I am two weeks away from my first milestone race, the Rockledge Rumble 15K trail run. My run today was 4 miles further than the 15K distance, so I am more than ready and I am confident I will complete the race strong.
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| Somewhere along the Northshore Trail. |
The route for my run today was a little strange because we circled back to the MADD shelter a couple of times in order to meet up with other runners. Regardless of the route, the miles added up and having a short rest each time was rather nice!
I arrived about 7:30 am. Steve and Jay had already run about 30 minutes and had circled back to meet me at the MADD shelter. We were supposed to meet another runner around 8:30 am so we ran towards the Murrell guard shack for a couple of miles and then turned around. We waited at MADD for a bit but the other runner didn't show. So we headed toward Far Gate.
Along the way to Far Gate we came across another runner wearing Iron Man clothing. Steve called out, "Is that you Kay?" Kay answered yes. We were supposed to meet up with her earlier but we didn't connect. Kay had recently finished the Iron Man competition. We joined her on her run back to MADD.
We stopped briefly at MADD to refill our water packs and bottles and then headed toward Murrell again. Both Kay and I needed to leave by 11:30 am so we ran as far as the concrete bridge and then circled back to MADD.
We still had a little time left when we arrived at MADD, so Steve, Jay and I did another small circle to add on the last mile, making this my longest run.
Thanks Steve, Jay, and Kay for a great run!
Limbs: Excellent!
I will say that my legs were starting to tire by the time we completed our run today. But I still felt like I had gas in the tank. I'm pretty certain I could have run another 5 or 6 miles, maybe more. But I don't want to do anything at this point to injure myself. The whole goal of my training is to gradually build up my mileage so that my body has time to adjust to the increased distance. If I increase too quickly, I will only cause harm. So I will continue to take my time ramping up the miles.
Lungs: Excellent
I had no problems with my lungs on this run. I don't even remember coughing at the start of my run like I normally do. I think my lungs are finally healing from quitting smoking.
Laughs: Excellent
As I've mentioned in other posts, I absolutely love running with others on the trail, as long as the pace is something that I am comfortable with. Steve lead most of the way and his pace was excellent, around 12 mpm, which felt very comfortable to me. It's also nice to talk with others about how they approach running, fueling, shoe types, foot strikes, recovery, goals, challenges, or whatever else we come up with.
Learning: Something Cool
Over the last month, my fitness level has EXPLODED! As I was describing the changes to Steve during part of the run, he noted that the timing of my improvement coincided with the drop in temperature in north Texas. A great point. He said that during the summer months I was building fitness but probably didn't feel it because of the difficulty of running in 95+ degree weather. But as the temperatures came down, I was able to see my real fitness level. Great point.
I know I've come a long way since I started my Three In Three Challenge. I can remember my first trail run... I was only able to go about a half mile before I stopped and threw up on the side of the trail (sorry for the mental image there!). But now I am running 14+ miles and feel great. What a change! I can't imagine going back to where I was. My new lifestyle is definitely a better choice!
Next Week:
I am starting to taper for my upcoming milestone race. So fewer miles this week and next.
Week 11 of my training program:
- Monday: Rest
- Tuesday: 5 miles
- Wednesday: 3 miles or cross training
- Thursday: 5 miles
- Friday: Rest
- Saturday: 1 hour cross training
- Sunday: 10 miles
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