s not the XX, but the VI of a marathon that get you.” But if you haven’t run 20M in a long time, the last five are going to hurt.

And that was the story this past weekend. So, while the Redhead was away and enjoying the fun Chicago has to offer, I tucked into bed at 8pm to be up by 4am (that’s right, Chicago has nothing on the Lansing night-life).

Sure it was 71deg at 5am and sure it was about 90% humidity, but what’s new? Most annoying was that the weather decided to drizzle on and off, but never fully rain (read: keeping the humidity high while never offering the sweet refreshment of cool rain). The run went well for the first 15M, but soon fell apart during the last 5. It should come as no surprise that the last 5 held a lot of ‘just focus on one more mile’ and ‘will this run ever end?” I also ended up chanting my montra for the last two miles. But I made it.

Next week I introduce a new ‘tweek’ into my training, stacking 20M+ runs back to back. So I’ll be doing 22M on Saturday, this time with an extra focus on the last 5.

Trust Issues

Wow it has been a long long time since I’ve posted. And what could keep me from posting for so long? Simple. Trust Issues!

Now I’m not talking about trust issues from a failed romantic relationship, where lies let to suspension and to destruction. Nor am I referring to trust issues springing from my upbringing (read: even if my Dad did lie to me and tell me he was a secret government agent and Superman).

No, these trust issues go much deeper. These trust issues are the sole responsibility of Pizza Hut. It started out simply enough, with Ashton Kutcher punking people. And the next thing I know I’m out eating at a fancy Italian restaurant when some lady informs me that I am in fact eating Pizza Hut pasta. It took me weeks to deal with the shock that such a respectable pie company would go so far as to purposely deceive me, feeding me under false pretences.

After my counselor said I needed to go out in public again, I decided to try something safe like chocolate. I wandered into a local bakery where a kind and sorta attractive French woman asked me if I wanted to try a new French delicatessen. I then proceeded to dunk bread into a bowl of chocolate. It was delicious.

No sooner had I gone in for an unauthorized ‘double dunk’ when the employee stripped away her apron and informed me she was not French, but a PIZZA HUT employee. You may have seen the commercials; although I doubt my experience will make it to the small screen, as the three minute thirty-seven second tirade I unleashed cannot pass FCC regulations by any means.

I may never trust again.

And on running news. Last week was my third (of five) 20M+ runs. Now, two weeks prior I had a 13M run I cut down to 10M due to the 80 degree heat and the fact that I could see the remnants of the small rain cloud that had fallen to the ground begin to evaporate—in daylight. I then tried to run early the following week (read: 7am) only to have 70 degree temps to start. Needless to say my 18M was a train wreck. Average pace was 8:18/M.

But last weekend brought cool temperatures, starting in the high 50s and staying in the mid 60s. So my 21M run went excellent, hitting a 7:12 average and only the last three miles above a BQ pace (with nothing higher than a 7:25).

Weekend Wedding

This past Saturday my ‘weekend’ roommate (aptly named because he comes into town on the weekend for his job and crashes at my pad) and his lovely fiancé got married. It was a wonderful wedding and the reception was loads of fun. Of note, I was able to convince the waitress to bring our table French fries after noting how it was not only unfair that small children had received fries, but that they were probably violating a law by discriminating against our table on the basis of age. They were delicious.

But the reception ran late and I didn’t get home until an unreasonable hour. As I was setting the alarm for my morning 17M run I was already doubting whether I would really wake up and run it on so little sleep. Not surprisingly, I didn’t make it out the door for my morning run.

So like an unwelcome guest, those 17M sat around my place all day Sunday. It watched TV, took a nap, and ate cookies. Finally, I realized that it wasn’t going to leave unless I did something about it. So, at 6:30pm I began my long run.

Although my average pace was good, the run itself was spotty. The hot and dry conditions persisted throughout the run because I began too early to receive the benefit of a setting sun and cooler temperatures. Nope, 74 and sunny the entire run. But, the hope is that runs in such conditions will help improve my calf cramping issues.