Long run #12

Not quite the run I imagined, but very nice all the same.

I did it with the Running Center folks, on a four-mile out-and-back course in the park (from W. 106th and CPW into the park at 103rd, along the lake to the road and then onto the reservoir at 86th, around that loop and back by the same route). I had hoped to do 20, but I called it after 16 (Mindy's schedule for me had 16-20, and I'm still six weeks out from the race - of course I would always rather do the larger number, but...) - stomach trouble!

I took a bathroom break after loop 3 (a lot of stairs up to the toilet at the 106th St. track!) and another one after loop 4 and regretfully decided it was more sensible at that point to stop than to keep going.

I don't know that it was something I ate, I think that I was just fairly lethally tired this week - bad insomnia on Thursday, I didn't fall asleep till after 4, and it took me a couple hours of tossing and turning last night also before I could get to sleep, so I had only a bit less than six hours last night, not enough to make up for the previous night's awful shortfall.

Felt pretty tired walking over there this morning, and then we did the first couple loops really fast because it was such gorgeous weather - my HR was a little higher than it should have been, and it is predictable that the stomach then starts acting up.

Uneven pacing - it was not as good a training exercise, in that respect, as that NYRR run I did a couple weeks ago. We were at 9:15 or faster pretty steadily for the first eight miles, and most of the third loop also; my last one was quite a bit slower because I was trying not to set off the stomach stuff. I don't have detailed lap data.

Anyway, 16 miles, 2:30:21, 9:23 average pace

It really was a nice run despite these drawbacks! And best of all, I have found a training partner for that 20-miler on Nov. 1 that I was a bit worried about (it is the day before the NY marathon, so all the usual suspects are unavailable) - one of Mindy's runners lost a week or two of training because of a minor injury and has decided to run Philadelphia instead of NY, and we can easily run the same pace, so that will be great. We will do it together on the middle loop in the park, and it will be much easier and more enjoyable than doing it alone.

One other regretful observation: as much as I like these Brooks short-sleeved running shirts, they are no good for long runs; even with massive amounts of Bodyglide, the underarm chafing is unacceptable! I am going to be yelping when I get into the shower shortly...