Mer Lessons: Another solid week! 6 Days 'til SD!

Another good week (for work-outs) even if it remained nearly 90 degrees every morning – at 5am.

As you all know, Matt and I typically meet for a Tuesday morning run at 5am, but Matt’s alarm failed him (or rather he failed his alarm) and I headed out for 6 miles by myself that morning. The great news was that I pulled another awesome run – just over 57 minutes with an average pace of 9:28/mile. The excitement of the morning evidently also meant that I forgot to take a post-run photo for my blog. But, imagine it – after all they all tend to look the same these days.

After several days off (from working out), Matt did rise on Wednesday morning to push out a 20 miler with me, but his legs failed him, this time. For the first time in our riding history, Matt took so long to make it over the biggest hill (at Desert Foothills) that I actually had to stop and wait for him. By the time he got over the massive hill he explained that his legs weren’t letting him do anything – and even when he’d try he felt like tossing his cookies. But, that was mile 11 – by mile 16, he’d found his legs and kicked my ass coming back up Pecos Road and Desert Foothills. Served me right – I think I had become a little cocky and over confident. Nothing like being dropped on the last big hill to remind me who’s boss when riding.

Back to cutting off his head, I see.

See, headlamps!

Our trail run on Thursday morning was also a lot of fun. The darkness of the mornings has really made it impossible to see the trail (now) for several miles, so we both remembered to bring our headlamps when we started out. This, of course, made for an extra slow start, but at no point did it diminish the run – and just like the morning before, I was left in the dust of South Mountain in the last 7/10’s of a mile. No walking, solid running – but Matt clearly had something in him in the end that I simply did not own.

As I get closer to the Triathlon, Matt has to remind me that I need to taper and not get after every run and every ride. That’s so hard for me – but I heeded his warning and allowed him to plan a nice, “easy” 20 mile ride for Friday morning. Several times during the ride we had to remind one another that we planned to take this one easy – so, I know its not just me. In fact, there was a point on the ride when we got dropped by 3 guys who worked like hell to pass us, but then it was evident that it was all just for show as they made no substantial progress in front of us for the next few miles. Lame – lame, I say! Naturally, we made sure to keep a decent pace so we could prove that anyone can get out of the saddle for a minute and pass someone who was JUST stopped at a light (eye roll).

Matt thinks he looks like a dufus in this shot. Must be the upside down shades!

Which, of course, brings me to this morning. My good friend, Kris, invited me to join her for dinner/drinks, this evening – so I knew I ought to get my long run in before indulging in a late night – with the potential for drinking. The Sunday run would have to be moved to Saturday – today.

I slept well and felt prepared for my 11 miler. I had planned two nice loops – one 7 miles in length and the second (obviously) 4+. I started out really pleased with how I felt – no hip or knee pain at all (even after an entire week of workouts). After passing the mile two marker and heading up and into the Foothills, the headphones to my iPod starting cutting in and out. After attempting to jostle the cabling for a good ¼ mile, I took the headphones off and stuffed them in the pocket of my shorts. I hadn’t even hit the 3rd mile of my run and I was without music. I worried that it would be debilitating for about 10 minutes, but after some time I simply resolved that I had plenty to work out in my head and could manage the next 8 miles sans music – and I did.

The temperature was 91 degrees at my house when I started out, but I think it may have cooled to 88 or 89 by the end of the run. This meant that I was out of water (in my Camelbak) by mile 8 or so – so I quickly ran into a McDonalds on the corner of Warner and 48th Street and asked if I could fill up. They were more than gracious and I was back on the street within a minute. I am really glad I did that because the last few miles of an overheated run can often mean that I require more water than the first 8 miles.

Worried about my time, I could see that I was not going to have a good a run as I did with Brent the week prior. The 5 degree temperature difference actually makes things a good deal more difficult. You don’t realize it ‘til you’re out there pulling 11 miles – but I pushed through to the end and managed to finish in just over 1 hour and 50 minutes – so a 10 minute pace on the nose. Had it not been for the heat, I know I would have had a better run. The foothills always present such a good workout – miles of up and down – and, fortunately, loads of runners and bikers on the streets to greet.

Oddly enough, I passed an older gentleman on my run 3x during the course of my (nearly) two hours on the streets, and as I walked onto my street, I saw him one more time. We both smiled. I said, “gee, we really should stop meeting like this!” He asked, “How many miles did you do, 4 or 6?” I guess walkers forget that runners tend to move a lot faster, so when I responded with “Nope, 11.” He gasped and said, “oh, you went around twice?!” All I could do was smile and say, “yes, two loops today.”

With the Foothills behind me (and an iPod sans headphones).

Additionally, I had a great week of weight loss and am now nearly 5 lbs lighter than I was when starting high school. I still have another few to shed before hitting my goal, but I am feeling really proud of the effort, this week. Of course, I say this after meeting Anne and the beautiful-Lyla for breakfast at the Hangar Café in Chandler. Yum – soooo good, but not so good for you!