Today was the first time in weeks where I had to do a long run without the benefit of my partner in crime Chris Fudge, and wasn't exactly thrilled with the prospect. Without Fudge, I had no way to carry the water and food I needed to successfully finish a 30 kilometer run, and I hate the thought of running into stores soaking with sweat in order to grab a Gatorade or a granola bar. I'll save that look for my photo shoots, thank you.
I eventually decided to run five loops of the Nature Park. I didn't love the idea, but it would give me an opportunity to refuel every 6.5 kilometers, and would also allow me to measure my progress per loop. Here are some highlights of the run:
Loop 1 - 36:02
I decided to run the course backwards. I did this for two reasons: I wanted to mix the run up a bit, and my friend Clinton Charlton (buy his latest single, 'A Place To Play A Song,' here) was meeting me on his bike and traveling in the other direction. The run didn't start out out too great - I began by climbing a brutal hill, and almost got creamed by an inattentive driver (20 kilometer an hour speed limit, people!) - but I had most of the kinks worked out by the time I met Clinton. Overall, a little slower than I planned, but not too bad.
Loop 2 - 35:27
This time I decided against the nasty climb, which tacked an extra 30 seconds onto my run, and ran with traffic. Clinton and I chatted about our weekends - Clinton was surprised I could talk while running, but I held my own in the conversation department - and made some tentative plans for fall. Overall, a productive and enjoyable loop.
Loop 3 - 34:41
Clinton made his way home (we made plans for a 15k jaunt later in the week, so expect to read more about him in the blog) so I settled back into my own thoughts and tried to hold my pace. I think I was a little paranoid about slowing down, because I actually ran this loop faster than the first two. It probably helped that I didn't have to dodge any cars, as they were starting to close the park as I began the loop. A few people shouted words of encouragement as I ran by, apparently impressed that I was running multiple laps around the park. I'll take that over "Run, Forrest, run!" any day.
Loop 4 - 36:06
I thought I would start falling apart at this point, but I actually held it together for the entire loop. That being said, the effort to keep it together increased quite a bit, and I had to push on hills (both up and down) to hold my pace. My legs were screaming for the last kilometer, and I didn't know if I could finish another loop. It didn't help that nightfall made it nearly impossible to see in some sections.
Still, I wanted to get at least 30k under my belt before I called it quits. I had to come up with a plan, and fast.
4.5k - 28:44
My solution was to run as far into the Nature Park as I could before it became too difficult to see. I was most certainly the last person in the park - I passed two people as I made my way in and they looked at me like I was crazy - which meant that if anything happened to me, I would be up the creek without a paddle. I managed to run 1.5 painful kilometers in the darkness before common sense told me to turn around. It's a good thing too; I almost bailed a few times on unseen potholes.
Exiting the park with 30k in my sights, I decided to run length of the driveway and back, effectively tacking an extra 1.5k onto my run. It was tough slogging, and it felt like it took forever to make it to the rocks. I forced myself to pick it up for the last stretch, and finished without hitting the dreaded wall. That being said, I did slow down, and had I completed the fifth loop, it probably would have taken me 40 minutes. Definitely something to work on in the future.
Well, that's it for tonight. Not sure what is in store for the upcoming week, but when I figure it out, I will post it for all to read. Have a good night!
P.S. I will apologize in advance for spelling mistakes and copy editing problems. It's 2AM, and I am too tired to correct things right now. Any wonky wording will be corrected in the next 24 hours or so.
No comments:
Post a Comment