Running around water
Water ties in to so many of my running activities. First of all, I need to carry water with me when I go on long runs. Secondly, I run to raise money to bring water to those who don’t have access to clean water. Thirdly, I love running next to bodies of water. This weekend, I was fortunate enough to run around Big Spirit Lake in Okoboji.
This is the third week in a row that I’ve been “stacking” miles. Meaning stretching out my distances and getting my body ready to be on my feet and running for over three hours for a marathon. This week, I got in about 30 miles of running.
After my 12.5-mile run last Sunday, Monday was a rest day. Tuesday morning, I got rained out, but I was able to sneak in an afternoon run with Tyler Sullivan of Iowa Scenic Views by Foot. We warmed up for two miles, then ran 4x1-mile intervals, and then warmed down for a mile. Last week I was only able to complete three of the four intervals. This week, I was able to complete all four of them. I was hoping to run them around a 7:45 minute/mile pace. I pretty much did that (7:40, 7:45, 7:43 and 7.58). The last mile was a bit slower, but I made a bargain with myself. I told myself that if I was successful on the first three, I could do the fourth at whatever pace that I wanted as long as I completed it. I was gratified that I was able to complete the workout and pushed through the fatigue. Now, I’ll begin working on improving the pace a bit.
Wednesday was a 3.5-mile run with my 21+ year running partner Ted at a leisurely 9:30/mile pace which is typical. Normally, I would run on Thursday and rest on Friday. However, Thursday, I was travelling and wasn’t able to squeeze in a run. Friday, I ran with my son-in-law, Trai, while at our lake house on Big Spirit Lake. We ran five miles of the trails at an 8:01 pace.
Saturday training runs are typically half the distance of my Sunday runs. Saturday runs tend to be geared more for pacing while Sunday runs tend to be to condition your body for long runs on somewhat tired legs. Since I was planning to go 14 miles on Sunday, Saturday’s run was a 7.3 mile run at an 8:20 pace. I was pleased with that. I wasn’t overly tired after the run and that was a good feeling.
Sunday took me into new territory. At least new territory for this training cycle. Since I had ACDF surgery (Anterior Cervical Discectomy & Fusion) around a year ago, I’m just now getting back to the running that I like to do. That surgery fused two of my vertebrae. My neck is feeling good and I’m thankful for that. It’s the rest of my aging body that is feeling it! Anyway, I decided to run around Big Spirit Lake which I have done many times, just not recently. I know from previous runs that the distance is slightly over 14 miles. On this day, I hoped that I was ready for the challenge. Trai again started out with me for the first 3 miles. After a 9-minute warm-up mile, we settled into an 8:30 pace before Trai turned around. My primary goal for the day was just to make it around the lake. My secondary goal was to average a 9-minute pace.
After Trai turned around at mile three, I kept going up the west side of the lake. I ran for about 3-1/2 miles on the west side of the lake in order to get to the northwest corner of the lake. This western portion is some of the most scenic on the run because it keeps you close to the lake and the trail/road is somewhat elevated.
Once I hit the northwest corner at mile 7, I headed east. This northern portion of the lake is the Iowa/Minnesota state border. I didn’t think there was much wind but once I turned east on this stretch of road, I immediately hit a head wind. I had about three miles due east and this was the toughest part of the run and also my slowest. My pace slowed to around 8:45 to 8:50 for this three-mile stretch until I turned the corner and headed south. Once headed south, I no longer had to battle the wind but now I was battling fatigue. I had run pretty well so far and was quite a bit below my nine-minute pace goal. So, from here I just tried not to balloon over a nine-minute/mile pace and blow my cushion. I just tried to grind out the last four miles. I concentrated and worked on my form, mainly my foot strikes and strides. This helped and I was actually able to pick up the pace. My last three miles were my three fastest consecutive miles of the day and were again around 8:30 each.
At the end of the run, I wasn’t necessary feeling winded or breathing hard and felt pretty good cardiovascular wise. However, my legs and glutes were worn out. That is something that I will have to work on. All in all, it was a good run and a good week of running. Perhaps my best week of running to date. I achieved my daily goal and completed all 14 miles and I was able to run a sub-9 minute pace. At the end of my training, I hope that my Saturday runs will be at a sub-8 minute pace and my Sunday runs will be at a sub-8:30 pace. I hope you’ll stay with me to see if I get there! In the meantime, I will keep RUNNING FOR WATER!