Wednesday, October 14, 2015

WWU - 9 Miles, Redux

You know, running is a fickle beast.  One long run can feel so good, while another?  Challenging, to say the least.  And you never know what you'll get, until you start running.  Such was the case on Saturday; coming off of a good 10 miler the week before, I figured this 9 mile run would be at the minimum, fine.  And it was fine, but at the same time, it felt much harder than last week's long run, which threw me a bit.  I was getting tired when we stopped to refill our water bottles at the 4.5 mile mark!  Last week, you might recall that I wrote how it seemed like we ran the mile from 4.5 to 5.5 in an instant, but not so much for this one, no siree.  That's not to say I didn't enjoy the run, because I did - Loretta, CC and I started early and had plenty to talk about, and thanks to MINI, we even had a bright light to get us through the darkest parts of the run:
Truly, a mini/MINI flashlight! 

Several of us were doing our own routes and/or distances on Saturday, so we were all over the place.  At one point, Cary and Brian, who were running 12 miles, ended up behind us as we were headed into the sunrise, and Cary took a picture that I just love:
CC, me, and Loretta, right around mile 7.5.

If you look on the right side of the road, you can see a traffic cone - one lane was blocked off for a race that was going to start soon (the Buffalo Stampede - I ran it in 2010 when they offered a 10 miler).  Well, soon after this picture was taken a tractor parade drove by - there must have been four or five big, slow-moving tractors going down the single-lane road, followed by a bunch of cars.  We felt like we had our own private cheering section, as each tractor driver waved at us, and then several of the people in their cars waved and cheered as well!  That was fun, and put some much-needed pep in my step.  We finished, and got back to the park to find a ton of activity going on - there was another race about to begin!  Racing season has finally begun again in south Texas...it's supposed to be cooler, weather-wise, but it wasn't on Saturday - the high humidity was back which probably contributed to my less than stellar run.

After our crew all came in, we headed out to breakfast, but not to Blue Baker - we were celebrating Brian's return to running (and to our group!), as the trial that had consumed his life non-stop was finally over.  I had a slice of yummy quiche and a piece of cinnamon toast, which, sadly, did not even come close to a cinnamon twist, but that's OK - I'll sacrifice the twist once in a while, LOL.

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Along with the long run on Saturday, I'm still running three times during the week - depending on the day, my running buddies are Jeff, Julia, Loretta, or Cary.  I have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself for sticking with the schedule - we are in week 14 of our training program, and being that my goal race isn't until January 17, 2016, I've got a lot of running still to come.  It's not like I ever really stop running, but when I'm in the off season, I usually only run a couple times during the week, along with a much shorter "long" run on Saturday.  So this is good, and even with the somewhat rough run on Saturday, I'm giving myself a gold star for this week!

21 comments:

  1. Our workouts mirror life don't they? Some days are way better than others! At least you had your own parade while you ran, and some days we all could us our own parade we deserve them for all our hard effort. Hopefully this weeks long run will be better for you.

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  2. Dumb heat and humidity will mess with your head almost as much as it messes with your pace! Every run still has its value though and I know you know that. You definitely deserve that gold star and more for your dedication!

    Great shot of you ladies.

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    1. Thanks - I wish I would have realized it was so humid when I started that run...I could have adjusted my expectations (which are usually very low) ahead of time. Oh well.

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  3. You deserve that gold star!! What an awesome picture of you 3 running!! :)

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    1. Thanks - and yes, how often does one love a shot of their backsides? ;)

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  4. Love that picture! I'm SO over this heat and humidity... eeeeeevery so often we get a glimpse of fall weather, only to have it snatched away. Glad you made it through the run!

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  5. That seems so far into the future for the race with the training. You should do a whole marathon then.

    I love that picture of the 3 of you - and that looks like the widest sidewalk ever! Lots of room.

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    1. You know, I STILL have no desire to run a marathon.

      And yes, that wide sidewalk is one reason why we love to run on that road - it's really nice.

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  6. Two gold stars from me! You are consistently sticking to your schedule which I admire very much.

    And you know that after every bad run there is always a good one to come.

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  7. I think you guys are doing great! And if I ever ran any distances, not sure I'd go past a half marathon - my friend did a Vancouver one this past August and said it was fantastic - and as Vancouver is on my bucket list to visit, who knows what next year will bring?!

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    1. Hey, Vancouver sounds like an excellent place for a destination race!

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  8. I didn't think about it before, but your runs are probably getting darker and darker in the morning, aren't they? And I didn't think about it until Lori mentioned it, but that IS a really nice sidewalk!

    I'm predicting that the humidity is going to be gone in two weeks! :))

    And yes, gold star!!!! For the run, and for that great photo!

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    1. I hope your prediction is correct! :)

      Yes, it's been REALLY dark lately. I'm glad I finally remembered to bring that flashlight.

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  9. YOu definitely deserve a gold star for your running prowess and your running consistency! I need to get my butt back into running...and break those new shoes in!

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    1. Your pretty new shoes do need to meet the road soon! :)

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  10. Why didn't you participate in that race this year?
    I know how some long runs feel better than some short ones. I think for me it might be mental. I feel like I can take my time on the long runs and the objective is to just get through it. I feel with shorter runs I am worried about time.
    I am embarking on my longest training run this cycle on Saturday and I am so nervous. I don't know why, it's just a training run!

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    1. I don't like the route for that race; it's a pretty boring out-and-back.

      I'm sure you'll do fine this Saturday - just think of it as one mile...and then another mile...and then ANOTHER mile. ;)

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  11. There are so many factors that play into a successful run...sleep, fueling, and weather...it's nice when they all come together!

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