Catchup

Last week: 20 miles in 2 runs
This week: 47 miles in 5 runs

I had trouble getting back into the groove last week, but I did manage a 14 miler on Sunday to round out the week. I was back to business this week, and made it out 5 times, including two runs with Silas. On Saturday, I took him out hoping to get in at least 5 miles before he gave up, but I was able to put together an interesting route for him. We passed 3 fire stations and a backhoe, and went through the Northbrae Tunnel. We went nearly 9 miles, and he was still asking to see "another one fire truck" by the time we got home; unfortunately, I'd run out of fire stations to visit.

This morning was the LMJS fourth Sunday race. I had a pretty vague plan for this, which was something like run a long, easy warmup to get to Lake Merrit, then run the 10k to see what happens. Of course, I left the house about 10 minutes late, so my easy warmup ended up being 4.5 miles in about 35 minutes. I made it to the start on time, though, and lined up next to a guy in an Oregon shirt who was built (and shorn) like he was from Coos Bay. Today's race included 5, 10, and 15k distances, but the 5 and 10k runners had similar colored wristbands, so it was hard to tell who was who. I started off in a close pack of about 5 folks, including the Oregonian, that mostly hung together through mile 1 (6:04 - too fast for me today!). We strung out a bit, and I moved into 4th place while Oregon and another guy pulled away. Mile 2 was more reasonable, about 6:27, but I've noted before that mile 1 seems short and mile 2 long on this course; it may be related to the wind, though. During mile 3, though, I really felt like I was running out of gas - I was feeling those first 4.5 miles and starting to think this was a stupid idea. In fact, running is a pretty stupid idea anyway. To top it off, my shoe came untied, and the brief stop to tie it (while getting passed twice) really sapped my will. I came through 5k in 20:14, and miles 3-4 were about 14:30 together. Finally, at mile 4 I realized that I was still within striking distance of a guy in a yellow shirt. I figured I could get him within 1.5 miles, and started to make a move. I picked up the pace gradually, and by mile 5 (6:40) he could hear my footsteps. I closed in, and within about a quarter of a mile I decided he wouldn't be able to outkick me at the end, so I passed him. I came through the last 1.2 in 7:35 (6:20 pace) and finished in 41:15, in something like 4th-6th place. Not a great time for me, but I realized that today's run was more about mentality than speed, and I feel pretty good about not throwing in the towel. Unfortunately, I also realized that today's run was also more about endurance than speed, and I really didn't have much choice but to run home after the race, leaving my BART pass unused in my shoe. The 4.5 miles home was tough, but it gave me 15+ for the day and a solid week.

In celebration, I registered for the Broad Street Run today.