After the first Wednesday track training, the Thursday mornings look pretty grim for a run. My shoulders and upper body felt pretty tight, but had planned on this, and designed the day so I could run at 5, after work. Much better. Since it was bordering on dark, I relinquished to running some laps around Chaparral Lake and the north ball fields, a 1.5 mile loop.

The pace felt good and the complaints felt mild to weak. I perhaps, maybe, maybe, maybe, was sipping a few endorphins as I felt almost “good”. Of course, plenty of trim, happy runners zoomed past me like I was still, but I’m not in a race against anyone but myself.

Looming ahead is the 18 miler on Saturday, which will be the real test if I can crank up for the full monty/marathon. While its feeling good now, I dont have much long distance under the training belt.

Let’s cross that river when it… on Saturday.

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Tonight was the first time my schedule actually allowed me to make the Wednesday night Team D practices at Scottsdale Community College’s track. In years past, this various paced shorter runs, with all kinds of ladders and pace switching, were not “fun” but felt like they added an element of strength to the long stints. It was where the first year I actually learned to better feel and know my various “paces”, as they were.

It was not even all that cold, despite our chilly nights, but woah, where was everybody? There were 5 of us there, whcih seems way down for Team D numbers– but then again, who am I to say anything as all together, I have managed to make it to about 4 training runs all season.

But as always, Coach Dave was there to give good advice and gruel us to run the routine- this was 6 x 800m runs at a “fast mile pace” with about only 2 minutes rest in between. I did mine at about the equivalent of 9:00 – 9:20 mile paces- nothing fast to the more fleet of our team, but that is pretty darn good for this slow plodder… in my dreams, I could go distance at those numbers.

It seems incredulous that there are humans that can do much faster race paces over long distance over my fastest short sprint pace! Oh well, I am always reminding that I am not aiming for any glory of speed, and only to reach the finish.

It’s the first day back in town after 10 days spent at 6000 feet elevation, and I am wondering, i there any of that beneficial effect of altitude? I ought to be flying at superhuman speeds and breathing like a resting baby. Today was scheduled for a 50-60 minute mid week run, so I did one of my loops up north to the Canal, but took Hayden north to cut the usual 70 minute run for the full loop down a bit.

While I am forgetting the article it came from, I recall a runner (or a novel about a runner) describing the “2 mile effect” that he would not judge how he felt until that distance was reached– so the point is not to listen to the aches and complaints from the body when I first start out. And I felt sluggish, and the excuse trains was chugging “I’d rather be doing anything than this” as I headed north from Jackrabbit Road and the park. And within about a mile, and some distraction in thought, I felt a little spring to the step, and did the loop in a moderately good pace and form, even enjoying the direct rising sun blinding me as I headed east on the canals to Pima Road.

So no flying like superman, just a mere mortal chugging along today.

The weather took a sudden U-turn last night up here on the Mogollon Rim, with windy gusts up to 50 mph knocking everything around outside, and temps dropping overnight into the upper 20s. The excuse train was knocking today; with family in town, we had a relaxed morning (7 of us, including 2 moms in their 70s) went for yoga and lunch at HB’s place.

With the afternoon ticking by, it was time to slap the shoes on and hustle again out Fossil Creek Road and back. The distances are still short of schedule, but I am just trying to keep the regularity of at least getting out there. I actually felt much better form and strength-wise than the last 2 outings. The out 3 miles was faster than last time, and although I felt stronger on the back 3, my time laggged.

Can I blame it on the wind?

We had our meal mid day so I aimed to burn some of it with a short run a bit before sunset. Short (and slow) it was… My stamina and energy level are just rock bottom and I’m starting to wonder is it my body or my mind? the next run should be a tell tale….

Running out of ways to describe the runs… this again was out Fossil Creek Road, this time to the very top of the big hill at the end of town. I might have gone farther, but light was running low (as is the sun was completely gone by the time I got back but there was a full moon and zero traffic).

Not the greatest form, but a few stretches of better pace.

Still up here in Strawberry… the times in between these not so stellar training runs are busy working on prepping, priming, and painting a garage on our second property where my mother in law lives.

So I was not expecting much for a shorter run today, aiming for the challenge of the hills out and back the loop of Ralls Road from Fossil Creek to highway 87 and back. So it was pokey slow on the wayout, a bout over 21 minutes. Something happened on the uphill on the way back, as I was going faster… up the hill, and continues the who way back in about 2 minute faster than the way out.

Today was supposed to be a long run, in fact a late email from Coach Dave said it was swapped from 10 to 16 to keep the jigsaw in line with the upcoming Fiesta Day 1/2 marathon.

Sixteen. Woah, ambitious. Farther than I have gone in my life, but a lot shorter than the full marathon. I’m up in Strawberry, and mapped out a route going out and back on Fossil Creek Road 2 full times and one time for 2/3 the length.

But there was no fuel in the gauge at all, from the get go, and it was feeling miserable. I made it out to the first end point (3 miles) a bit up the hill at the end of town. Coming back I was just shuffling along and gave in- as the way I as going did not seem to be doing any good. I walked the last 1.5 miles back home, and if not for a good meal, would have been totally depressed.

I was dragging out of bed this morning. What excuse could I dredge up to avoid running?

None.

So I set out for the scheduled 50 minute run, which would finally get my wheels back on the Team-D training schedule. I went to Chaparral Park and went south on the Indian Bend multi-use path, nice because once I cross the light at Hayden, there is no traffic to deal with.

I thought I was plodding along.

What was strange was I got to a point in 20 minutes where I had gotten to before when I was in the middle of the schedule. I zoomed past the place I last turned around at for a 50 minute run, going across Osborne for an extra 1/2 mile perhaps for out and back.

At the 40 minute mark coming back towards hayden I suddenly felt a kick, a burst of energy, and sped the pace up a notch.

Where did that come from? I dont know, but I will need surprises heading into the next stretch. Tomorrow we head up to Strawberry for a 10 day stretch for the holidays, and I will have to muster up a 10 miler pn my own Saturday and next Saturday… a 16 miler, farther than I have ever run.

Old West / New West

Originally uploaded by cogdogblog.

A beautiful run this morning up Pima Road, then east on the canal into the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian community. A group of 6 horses were paralleling me on the north bank- an interesting contrast to the rush of traffic on the 101 Freeway