Moving along....

I had a 14.5 mile run this past Saturday morning. I woke up early and was out the door by 6 AM. My main focus was completing the run and staying comfortable enough to finish. I wanted to avoid walking at any point and avoid the feeling that I was about to die!

I ate a powerbar about a 1/2 hour before I started and took two powergels along for the ride. I decided to be more conservative with my water intake because I didn't want to run out again in the last mile and a half, which is the hottest and hardest part of the run.

I didn't worry about pace so much, settling into a comfortable rhythm and zoning into my podcasts. I should mention here that I have three podcasts I listen to during each of my long runs. The first is called the Relevant podcast and is produced by the editors of Relevant magazine. It is essentially a Christian magazine about contemporary culture. It is the best podcast I listen to and get really disappointed when they post it late and
I have to miss it.

I’ve tried but I’m not into any of the running podcasts that are out there. Since I have an interest in getting into triathlons in the future, there are two "Tri" podcasts I always download. One is called Zen and the Art of Triathlons. I am definitely not into Zen Buddhism but, thankfully, the podcast avoids the subject for the most part because and offer the most entertaining information on the sport of triathlons. I enjoy listening in to Brent's rides each week and the different interviews with athletes.

I also really enjoy Stu's podcast on triathlons called Simply Stu. He offered an insider's look at the Tour de France that was particularly enjoyable and has great interviews with top pro athletes. However, I have been having a tough time downloading it recently and missed several of the podcasts. I am not sure what that is all about.

Anyway, the run was pretty uneventful. Yeah, it was hard but really not too bad. Maybe I should have pushed myself a little harder because it was not too tough. That is, not too tough while I was running. My lower ankles KILLED me later that day and most of the day Sunday. I tried icing it a couple of times and took several ibuprofens. I didn’t run today (Monday) to give my legs a little extra break. I plan to add a mile tomorrow and Friday to try and make up for it a little.

Here are my totals for last week:

Total mileage: 33.1 miles

Saturday: Long run – 14.56 miles – 2:32:25 (10:29 pace)

Thursday: 6 mile tempo – 8:45 pace

Tuesday: Mile and ½ mile intervals – 8:12 pace