Free from Time
I made an executive decision not to run Saturday morning so I could get some shut-eye after going to Disneyland on Friday. My first thought was to run after England played Portugal, but that went out the window when the temperature soared into the 90s by the 10 a.m.
By the time it cooled down – ok, 90 degrees isn’t exactly cooled down – it was 7:45 p.m., and I was looking at eight miles, followed by 17 miles Sunday morning.
And let me tell y’all how annoyed I was when I started my Saturday run. I couldn’t find my stopwatch, and I hate running without it. In fact, it’s probably been two or three years since I ran untimed.
I looked all over for it, but I couldn’t find it. As it was, I was going to be running in the dark, so I didn’t want to delay much longer.
When running at night, one thing I do suggest is wearing something so cars can see you. I wear a light-weight mesh vest with reflective strips on it http://amphipod.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?#Full-Visibility.
After being annoyed the first mile, I found to be more relaxed without the watch. I ran the eight miles in about 1 hour, 20 minutes, but since I couldn’t be worried about my time, I enjoyed my run in a different way.
Knowing it was going to be hot again Sunday, I awoke at 6:30 a.m. (a reasonable time with Kyan and all) and was out of the house by 7:45 a.m. Again, unable to locate my watch, I ran without knowing my time. Therefore, I didn’t look every mile to check my time, or my pace, and found the run to go by more quickly.
It was again relaxing, and gave me a chance to take in the Valley scene. And here’s what I saw:
--one dead sparrow
--one dead squirrel
--two abandoned mattresses laying across sidewalks
--three homeless people
I also learned why I run with my hat on backward. Obviously, I know the Valley streets well, but that didn’t stop me from nearly having my head lopped off.
There was a branch hanging over a sidewalk. I ducked, but not enough.
Whack!!!
My hat went flying off as the top of my head slammed into the branch. I figure I misjudged the branch height because I couldn’t see it since the brim of my hat was blocking my vision. (I just felt the top of my head and there is a little bump there.)
Needless to say, I quickly turned my hat backward, and didn’t have any further trouble.
Now that the mileage is getting up there, it is time for serious consideration about the race. To that, at mile 12 I needed some long-lasting fuel. When I use power gel (http://www.powerbar.com/Products/PowerGel/Flavors.aspx?id=FA8C390D-20A4-482F-BC72-AEF978F7F262), it usually only satisfies me for two or three miles. For something longer lasting, I use a Snickers Marathon Energy Bar http://www.snickersmarathon.com/home.asp
Yes, I eat it while I run, and it does the trick. It takes me about a mile to eat it, but in the past I’ve found it lasts about 10 miles.
I finished in about three hours, but I wasn’t concerned about the time because I knew it would be skewed by the temperature. It was 74 degrees when I left, and 94 when I finished. I lost five pounds (mostly water weight) during the run, but by the end of the day replenished most of it.
Another intense week of training awaits. My schedule is 5 miles (Tuesday), 8 miles (Wednesday), 5 miles (Thursday), 8 miles (Saturday) and 18 miles (Sunday, before the World Cup final).
Comments
It almost sounds like the 12 days of Christmas....i saw a crawfish! 2 turtles! and the corner of a piece of junk mail that said YOU CAN....i took the YOU CAN as an extra bit of inspiration.
Posted by: rudy | July 3, 2006 7:12 AM
Isn't it amazing what you see (or, oops, don't see) when you aren't focused on time? It also provided us with some entertainment too. Cold witchazel works good for bumps. Keep up the good work, it's going to come up quickly!
Posted by: Cindy | July 3, 2006 6:23 PM
I knew I loved Snickers for a reason! It also appears it pays to be a bit shorter. Low hanging branches are not something I want to worry about after running. Heck just finishing the run is hard enough and as I run I get tired and pay less attention. I could see myself getting knocked down because I was tired and just trying to finish the run. Be careful and keep it going!!! Ted
Posted by: Ted Bloom | July 5, 2006 9:39 AM
Was wondering if you had any advice for a runner who would like to do a marathon but doesn't have the attention span to stomach more than five miles or so of running at a time. Did you come across this problem in your training?
Posted by: Ross Siler | July 6, 2006 9:09 PM
A couple of suggestions. Start out with a 10K, because all you need is a long of a 5 mile run for a 10K. Then try a half-marathon, because training for that is no more than a long run of 11 or 12 miles. For me, I use running to sort out my thoughts, like story ideas about UCLA, or a fun day trip for the family, what I would like for dinner, investment ideas, or anything that makes me forget I'm running. When things get really tough, I envision running a marathon, and the feeling of finishing, and each time it's even better than I am able to imagine.
Another thing to try is to break up the run. Think about eating power gel or something at mile 4, maybe drinking at mile 5. I also only look at my watch every mile, so I'm not just staring at it.
Posted by: Brian Dohn | July 7, 2006 10:44 AM