Wednesday, October 18, 2006

Running in circles, Part 6

Tonight's track workout (Tue):

8.5 miles total
2.5 warm-up
4.0 intervals (8x400 @ I-pace; with 400m recovery jogs)
2.0 cool-down

400m splits: 89/87/85/83/86/86/83/83

~~

I can now say I used to work evenings.

It's been a long time. Way too long. Tonight was the first Tuesday night track workout with Second Sole in almost two years. Not by choice, but by a matter of my work. It's not as if I haven't seen, nor run with these peeps. Just not on Tuesday night.

This week I started a new role with my company. For the last 18 months I've worked on Pacific Time, or 11a-8p. I'm thrilled to be back to days, excited about my new research position, and most of all ready to return to life. In some ways, I've felt like a hermit since I've missed out on all weeknight activities for quite some time.

Only a small track group tonight as most everyone else is either recovering from, or prepping for a marathon. My group of four ran quarters and I was the slowest. I don't mind though. I like having to chase. So I ended up running a bit faster than the 85-88 second range of two weeks ago. And it felt good to be back. Amongst friends, night felt less like running in circles and more a class reunion. It felt good to be back and training with a larger group of much speedier folks.

When I started blogging back in August, I named my weekly speed workout Running in Circles as a parallel to this Saturday's 12 hour Personal Endurance Run. Yet this week has not felt like I've been running in circles. Just the opposite, in fact. As of this week, I'm an eight-to-fiver and I don't feel at all like I'm stuck in a rut this week.

As for the 12-hour run, I'm ready as I'll ever be. Its going to interesting to see how long I can go before I crack. I'm concerned about the lack of terrain and having to run on pavement for such a long time. Unlike trail ultras where the hills offer a chance to walk, I will have to voluntarily employ walk breaks throughout. With food and drink readily available on each and every mile, I will be tempted to sit and take a break.

In last week's Running in circles, I offered my goal: To run further than ever before. For me, that target is 70.5 miles. Yet I know that anything can happen over the course of half-a-day. We'll see what the day brings. I have a run/walk strategy for the first 4 hours: Run 25 minutes and walk 5 minutes.

With running distances over 50km (over 5 hours,) I have to consider consuming more than just carbohydrate. The nutrition strategy will be similar to what I consumed at Laurel Highlands: A foundation of CLIP2, GU, and S! Caps as needed every hour. I'll make sure to add solid food such as trail mix and pretzels throughout. Late in the run, I'll turn to a dose of caffeine in the form of a Red Bull or cola.

This weekend while running in circles, though I have a goal in mind I'll remember to have fun and smile. Gulp, here goes.

3 Comments:

Blogger JenC said...

Good luck and have fun! I look forward to reading about how it goes.

8:40 AM  
Blogger Papa Louie said...

I hope you have someone to run with to keep you company and to help the time pass. Remember to eat, drink, and enjoy. Have fun!

12:52 PM  
Blogger qcmier said...

Eat, drink, and be merry!!! Good luck. Can't wait to hear all about it.

11:57 PM  

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