Poser August 24th, 2008
So tonight I’m getting some extra sleep. I’ve got an 8am class, and need to do a 10 mile long run. Eeek. Wish me luck with running, and with the start of my final year at Chico. Things are going…wickedly cool.
Poser August 24th, 2008
This long run was a bit of a pain. I picked up a water bottle to carry with me on my run, you know those ones with a mesh handle on the outside? Yah, I got one of those. 16oz’s of aquatic aid in case I get parched in between water stations. Oddly enough, I think carrying the bottle messed up my left shoulder, which is weird because I carried it with my right hand. In either case, its something I’m going to had to get used too. I only filled it with water this time, but later on I might throw some Powerade or something in there. It was a good run, and my start to longer distances for my long runs coming up to taper to 15 miles before I knock the miles back down for the San Jose Rock N Roll. So, read on…
The Conditions:
Distance: 8.59 miles (though probably 
Pace: 8′43″ / mi
Weather: Warm, really warm. Started at noonish, ended about 1, so it was sunny, but plenty of shade along the trail.
Route: Lower Bidwell Path. Same as last weeks 6 mile run, started at “Start” sign on 4th ST side of the park, headed to the 4m marker and came back. One thing to note, Nike+ picked up 8.59 miles that I ran, but the marker I ran too was the 4mile marker, and then back, so it shoulda been an even 8 miles, unless the marker isnt marked right. We’ll test soon when I get my Garmin Forerunner 405.
The Run
Before: I think a good amount of rest. ~7.5 hours, and spent my time doing my usual warm ups. I wanted to warm up right since it was a long run, so exercises consisted of 5×20 sec wall squats, 2×10 bicycle crunches, 2×20 pushups, 2×10 left lifts (for each leg), and my stretches. I also ate a bowl of cereal, I think Rice Chex, about 1.5 hours before the run. I woke up early, and wanted to eat something light, and that was a bad mistake. Because…
During: Got a stomach ache a little during the run. Thanks Rice Chex and Milk, bastards. Otherwise a goooood run. I felt strong through out the whole run, and ran at a comfortable pace. I wanted to just complete the run with as little stops as possible, if any stops. I did pretty well, going from start to the Bridge close to mile 3, walking about 45secs (maybe 1 min) drinking water, and bypassed the 1.5 mile station. Picked up my run again and hit 4mile mark and turned back, again stopping at 3mile mark and walking and re-hydrating till I got over the bridge. I stopped this second time because my lower shins area was bothering me. I’m almost sure now that its the shoes giving me problems, so tomorrow I might pick up new shoes. I skipped the long run today, to recover from a wild night out at the bars. While my shins were funky, I was able to keep myself going, slowing my pace down when I needed to in order to give my shins a bit of a rest. The last 1/3mile I picked up the pace a little, as a I like to save some energy in the tank for a final sprint. I was feeling really good during the sprint, so I think I could have pushed it more during the whole run itself. I now wish I had, as my average pace was 8′43″, and I was hoping to be at least 8′40″ if not faster. I’m hoping in coming up long runs I get my mile pace faster, so reach a goal of doing the San Jose Rock N Roll in under 1hr50mins, if not faster.
After: I was BEAT once I finished. I grabbed my Powerade and limped over to a park bench and just relaxed, drinking up my juice and waiting for my body to cool down. I sat there for a bout 10 mins, just recovering, doing very well though. Came home and showered, relaxed and was able to go about my lazy day with no real pain, just a slight ache in the shins later on, which was gone by the next day.
This 8 mile run was great because I felt really good after its completion. I havent done a run over 6 miles since last training for the Santa Cruz 1/2M. It was good to break a minor 6mile wall thats come up since all I’ve done lately is 10ks . I cant wait to get started on my longer runs, and get training for hydrating myself during my 1/2’s. I washed the Olympic Men’s Marathon yesterday, and felt totally inspired to get my ass in a better training mode. I really want to join a gym where I use machines for Strength training, and get started with using a pool for awesome cross training. I hope to do a full Marathon next year, and I’d like to be able to get a respectable time with my come out run. Who knows, maybe I’ll manage to train for and make it in the Boston Marathon sooner than I thought. Woo!