Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Wednesday Workout Update

Hey, guess what?  Running 9 miles is a lot easier when it's not pouring rain.  I know...who knew???  I honestly can't believe it was the same distance - not that I'm saying that it was a piece of cake, because, let's face it, 9 miles is a long dang way to run no matter what - but dry weather made a huge difference.

The run was also fun because right around the time we hit mile 7, runners from the Buffalo Stampede race were starting out on the other side of the street from us - we even saw a couple of our running club peeps among them and got to cheer them on as they ran a half marathon!  We didn't run this race because we're not up to that kind of distance in our training (the people who ran it are training for the marathon, so this fit into their training plan), and also, the course is pretty terrible - they have the runners go down a road that is all torn up due to construction, and then they have to run on the access road next to the freeway...all that, plus it's an out-and-back, which means you do all the crummy stuff twice, so it's not on our list to ever do, even though it's convenient.

I've mentioned before that I'm dealing with Runner Shelley v2.0, and I'm not as fast as I was two years ago.  This go-round, I've pretty much let go of any time goals and am just concentrating on running and building up my endurance.  That said, it took us forever to run the 9 miles in the rain - yes, some of that was due to having to wade/walk through water, along with being so waterlogged and feeling like we had bricks for shoes (plus there may have been a time or two when I pulled a little "this sucks and I give UP" walk).  I didn't set out on this dry 9 miler with any specific time goal, but when we hit mile 7 I glanced at my Garmin and realized that we might be able to finish the run in an even 2 hours (see, I told you I'm not fast).  We kept running along, and I kept glancing at my Garmin.  We had a tenth of a mile to go and I could see it was going to be close - so I sprinted (well, as much as I could sprint at the end of a 9 miler) - the time clicked to 2:00 and I still wasn't there...kept running and as the 9 miles came up on the Garmin I hit the stop button:
I made it - 9 miles in 2 hours!  Discovered later when I uploaded the Garmin stats to my computer that I was at 2:00:50 - whew, by the skin of my teeth I stayed at the 2 hour mark!  Took 8 minutes off our time from last week.

 A much, much happier camper...er, runner:
Another 9 miles - done.

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No running this week - I woke up around 1:30 am on Tuesday with the stomach flu.  I can't remember when I've felt so awful.  Just hoping that I'll recover in time for Saturday's run.

21 comments:

  1. OH Shelly!!! 9 miles in 2 hours is not slow!! Thats awesome!!

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  2. How cool that you ran it in exactly 2 hours: perfect pace timing Shelley.

    I don't like out and back races, I don't like race that exists from more than 1 of the same loop. I prefer 1 loop races.

    Oh oh hope your stomach flu heals soon. Here everybody is sniffing, coughing and has sore throats including me, it's going around here for sure.

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  3. For you, Shelley, I did actual MATH. :)

    Girl, you ran 13-minute miles! 9 of them in a row!! That is dang impressive.

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    1. Coming from a non-math person, I'm impressed that you worked the numbers! :)

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  4. Hope you're feeling better today! If you're not better by tomorrow DO NOT DO THE RUN ON SATURDAY. You are going to need a couple days to rehydrate and refuel your body to be ready for 10 miles.

    You took almost a minute per mile off your previous 9 miler! See? Sometimes pace happens for reasons that are out of your control. That's why it's so important to realize that on any given run we can only do the best we can with the circumstances we have.

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  5. Again, I am in awe of the 9 miles. 2 hours is great and look at the time you cut from the rainy run. Hope you feel better soon. Stomach flu is icky!

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    1. Sorry Shelley that was my post here under ERP. I didn't notice the hubby had his account open!

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    2. For a minute there I was impressed that I had a male runner reading this blog! I suspect it's too girly for most men, lol.

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  6. Wow - that's just amazing Shelley. To my doughy self it seems pretty intuitive that the run would be better (and faster) when not raining! Congratulations - you look fantastic.

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  7. I think 9 miles in two hours is awesome!! Aw, sorry you are sick - running and the stomach flu don't mix!

    Take it easy!

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  8. WTG on the 9 miles. Great time, Shelley, 2.0!

    Oh, and I'm sorry about the stomach flu - I can certainly relate - I was sharing the same experience at approximately the same time.

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  9. Good job on the 9 miler - that's pretty great!! Sorry your sickly - hope you feel better soon.

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  10. How great is 9 miles in 2 hours!! Yay!! I think it's awesome!

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  11. Oh no Shelley! NO stomach bugs. Go away. You didn't eat any salmonella nut butter, did you?

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  12. I hope you're feeling better! By the way, I love seeing people I know when I'm running, especially if they're in a race. Kindred spirits!

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  13. I love your attitude about running. I am much slower than I used to be, but unlike you, it took me a LONG time to accept. Who cares how fast you are running if you are out there doing it?!

    I hope you feel better soon xoxo

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  14. MANY HUGS FROM TX.
    hope your belly is better and spirit still the same :-)

    xo

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  15. Hooray for the 9 miles of awesomeness, but so sorry to hear about the stomach bug, that sucks!!!!

    Feel better soon!

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  16. Awww....feel better soon Shelley!!!!! Flu Be GONE!

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