I set out to do a 12 miler last night after work, and did something I don’t do very often. I listened to my body and cut it short at 8 miles. My hamstrings were abnormally tight and twitchy, and I was just working way too hard to maintain even a slowish pace. That decision paid off today. I had an 8 mile run on the schedule at lunch, and with a thunderstorm approaching, left the waterbottle and ipod behind.

I started fast and stayed that way for the whole run. Clocking 1:02 for 8 hilly miles. Nothing earth-shattering, but it was one of my fastest training runs of the year – and coming only 5 days after doing a 40 miler (with a 32 the week before that) made it pretty sweet.

My heart rate averaged 171 beats per minute. That’s holding 93% of my maximum heart rate for over an hour. Ouch! I was workin’…

It’s very nice to cut loose once in a while and RUN.

It’s the weekend.  Time for another long run.  This time I stretched the 32 mile loop I ran last week to make a 40 miler.  I took off around 6:00pm, and got home at 3:00 in the morning.  The last 10 miles were some of the toughest miles I’ve covered yet.  Mostly flat, but I couldn’t even walk for more than 2-3 minutes without stopping at the very end.  I was SO tired!

I was about a mile from home when I saw the first patch of grass I’d seen in hours, and promptly flopped onto my back.  Under a streetlight in a subdivision.  What a sight.  I walked another half a mile and had to sit down and rest for a few more minutes.  I just could not move forward anymore.  My legs weren’t feeling that bad, my body was just totally depleted.  Thankfully, I made it and didn’t become coyote bait – sirens in the distance started a pack howling about 100 yards away from me that I didn’t know was there.  Training is hard work.

Sunset on the trail

About once a month, I try to do a run that incorporates a good portion of darkness (trying to prepare for running through the night during my 100 miler). Yesterday I left home around 6pm and ran a 32 mile loop that I finished just after midnight. I love those types of runs. It’s such a cool feeling to start running in broad daylight and know that you will still be going strong well after dark. The run tested me, I don’t think I’m fully recovered from the 100K race, but I made it through ok and am hungry for more.

A guy caught up to me just before mile 20 and just about fell over when he asked how far I was going and I replied 30+. It was pretty funny, he was out trying to squeeze in 6 after dinner. We ended up having a really nice chat, and that 2 miles went by far faster than any other two that night. It’s amazing how running with someone can do that. Other than races, I haven’t run with anyone at all this year. I do some group rides, but the running has been 100% solo. Kinda hard to find any takers for a 32 miler on a Saturday night…