10 Miles Is Starting To Feel Routine
Posted: January 30, 2012 Filed under: City Running | Tags: 10 miles, Boulder, office, record 7 Comments »
I regularly run from my house in Eldorado Springs to my office in Boulder. My standard run is right around 10 miles and has been a staple of my weekly “medium” runs when I’m in town. I usually leave my house just before dawn and enjoy the sun coming up on my way up 170 to Broadway (the first 4 miles) and then have the sun on my back for the remaining 6 miles into town.
As I’ve been losing weight (I’m now solidly under 200 and have been for a few weeks even with a long trip to the east coast) I’ve been getting faster. I knocked out a bunch of 10 milers at sea level in Boston and this was my first in Boulder since I went to Keystone in the middle of December.
I crushed it. I did a 9:1 pattern which means I walked a minute every 10 minutes and still turned in solid 10 minute miles the whole way, averaging 9:44. I had plenty left at the end although I definitely felt like I’d been working hard. For a 10 mile run, I’m often in the 140 – 150 range for average heart rate so 158 is an indication that there was some exertion today.
I started to fade a little around mile 8. I remember saying out loud “C’mon Feld – quit fucking around” as I picked it up again. As I made my way past the construction on Broadway (where they are building a new underpass), I smiled and hoofed it for the last mile.
Even with all my running, 10 miles used to feel like a long run until recently. Now, it’s just a routine run on my way to a day at the office.
Like this:
A Gilligan Island Run
Posted: January 28, 2012 Filed under: Long Run | Tags: bike, Boulder, clif shot, gilligan 7 Comments »
Whenever I go out for three hours or more, I think of it as a Gilligan Island Run. Everyone from my generation immediate starts singing “a three hour tour” in exactly the right key. I challenge you to get that out of your head.
My coach scheduled this for Sunday but I wanted to knock it off today. Amy and I got home late on Friday – I’d been gone for three weeks (mostly Boston, some New York). I knew that the elevation would get me a little and that I was generally wiped out from all the work I’ve been doing, but figured I’d test myself a little and then relax on Sunday.
I used an 8:2 pattern and still averaged 11:28 which was better than I expected (meaning that a bunch of the running segments had to be right around 10 minutes, or even sub 10 minutes.) I drank water and did three Clif Shots every 30 minutes. I ran out of gas around 14 miles and slowed down – I can’t tell whether it was the fuel, fatigue, or elevation. I had a headache for about 10 minutes at 15 miles (it went away) and needed to take a dump at mile 11 (it was very satisfying.)
I ended at a bike shop and picked up a new bike. After getting fitted I hopped on it and went three miles back to my office – mostly downhill. You can go a lot faster on a bike than on foot, even after running for three hours.
A shower followed by an awesome massage and I’m ready – for a nap. But dinner is in a little while so I’ll just power through and sleep late tomorrow morning.
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