Sunday, 8/14/11: A run day that turned into a rest day.
I woke up and wanted to run. I thought about running ... and said, "Not so much". I realized that I had a whole lot of running this week though it might not seem it. I plan on running on Monday, take Tuesday off, race the Dirt Cheap #5 on Wednesday, race the GVH XC 5K #3 on Thursday, take Friday and Saturday off and race the 'Dam' Good 14M Trail race on Sunday. 3 races in 5 days ... sweet!
So CJ and I just chilled ... listened to the torrential downpour and thunderstorms during the afternoon, watched The Day The Earth Stood Still on TNT, ate a late supper, did some late grocery shopping and chilled some more. All in all, a nice and romantic day. Though I did leave my car windows open about an inch ... with predictable results the next morning. I had to drive on a towel for a couple of days!
Monday, 8/15/11: Another rest day.
Man, I felt like a slug! I should have gotten up and ran somewhere, anywhere! Instead ... after supper I went out to a couple of Verizon Wireless stores so I could fondle a Droid Pro. It felt nice but didn't have the endorphins of a sweet run, lol!
Tuesday, 8/16/11: 7.3 miles, 1:00:17, 8:16 pace, 80F, sunny, calm, a bit humid, no pain.
Garmin Connect Activity for FF speed workout, 10x400m repeats with 165m recovery.
CJ and I headed down to our usual Tuesday night haunt, Cobbs Hill reservoir, for the FF speed workout. I took an easy run up from Fleet Feet. The workout started fast, I followed the lead guy who is quite fast. I stayed with him for the first 400m ... I looked down and saw a 5:20 mile pace on my Garmin! My average mile paces after that were more mundane: 6:00, 6:00, 6:15, 6:45, 6:30. Then I remembered that I have a Dirt Cheap #5 race tomorrow so I tried to slow it down to 7:00 pace and above. Then I ran slow and long back to the store. CJ walked 1.6 miles around the reservoir.
CJ made the usual postrun pasta dinner but I wasn't really hungry. I was very tired so I tried to go to bed around 10:45AM. Alas, the good people in apartment 22 which is kitty corner to our apartment decided to have a party ... complete with a whiny, crying baby. I got to sleep on the couch around 12:30AM. Oh, well!
Wednesday, 8/17/11: 5.72 miles, 50:00, 8:45 pace, 80F, sunny, calm, a bit humid, no pain until after the race.
CJ and I headed out to the Webster Park for Dirt Cheap #5. I ran pretty well for the majority of the race. You have to pay pretty close attention to your footing ... lots of roots to avoid. I did find some mud and splashed through the water during the run in the stream. I did poop out a bit around mile 4 when I walked a bit of one hill. I was dripping wet when I finished! I did OK, 66th out of 264, results here. I finished 6th out of 22 in my age group. All in all, yet another great race put on by Fleet Feet and a great night to hang out with the XC crowd!
Thursday, 8/18/11: 2.99 miles, 22:51, 7:39 pace, 76F, sunny, calm, a bit humid, no stops, no pain.
A Thursday night in August ... what better way to spend it than down at the rugby field at Cobbs Hill running a GVH XC 5K? I ran pretty well, a 7:02 first mile, a 22:51, 36th out of 97, results here, good for yet another 4th place out of 8 in my M50-59 age group.
I finished right behind the 3rd place guy in my age group, Mitch. Thanks to Bill Beyerbach who came down to cheer us on! All in all, a great August night for a sweet run!
Yes, CJ and I had another 9PM supper after a night of running ... it's what we do!
I have noticed that I grimace in almost any picture taken of me while I am running a race. Hey, it's a race ... the clock is ticking so I put out the maximum effort that I can. It's how I am wired ... even during practice runs. I don't really run 'social' or hold conversations while I run. I really don't know how to run easy. Though I do run trail a lot easier than I run road ... you do have to look out for roots and such. Just saying ...
Friday, 8/19/11: Rest day
Most definitely a rest day after three straight days of hard running. CJ and I just relaxed after I got home from work. We did watch our latest NetFlix DVD, True Grit. An excellent flick that was just as good as the original.
Saturday, 8/20/11: Another rest day in advance of the 'Dam' Good Trail Run
CJ and I totally relaxed all day. We finally surfaced to do a bit of grocery shopping. Then we had a silly argument that resulted from a bit of miscommunication that involved a bit of slipped pizza. We kissed, made up and tried to go to sleep early.
