Ending the week with a solid Long Run!

Yesterday was a great day! I got to play a Klingon in the play "A Klingon Christmas Carol" and had the best time ever!  What a great experience!  Of course, that meant I did not get home until after 10pm, at which point I finally ate some dinner (way later than my usual dinner time).

My friend Mike and I had planned on putting in our Long Run today -- an 11-miler!  So my first thought was "Am I going to get enough sleep?" and "Am I going to be up for this run if I don't?".  When I woke up at 8am, it was really raining outside so I thought perhaps Mother Nature had answered the question for me.  I am not a big fan of running in the rain.

Then I got a text from Mike saying "I am up for it if you are".  And then the rain started to subside.  So I figured "Let's do this!".  So at 10:23am (it was raining again but only lightly) we headed out on the Illinois Prairie Path, starting in Algonquin and heading towards West Dundee.  The temps were in the upper 30s but without the wind, it wasn't very cold at all.  Thank the Lord for that because rainy AND cold would have made for a lousy run experience.

We started off at an 11:00/mm pace, slow and easy, and pretty much made it all the way to RT 72 in West Dundee (at the Dairy Queen) without missing a beat.  We only had to stop a couple of times due to traffic at road crossings (I was NOT going to tangle with another SUV!).  So with almost 6 miles under our belt, we turned around to head back.

I took a PowerAde gel at the 4.5 mile point with some water.  I was feeling very calm and determined, with no pains or twinges in either my legs or my hip (I was wondering if the left hip would complain at all, but it was quiet and agreeable).  I checked my HRM and at the 11:00/mm pace I was running, my heart rate was only in Zone 1!  That, in and of itself, was amazing because that means my heart and body were expending a basic level of effort to propel me forward, burning fat rather than sugar for fuel.  This is the optimum scenario!

As we headed back towards Algonquin, Mike and I continued on our set pace.  At the 8.5 mile point, we took a bathroom break, and I took my second fueling -- this time a Clif Bar.  I have to say, I was not feelin it.  It was dry and kinda hard to swallow without chugs of water.  I didn't like that.  So note to self: stick with the gels or sport beans for the race.

Mike decided at Mile 10 that we should speed up the pace a bit, to see what was 'left in the tank.'  So we slowly increased our pace to 9:00/mm and kept it there for just over a 1/2 mile.  Then we slowed down to a 10:20/mm pace until we reached the last tenth of a mile.  Then Mike started to speed up and pulled ahead.  Of course, I had to catch him.  And i caught him just as we reached the end of the path, running at a 7:30/mm pace!

Whew!  That was amazing!  So I guess my tank still had some octane!  This is good to know for the Half Marathon.  If I conserve energy the first 6 miles, then kick it up a notch for the next 6 miles, I will still have some reserves 'in the tank' to give that last mile a good, strong run to the finish.

So in the end, we ran 11.3 miles, with our warm-up and cooldown walks bringing the total miles to 11.96.  Pretty pleased with that!  My legs were tired and felt a little tight, but nothing out of the ordinary that stretching and the foam roller wouldn't resolve.  So this adds up to a total of 19.7 miles for the week, and just under 60 miles for the month of November!

After going home, getting out of all the wet clothing, showering, foam rolling, etc, my son and I met Mike for lunch at Around The Clock in Crystal Lake for a well deserved lunch.  Grilled chicken breasts with new potatoes and peas, washed down with unsweetened iced tea.  Oh, did it taste heavenly!  We all had a great time laughing and talking about Disney and all kinds of other stuff.  And I realized that running in the rain wasn't so bad after all. (Now my next new experience needs to be running in the snow!)

I am telling you, there is nothing better than running with good friends and sharing in the experience.  It makes the runs so much more fun, and the time just flies by.  I don't mind running solo -- I do it several times a week.  But I never miss the chance to run with someone like Mike because it adds something special to the experience.  We never ran out of things to talk about (and of course we talked about the Klingon play since he came to see me in it yesterday).

So what's next? This week includes another Hill Run!!!!  Oh yes!  Another crazy run up this killer hill in the neighborhood.  An all-out run up the hill -- about 1/3 mile -- then brief rest, a walk back down, and do it again... three times!  Then after that, I get to do an all-out run down the street (thankfully flat) for 3 minutes, followed by a walk back to the car.  I did this last month and surpisingly completed it all.  It will be interesting to see the statistics when I do it this Thursday.  Thank goodness this is a cutback week so my Long Run next Saturday is only 3 miles, with a total of maybe 11 miles for the whole week.  (And hopefully no SUV encounters).

Disney Countdown: It is now only 35 days before the Disney 5K and Half Marathon.  Things are getting 'real'!!!!  I cannot wait for this race and all the park fun!  And, I cannot wait to spend a day at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter too!  Life is good!

Rick versus the SUV

Sounds like an episode of "Chuck", doesn't it? Well, I survived my first experience of 'runner vs vehicle' this morning! Kinda scary when I think about it now. It also really pisses me off. (If I weren't the forgiving type, I think I'd be calling the police. But alas, it didn't occur to me at the time)

So it is around 7AM. The sun was out. It's 21 degrees and a bit windy. I am feeling comfy, happy and looking forward to being outside for some 'me time' on my Thursday morning 'easy run' for 40 minutes or so before heading to work. I was almost at the first mile of a 3.5 mile run, when I approached an intersection on Miller Rd, a road near my home that I run frequently (on the sidewalk) because it has a solid 3-mile incline I like to train on.

Just to lay out the scene, this is a T-intersection, with the traffic heading onto Miller has a stop sign so that they pay attention to the traffic on Miller before they make their left or right turn. There is no stop sign for those on Miller Rd (or its sidewalks). So as I come up to the corner, there is this blue SUV (and another car behind it) coming to a stop on the side street. There are several cars coming up Miller so the two vehicles need to wait until it is safe to make their turns.

So here I am in my black running pants and BRIGHT GREEN, reflective running pullover (did I mention the SUN was out?). I slow down, looking at both the SUV and the traffic, and determine that he isn't moving forward and doesn't have an opening in the traffic to merge. I usually run behind cars at a crosswalk to avoid any problems. But since there was a car behind the SUV, I decided that going in front of the SUV was better than the potential of being squished between two vehicles.

Wrong!! As I ran in front of the SUV, inside the crosswalk, he starts to pull out!!! He hits me on my left hip! So I spin around to put my hands on the hood of the car while running backwards to keep from being run over. There was no where else to go (in fact, I considered jumping onto the hood before he picked up more speed)! I think this lasted for like 2-3 seconds before he hit the brakes, but it felt like forever. I was literally on Miller Rd by the time he stopped. I saw one car pass/swerve behind me on the road before the others stopped. Thank the Lord he stopped!

I ran around to the driver's side and the guy rolled down his window, apologizing and asking if I was okay. At the moment, I was just happy to be standing there. He was shaken up because clearly he was NOT PAYING ATTENTION and trying to bolt into traffic when it was not safe to do so!

I was more incredulous than mad at the time. I didn't even think to yell at him. I was basically unharmed so I just told him I was fine. He asked me like three times if I was okay. I said yes each time, and then turned around to continue on my run. I know that sounds crazy. The hip felt ok (it was a tad sore), but it wasn't affecting my run or my form so I just kept moving. Maybe it was shock or something because it never occurred to me to get his name or to get the license plate number. In fact, the most important thing at the moment it happened was to get out from "in front of" the license plate! I was just happy to be able to walk away from the incident, finish my run, and get ready for work.

That guy will have a story to tell at his office today I guess. I hope he will take this incident to heart and pay attention to EVERYTHING around him on the road, and not just how to make his next turn!

Looking back on it, I should have run behind the car, but with another car behind the SUV, I thought I didn't want to run between two vehicles. This is the first time I 'read' the conditions incorrectly. I know this was not my fault, but at the same time, what could I have done differently? The only thing I could have done was just stop and wait for both cars to leave the intersection before continuing.

The funny thing was when I got home, the first thing I checked was my run stats! I finished the 3.5 miles at a 10:00 pace and without any further excitement. After I showered, I took time to test out the hip and left leg to see if anything hurt or didn't feel right. WIth the exception of the impact spot, everything felt fine, no pain or restricted movement.

Tonight I will spend some time in the Jacuzzi at LifeTime and then ice it down before bedtime. We will have to see how it feels when I wake up tomorrow. I just hope the hip feels fine for my 11- Mile LR on Saturday.

So, in the battle between Rick and the SUV, I have to say that I won that one. But I would have much preferred to have avoided the whole thing!