Friday, September 29, 2006

You Ain't Gotta Take Drugs To Get High

Get up at 5:00 a.m., meet your training partner and take off for 20 miles in the dark. Watch the sun rise; observe the fog as it rises up off the ponds and the lake. Drink some Gatorade every couple of miles; take a gel at the half way point. Take each hill with patience and persistance. Enjoy the downhills. Talk to the deer, the cows, the horses, the dogs, and the "unidentified llama-looking farm animals as you pass. Watch the miles fly by. Soak up the beautiful, cool fall weather. Push the pace for the last 4 miles just 'cause ya can. Finish strong, and finish under your given pace target. Go home and eat some recovery food and drink a protein shake. Take an ice bath, then a warm shower. Play with the 2 greatest little boys in the world. Listen to them laugh, and soak up the blessings because they are abundant.

There is just something about distance running, or pushing your body to it's limits, especially in this kind of weather, that seems to make me intricately aware of my surroundings. Aware of my blessings. Aware of the gifts that The Creator gives me daily. Aware of my health. I can feel the air circulating through my lungs, and can see it as I exhale. It might be cool outside to someone standing around, but I am warm. My heart beats just enough to keep me warm and to supply the needed oxygen to my muscles. When I get too cocky, it speeds up and reminds me to have respect. After all, there have been 20 milers in the past that have kept me from making it home. I am rich with God's blessings. I have been steady lately. Not too high, not too low. But today I am high on life.

Michele and I had a brilliant 20 miler this morning. We ran our normal 20 mile Normandy bike route. It is hilly, but we handled it well. Target pace was 9:45-10:00/mile. I felt good pretty much the entire way, other than a little knee pain in my left knee, but it didn't seem to be anything serious. I finished in 3:13:47, a 9:41/mile pace. Week 6 running is in the books. Tomorrow I am doing the Delta 100k bike ride here in town.

Here are the mile splits for my 20 mile run:
1. 9:47
2. 10:07
3. 9:41
4. 9:32
5. 9:40
6. 9:40
7. 9:56
8. 9:45
9. 9:50
10. 9:43
11. 9:39
12. 10:07
13. 9:55
14. 9:43
15. 9:48
16. 9:37
17. 9:29
18. 9:16
19. 9:27
20. 8:54

Here's hoping your long runs go as well as mine!

4 comments:

:) said...

beautiful post and an awesome run.

have a great weekend!

Trisaratops said...

Wonderful post! Makes me wanna go run......:)

Backofpack said...

That was beautifully written. Nice post, nice run. You are so right about recognizing our blessings.

Rice said...

lol. I just got in from a LSD 30k (18mile)hilly run. I'm thinking I can just copy and past the report for mine.. You hit the nail on the head.

cheers.

Rice