Run stuff, before I forget

Or I get too lazy to look it up on the phone.

The tough part of the weekend run was fitting it into the When Words Collide schedule. Fortunately there wasn't a MUST ATTEND on Saturday morning. I had time to get up, do coffee and a light breakfast, and get ready to run.

22K, 2:34:16, 7 min/k pace, with almost exactly 2 minutes of pit stop time. I'd thought of going up and around the reservoir and back. Once upon a time that was a long  hard bike ride. The problem with running that far is I would have to carry everything I'd need, and I don't have a hydration pack yet. Then I remembered some of the long runs back in Ironman training, where I used the front patio as an aid station.

I made up my energy drink mix the night before, and left it on the front step in the shade. The first loop was just under 9 K and went by pretty fast. The second loop ended right on 19 K and was a bit of a struggle right at the end. It was hard getting going again after that, and 20K was one of the slowest ones, both pace and cadence. Then I got in the groove again, but I was happy to stop at 22 and walk back to the house for a good cool down.

All in all it went really well. My legs were a bit tired at the end, but nothing was hurting. My pacing was pretty good, slower going up hill of course. Cadence was pretty steady, 83 overall, varying between 85 and 80. The morning started off cool, nearly the perfect temperature to run, and was warm on the way to hot by the end.

There was second breakfast when I got home, then off to the conference.

Monday we planned a date night out. The Guild in the Bay building downtown is super food! But I knew I wasn't going to be able to run when we got home, so I planned ahead and ran from Talisman.

8 K, 54:30, 6:38 pace, though there is a bit of uncertainty there. The map shows the first K with a big dogleg that didn't happen. The first K felt a bit clunky, then into the groove running towards the Bow. I goofed and went under a bridge I should have crossed, then I ran into traffic on 9th that I didn't want to cross. Back, then past Talisman, and back again till I ticked over 8 K. It all felt really good, with my feet feeling mostly light and fairly strong.

Running first thing in the morning is nice, though it was a bit tough to go back into the humid air of Talisman. Something about running during and after the conference has triggered lots of writing thoughts in my head. Let's hope I can capitalize on them in September and after.

I'm really pleased with how the running is going, but I can feel the need for a bit of extra sleep. Mostly I'm getting it. My weight is still going down slowly, and I'm tracking my heart rate numbers. So far the lowest resting rate is 45 bpm. Even Sunday morning after the long run it was only 50 or so, and that was after a late night. I was expecting it to be higher.

The MCK has suffered a bit, I have to admit. I need to get back on that again. The good photos have slowed down a bit, but never fear, there are lots in the camera waiting to be processed. Here's an iPhone shot to hold you over.  I've thought of an experiment to try, and that will be worth a blog post.