March 30, 2011

My 1st 'Race' Back & A 50mile Week o Runnin'


THAT'S RIGHT! I actually cracked 50miles of total running last week, and somewhat unexpectedly to be honest. In fact I had no intentions of running a 'race' last week but it all lined up so perfectly that I just couldn't say no. In the end I currently find myself on a nice little running streak that goes something like this:

15th Tue: 3.2k / 17min
Wed: 6.5k / 33min
Thu: 10k / 52 1/2min
Fri: 5.3k / 28min
Sat: 10.5k / 52min
Sun: 9.2k / 47min
TOTAL 44.7km

21st Mon: Gym w. Curb
Tue: 14k 1ST TRAIL RUN! An hour after an xray showed my foot was 100% healed!
Wed: 12k Trail
Thu: 11k Road
Fri: 16k Trail on Cougar Mtn trail system just outta Seattle. Great terrain!
Sat: 21k Trail 'Race' at Seattle's Dizzy Daze 3mile gravel loop
Sun: 11k Trail
TOTAL 85km



28th Mon: Gym w. Curb + 10k Road
Tue: 11k Trail/Track
Wed: 10k Road

That equals fifteen of the last sixteen days of getting to lace up the shoes, granted I only lace my shoes about once a month and simply slip em on and off for about four weeks till they loosen, but either way IT FEELS GREAT RIGHT NOW!

And I know what some people are thinking and I can only say thank you for the concern. Honestly I'm holding back so much right now I could burst and there has been very little physical fatigue or significant pain to push through to make all this happen. It really is just feeling RIGHT right now. I have pretty much zero pain in my foot and my ankle is feeling like I'm recovering from the worst sprain/strain you could imagine. It still hurts with every step but it tends to feel better and not worse after the runs so I'll continue rolling and see how it goes.

THE RACE

Dizzy Daze 13.1/26.2/50k/100k was started by my buddy Jonathan Bernard. I had no intentions of running a half marathon distance last weekend and especially not in the form of a 'race'. In the end a text message reminder while knowing I was in the Seattle area planted the seed. I figured that since it was a looping course over a three mile gravel trail, and completely flat, that the worst case scenario was that I'd do a few laps and call it a day if things went awry. 

I kind of purposely ensured I was late for the start just in case there were any serious runners. I really just wanted to run my own pace and not even think about being in a 'race'...ok I'll stop putting that in parenthesis already! I officially started at 7:09am and the race itself began at 7am.

My goal was to simply stay under five minute kms / eight minute miles for the first three loops and then to try testing things out on the final lap and see where it left me in the days following the run. I was really happy with my splits given I was mostly just running by feel. I was even happier given I hit a 3m35s km pace / 5m45s mile on the final lap, though ever so briefly, and that after donning my super hot compression gear I managed to continue my short running streak without issue in the days to follow. My splits on the 5.17km loop

1) 24:42
2) 24:41
3) 24:15
4) 21:42 + just over a minute to cover the final extra loop to hit the distance
21.1k / 1h36m26s

My Reaction
My Dog
My Sprint For The Line To Win The Race
GR

8 comments:

Boris T said...

Good to see you on the road back! Also great Hasselhoff pic, it makes the post.

Paul said...

Welcome back dude!!!! Take it easy out there!

Deb said...

Nice work buddy! Glad to have ya back :)

wiglebot said...

Nice negative splits in the Dizy Daze. You were flying on the last lap (5:45/mile). I only ever ran that fast going downhill and being chased.

William said...

Awesome!!

HEATHERRUNS said...

Nice to see the restraint. It must be killing you, but it looks like you're on that relentless forward motion train. It takes a while to get going up to speed, but once its on a roll, there is no stopping it!
Happy Running,
Heather

Leslie said...

But, have you put down the beer yet?

garobbins said...

Now why would I go and do a silly thing like drop beer after it's been so damn good to me so far!

Thanks for the comments all. Another solid week and continually building. Feeling good for some summer races!!

GR