Whilst restless after a daylight shift at the mill, I decided it was time to take advantage of the remainder of a nice afternoon and start my freshly-downloaded RunKeeper app. Just downloading an app was a big deal for me, as I'm not really the technology-oriented guy I once thought I'd be. This will of course no longer be used once I get a GPS watch, since it kills my phone battery needlessly.
So I set out on foot from my house, started the app, and began tooling around Penn Hills Twp. Lucky for me, most roads around me are "shouldery enough" to run on without a ton of danger of being struck. As I pressed forward, my lack of conditioning was still very apparent. I'd just eaten, and was experiencing indigestion, and I kept having to walk up grades that I should've at least been trotting. In addition, my straightaway speed hadn't gotten up to anything I'd consider good. But I had a general route planned since I knew all the roads, and knew how far I could approximately go before nightfall.
2:25 later, I'd arrived back at my street and had done, more or less, an exact 13.1 miles! Not bad, considering my lack of conditioning and the extreme hilliness of roads around my area. There had to be at least a couple thousand feet of elevation changes that forced me to walk or take a pause to shake out overloaded joint areas. And speaking of those, my downhill work has much room for improvement also, as I have tons of room to pick up speed and master shock-absorption techniques.
Friday, September 20, 2013
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Training Run: 15 miles on North Park loop
Preview:
During a weekend visit from my girlfriend, Emme (who is also an aspiring ultrarunner), we plan to head out for a Sunday morning training run. Emme's training for her fist full marathon, in Columbus on October 20. And I'm training to race, period. Before this run, my previous max length was 8.75 miles in 1:40, a week before. So, I'm aiming for 15 to see how well I can handle it.
Up until a week before this, I didn't even own a suitable pair of road running shoes, as I'd been nursing along my Asics Gel Venture 3's. So I'd ordered a pair of Asics (yep, my favorite brand) Nimbus 14's in bright neon yellow (Ow!) from Running Warehouse, because they were cheaper and rated as a good neutral shoe. That said, the color quickly grew on me as there is a lot of bright yellow running clothing available to match! I'd taken the shoes out on a couple break-in runs totaling 10 miles, so they were ready to go.
North Park, Allegheny County has a very nice paved running loop that follows the roads that circulate the lake. Each lap is a tick over five miles. Emme was going for her first 20 mile run ever. I'd secretly and ambitiously planned to hit 20 also, if I could swing it. ;)
Result:
15 miles, in a fairly easy 2:41 - which isn't bad, considering that was the first time I'd ever run that far. That said, my secret plan of 20 was struck down with bowel problems, which started at the end of lap two (mile 10) and eventually lasted well into the evening. I suspected a large milkshake was the cause from the night before, which I obviously shouldn't have had. All told, I'd reached my official goal and Emme reached hers. We celebrated by going out for burgers before my stomach pains got too bad and had me laid up (not in the good way) during the evening. Luckily I was able to drive her home late in the evening so I didn't have to wait until 5am before work in the morning to do so.
During a weekend visit from my girlfriend, Emme (who is also an aspiring ultrarunner), we plan to head out for a Sunday morning training run. Emme's training for her fist full marathon, in Columbus on October 20. And I'm training to race, period. Before this run, my previous max length was 8.75 miles in 1:40, a week before. So, I'm aiming for 15 to see how well I can handle it.
Up until a week before this, I didn't even own a suitable pair of road running shoes, as I'd been nursing along my Asics Gel Venture 3's. So I'd ordered a pair of Asics (yep, my favorite brand) Nimbus 14's in bright neon yellow (Ow!) from Running Warehouse, because they were cheaper and rated as a good neutral shoe. That said, the color quickly grew on me as there is a lot of bright yellow running clothing available to match! I'd taken the shoes out on a couple break-in runs totaling 10 miles, so they were ready to go.
North Park, Allegheny County has a very nice paved running loop that follows the roads that circulate the lake. Each lap is a tick over five miles. Emme was going for her first 20 mile run ever. I'd secretly and ambitiously planned to hit 20 also, if I could swing it. ;)
Result:
15 miles, in a fairly easy 2:41 - which isn't bad, considering that was the first time I'd ever run that far. That said, my secret plan of 20 was struck down with bowel problems, which started at the end of lap two (mile 10) and eventually lasted well into the evening. I suspected a large milkshake was the cause from the night before, which I obviously shouldn't have had. All told, I'd reached my official goal and Emme reached hers. We celebrated by going out for burgers before my stomach pains got too bad and had me laid up (not in the good way) during the evening. Luckily I was able to drive her home late in the evening so I didn't have to wait until 5am before work in the morning to do so.
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