Six miles at the Berkeley Marina
Today's mentor run was at the Berkeley Marina - the location of our very first coached run when I began this adventure at the end of May. I was a little nervous because my training schedule for the week had been less than stellar, and also because I knew there wouldn't be any water stops along the way. I wanted to be prepared and to do well.
I debated with myself about how to handle the water situation. I knew there was a water fountain at mile 1, but was also torn between carrying water and carrying Gatorade, since I have come to believe that Gatorade really does help me keep going in the longer runs. My eventual decision was to carry only Gatorade, and to drink water at the water fountain, since there wasn't going to be any supply of Gatorade along the way, while there were possibly going to be other water fountains I didn't know about.
It was another early morning - this one much more successful than the one on Thursday - I got up at about 5:45 and Dad & I planned to leave the house at 6:30 so we would have time to do a quick delivery for the shop on our way out to the marina, to meet up with the other runners and start running at 7:30. We were mostly on schedule - leaving at about 6:40, making the drop off, and landing at the marina at about 7:20. We each made a visit to the port-a-potties (I am *just* not a fan of those things, regardless of the necessity of them) then I met up with the group gathering while Dad read the paper for a bit.
Standing around in my shorts and tank top in the wind and cold at the marina, I was definitely in goosebump city. But once we started running, even just the warmup, I was really glad I had resisted the urge to wear a sweatshirt or sweat pants. Instead, I reveled at the cool breeze over me as I ran, thoroughly enjoying the balance of temperatures keeping me from getting too hot or too cold. Immediately, I fell into a comfortable and even pace, and before I knew it, I was at the first mile marker. I quickly drank my smaller bottle of Gatorade, then refilled it with water to carry with me as I continued on.
One of the nice things about not having water stops on a longer run is that I feel like I can get into a good pace and stay there, rather than having to drop out of it to stop at the water stop and then get back into it. So I was able to maintain a very easy and comfortable pace. Also, I noticed that my heart rate was consistently lower (at about 75% of my max most of the time, rather than at 80% or even up to 85%). I was very happy about that.
At the turnaround at the end of mile 3, Wendy, another friend of mine who's been struggling with shin splints and keeping her speed down, came and ran with me. At first I thought she would run with me for a little while and then take off, but we ended up running the entire way back together. We chatted about the Lake Chabot run, her trip to Florida, fundraising, and everything else under the sun.
We also shared our stories about what the first run at the marina had been like for each of us. It turns out we both started in a pretty similar place, with that 2 mile run absolutely kicking our butts. We were both amazed by how far we'd come in just 10 weeks of training - that those first 2 miles were pretty easy, actully, and now thinking 6 would be tough but doable.
As the finish line came into sight, I grinned at her and said, "Race you to the finish line!" and took off running at my fastest possible pace. My legs felt like absolute rubber, my breathing was hard, but I was doing it. She ended up beating me by a nose, but we were both serious winners regardless.
I debated with myself about how to handle the water situation. I knew there was a water fountain at mile 1, but was also torn between carrying water and carrying Gatorade, since I have come to believe that Gatorade really does help me keep going in the longer runs. My eventual decision was to carry only Gatorade, and to drink water at the water fountain, since there wasn't going to be any supply of Gatorade along the way, while there were possibly going to be other water fountains I didn't know about.
It was another early morning - this one much more successful than the one on Thursday - I got up at about 5:45 and Dad & I planned to leave the house at 6:30 so we would have time to do a quick delivery for the shop on our way out to the marina, to meet up with the other runners and start running at 7:30. We were mostly on schedule - leaving at about 6:40, making the drop off, and landing at the marina at about 7:20. We each made a visit to the port-a-potties (I am *just* not a fan of those things, regardless of the necessity of them) then I met up with the group gathering while Dad read the paper for a bit.
Standing around in my shorts and tank top in the wind and cold at the marina, I was definitely in goosebump city. But once we started running, even just the warmup, I was really glad I had resisted the urge to wear a sweatshirt or sweat pants. Instead, I reveled at the cool breeze over me as I ran, thoroughly enjoying the balance of temperatures keeping me from getting too hot or too cold. Immediately, I fell into a comfortable and even pace, and before I knew it, I was at the first mile marker. I quickly drank my smaller bottle of Gatorade, then refilled it with water to carry with me as I continued on.
One of the nice things about not having water stops on a longer run is that I feel like I can get into a good pace and stay there, rather than having to drop out of it to stop at the water stop and then get back into it. So I was able to maintain a very easy and comfortable pace. Also, I noticed that my heart rate was consistently lower (at about 75% of my max most of the time, rather than at 80% or even up to 85%). I was very happy about that.
At the turnaround at the end of mile 3, Wendy, another friend of mine who's been struggling with shin splints and keeping her speed down, came and ran with me. At first I thought she would run with me for a little while and then take off, but we ended up running the entire way back together. We chatted about the Lake Chabot run, her trip to Florida, fundraising, and everything else under the sun.
We also shared our stories about what the first run at the marina had been like for each of us. It turns out we both started in a pretty similar place, with that 2 mile run absolutely kicking our butts. We were both amazed by how far we'd come in just 10 weeks of training - that those first 2 miles were pretty easy, actully, and now thinking 6 would be tough but doable.
As the finish line came into sight, I grinned at her and said, "Race you to the finish line!" and took off running at my fastest possible pace. My legs felt like absolute rubber, my breathing was hard, but I was doing it. She ended up beating me by a nose, but we were both serious winners regardless.
Labels: Training
posted by Erin at 11:36 PM
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