2 posts tagged “pace”

Reluctant runner has been a trifle reluctant in blogging as well.

Last weekend's 23 mile run was a tough one. Hot weather, a slip-and-fall injury and some random things made it a tougher run. To start with, weather was in the 70s (in January!), simulating the run conditions in Miami, I guess. As if that wasn't bad enough, I forgot my face towel, so I tasted my own sweat a million times during the run. Still worse, I made a strategic error in not wearing shorts. The long leg warmer / sports pants helped during the initial 10 minutes when it was cool, but for most of the run it was a drag. But, I'm running ahead of myself.

We gathered early - at 7ish - for the run. Much pep talk followed on how to do this run. Having finished the 20 miles, most people were totally psyched out. Still, enthusiasm ran high. More talk followed on proper hydration, salt intake, Gu and energy gel intake, and all that. By the time everyone came together, it was 8.20ish already. Having spent more than an hour early in the morning wasn't exactly a fun thing and people were raring to go. That was a strategic mistake...

Most of us ran fast in first half, despite being told to reduce the pace by 1-2 minutes per mile. Physically, it is well near impossible to run much slower than your natural running pace for a long time. One feels like running in slo-mo, taking one exaggerated step after another. The ground was slick from the rain the previous night. As soon as we crossed the reflecting pool near the Capitol Hill (1 mile mark), I slipped and fell. I felt flustered. Pace group runners looked on concerned, perhaps wondering if one of them would have to stay behind with me, as Designated Drivers are supposed to do. And *I* happened to be one of the DDs that day. Right knee had a skin lesion, and a little blood oozed out. My palms, which took the fall, were hurting a bit but were fine.  It wasn't bad, actually, so I ran albeit a bit more cautiously.

Long runs can be boring, as we've discovered. So new games were played, different versions of the name game, with celebrity names, movie names, etc. The run took us way into Maryland territory on the Crescent trail. For a while, I thought we'd cross into Delaware and make way into New York. Thankfully, these were only idle thoughts on a hot, muggy, day. The turn-around point was mile-marker 4 on trail (somewhere near the crossing of Dorset Ave and Crescent trail).

The return half felt tough. A bunch of people in the pace group raced ahead. I stayed behind with 2-3  runners, one of them from the Sunday training group. Salt, gu, pretzels, gels and water was consumed regularly. Feeling no cramps, we trudged along. Raj, from the Sunday group, stayed behind to join the other Salazar A pace group. We, the Salazar B group, should have been running at the same pace, but some enterprising and enthusiastic runners took the lead early, causing an almost 10 minute gap between the two groups. It might have been a better strategy to stick with the Salazar A group, but I was now squarely between the B and A groups.

And so it was - one hard step after another. I was now almost isolated from the pace group, right near the Georgetown / M. St area. Not possessing a running watch, I could only approximate the run:walk intervals. And so I did. With just about 5 miles remaining, it felt like a long run. Still, as it happens when you are familiar with the route, every step brings the milestones closer. 4 miles remaining near the Pegasus bridge, 3 miles at the intersection of 19th and Constitution, 2 miles near Smithsonian Natural history.

Finally, at the 1 mile mark, I met a whole bunch of staggering runners, those who had paced fast early in the run. Some were struggling, others walking, still others hobbling. Alternating between the three like others, I finally reached the finish point.

The best part of the finish was the cheering that people did. "Come on, almost there!", clapped those who had finished earlier and were waiting. A smile automagically spread on my face... It felt great to finish at long last!

Treats awaited everyone. Plenty of peanut-butter, jam sandwiches, oranges, gatorade, bananas and such were to be had. My legs were aching, but not as much as I was fearing. The injury seemed marginal now. There was only a feeling of accomplishment, even if minor..

In retrospect, plenty of things could have been different. But I'll save them for another day. Another day, when the writer is not feeling as reluctant...

"Slow down", says the Coach. "You are running too fast. Here, this is what the pace should be". And then he proceeds to show exactly how slow a 12:00 mile training pace should be. "I've got a GPS enabled racing watch and we can track exactly how fast we are", he says pointing to his wrist. Everyone in the running group is suitably impressed.

Thump... [pause] Thump... [pause] Thump...[pause].

The pace looks like a slow-mo from an old '30s movie. A sharp pain goes through my thighs. As nearly every one knows, running fast is a sure way to burn out quickly. Running slow is, it would appear, far easier to handle. But no.

Running slow is like sawing through a tree trunk with a butter knife. With the blunt edge. Like a watching a lotus bloom, and just as exciting. Like being One with yourself, when you are aware of all your thoughts, only to realize that all you are thinking of is the sharp pain in the left thigh, the soreness in your right knee, and the twinge in your feet. Wow, is that noise from my knee?

Supremely confident after an easy 10-miler the weekend before,  this particular run was as hard as the earlier one was easy. The route was, by now, quite familiar. Straight north on I St in southwest DC, right on Jefferson, along the reflecting pool near the Capitol Hill, left on Madison Ave all the way to the Washington monument, then across to Constitution Avenue and all the way to the Lincoln Memorial. And then further along the waterfront to Georgetown, and thence to the Crescent Trail. By the time it was to turn around, it was getting harder to go slow. By the last mile, at the statue of Grant, it was nearly impossible to keep the pace. Half the people in the group complained about aching limbs, and joints. Other half complemented with their stories of aching muscles, and evoked thoughts of carb-rich peanut-butter-smothered bagels.

The week that followed (last week) was a lesson in pain endurance. Appropriately applied cryo-therapy, such as ice-packs, ice-bath, and even frozen peas came to the rescue. My own aches lasted about 3 days, bad enough to make an impression in my memory, yet not so bad to give up.

Yesterday's 6-miler was, by contrast, a "recovery run". Several weeks ago, I wouldn't have thought of 6-miles as a recovery run by any measure. But it surely turned out nicely. The weather was perfect, in the 60s and 70s, the sun was shining brightly and the run was easy. Several regular members were missing. No doubt, the effect of past week's tribulations. All in all, a good run was had by all. The downside? Even more tourists along at the numerous Smithsonian museums.

The stats:
12 miles: 2 hours, 24 mins: 12:00 min pace
6 miles: ~65 mins: 10:50 pace (faster than required).

Next weekend is the 14-miler. Time for some more cryo-therapy...