It’s October now, and the weather should be in the upper 60s, and today’s high was over 90 degrees. So, like it was in the summer, we got up early to beat the heat. We ran our 15 miles on a Sunday instead of Saturday. Let’s just say I had “one little drink” on Friday night (a 46 oz margarita) 
on an empty stomach, and when I got up early Saturday morning to run, it didn’t turn out too well, so we waited until the next day. Lindsey wasn’t feeling well either, but hers was stress-induced. The runners were late starters, too. The Saturday morning runners are on the go before we even get there usually, but on Sundays, they must sleep in a little bit, because there was a surge of runners about 5 miles into our run.
The run at Forest Park today was running almost to the 2-mile marker, then turning around and running the entire park twice. I had added/deleted some of the music in my MP3 player, which helped me tremendously on this run. After all this time, I was finally able to figure out the shuffle mode DUH. One of the tracks I liked today was Alcazar’s “This Is The World We Live In“, which for some reason gave me goosebumps. And running with goosebumps is a strange feeling…it’s like you can feel your skeleton separate from your skin. Anybody’s who’s been through it knows what I’m saying…
The run was really good for me. At first the humidity was tough, sweating a lot during the first 4 miles, but then once I got in the groove, it was steady. My 20/2 pacing has been going great for almost every run. (That’s 20 minutes of running, 2 minutes of walking). That puts me at 2 miles per break. Even when running these long runs, I’m able to keep it up, so I think my training will continue to go well and I’ll most likely run the marathon at that pacing.
I ran out of water about 2 miles towards the end, but that was ok. Even though it was getting warm fast, I was able to finish without stopping for a fountain. I kept thinking of my big Fruit Punch Gatorade chilling in the back of my Explorer the whole time.
At the end of the run, I stopped abruptly and as I started to walk back towards the Visitor’s Center, I almost got nailed by a bicyclist. Everyone escaped uninjured, but it was close. I think it was both our faults. I should have looked back before crossing and I know I was a little out of it having run 15, but they should know that people tend to stop at the 0 mile marker, and they didn’t yell “LEFT” before passing.
Once I walked in the Visitor’s Center, I went straight into the bathrooms and doused my face with water and drank right from the sink. Then I came out and saw Lindsey eating her banana at the table. I drank my Gatorade and changed my soaked shirt, then after looking around at some of the visitors center, we went back home and took a nice shower.
We treated ourselves to Red Robin, and We avoided napping at all costs (since that’s a bad thing after a big run), and we’re now blogging.
Conditions: 78-84 degrees, humid at first.
Results: today: 15 miles; time: 2:36:57; pace: 10:27
Thoughts: The longer I run, the more comfortable I am with the 20/2 pacing.
What I’ll remember the most: Drinking that 64-oz bottle of Gatorade.
Yesterday, it happened. I missed a training day for the first time. I worked an extremely long and vigorous day on Monday. By Tuesday, I was extremely worn out. By the end of my work day, I had a major migraine. I decided to take a nap, but didn’t wake up until after 8 p.m. My headache was even worse. I ate dinner and then went back to sleep. But, I made up for it today!
I ran around Campus Lake twice in under 40 minutes. Altogether, I ran 4.4 miles, taking about nine minutes a mile. I felt strong and energetic afterward. I focused on sprinting for 10 minutes, and then walking two minutes. I ran fast. The humidity was choking me, along with the stench of the lake, which was turning over. I joked that it smelled because it was the first week the students were back on campus. But it is nice to see so much activity around campus again. It gives me something to look at while I’m running.
I think of so many neat things to write about while I’m running, and then I come home and I can’t remember one. I really pushed myself today. I wanted to push myself yesterday, but that didn’t work out so well. I was so inspired after learning Patrick had ran an entire three miles without stopping. I wanted to do the same, but I couldn’t. The humidity was choking me. Yesterday, I did notice beautiful Monarch butterflies near the lake. In fact, whenever I run around SIUC’s Campus Lake, I’m always having to dodge butterflies.
There were less butterflies today, but I think it’s because I ran much later in the day. I was trying to wait until it was cooler outside. My car thermometer say 98 degrees. The forecast called for temperatures in the 100s. After I got out there, I didn’t care. I wanted to run 10-minute miles and I wasn’t going to let anything stop me.
Instead of jogging, I ran. In fact, I may have been sprinting a bit. I felt strong for the first quarter mile, and then I was out of breath. I just wheezed and kept going. I was making great time. I had forgot the course is 2.2 miles around. I went around it twice and was focusing on finishing in 40 minutes. I ran 4.4 miles in less than that time. I ran my first true 9-minute miles!
Although I’m extremely proud of myself, I’m feeling the effects. My stomach is bubbling and aching, and I’m a bit dizzy. I feel like someone punched me and I just want to throw up. Near the end of the run, I had got goose bumps and felt a bit cold and numb. I had trouble catching my breath after the run. But I find myself believing it was all worth it. I’ve got my mind set on running the Vegas Marathon in four hours. I’m doing whatever I can to achieve my goal.
Since it’s so hot this week, I decided to wait until sunset to do my running. I just can’t do the treadmill thing anymore. The temps were around 90 degrees, so it was much cooler than earlier in the day. The evening brought a lot of humidity, but I like that. I’ve always enjoyed working in humid conditions instead of sunny conditions.
My calves hurt earlier this morning, still recovering from the 8-miler on Saturday, but by the time I ran, they felt great. The 3-miler in Fenton Park was cool tonight, because the park’s baseball fields, tennis courts and basketball courts are all lit up. The park doesn’t close until 11:00pm, so I think I’ll enjoy coming here in the evening to do my runs. And there’s plenty of people around, so it’s interesting people watching.
I purchased a new mp3 player and used it for the first time tonight. It’s the Creative MuVo V100. It’s a 2GB player/USB port.
I’ve always liked Creative’s products, and this one is no exception. I bought a Zen Vision a while back, and was strapping it on my arm when I ran, but that mp3 player has a hard drive in it, which constantly spins, whereas this one is flash based, so there’s no moving parts. Plus this one’s the size of a domino, where as the other one is a big larger than a deck of cards. I liked having this in my pocket while I ran. I enjoyed the freedom of not having anything velcroed to my arm!
Anyways, back to the run….I ran the whole 3 miles non-stop and came in under 30 minutes, which is an improvement. I also spent a lot of time stretching, which I don’t normally do. I watched this video on YouTube, and it helped with my stretching after the run.
My left big toe still hurts from last Saturday, and it’s gonna be that way the whole training period, since it’s bruised under the nail. Well, that’s what they say…runners lose nails…here we go. Oh well.
The temps are expected to be at 103 tomorrow, so I may wait until past sunset to do my run. I’m excited again though! Can’t wait to lose some weight!
