One Last Training Run

I was originally planning to do my usual Tuesday spin class and then hit the treadmill or swim, but since it was such a nice day I decided to do an outdoor run with Jarrod, Derek, and Matt instead. Well, the nice weather was actually just a secondary factor. The truth is, I'm going to be running my first half-marathon on Sunday, the Dallas Running Club's "DRC Half" at White Rock Lake, and I really haven't done much running lately. (I've run two-three times per week but mostly just 30 minutes on the threadmill - no "LSD", Long Slow Distances, for endurance building).

On the downside, I was a little unprepared for the outdoor run: I didn't have any running clothes (luckily, a long-sleeve shirt and running hat were not needed), I wasn't wearing my good running shoes (a few of my toes got a little tender), and I didn't have my Fuel Belt for carrying fluids (so I had to carry my 24 oz Polar Bottle, which was a little heavy/bulky). Luckily, I DID have my Garmin Forerunner 305 watch to keep track of pace, heartrate, and elevation.

Anyway, I ended doing 8.07 miles in 1:12:30, which is a 8:59 pace. So not too bad, both distance-wise (almost 2/3 of a half-marathon) and speed-wise (9:00/mile for the half would allow me to finish in my goal of under 2 hours). Our route (in and around North Lake College) was slightly hilly:

This was actually a good thing training-wise, because our route for the DRC Half will be much flatter. In fact, the course is almost completely flat after mile 7.7. And prior to that, it offers a few hills, but they aren't too steep. For example, there is a hill that goes from 492 ft to 550 ft (58 ft of elevation gain) from mile 4.82 to mile 5.12 (0.3 miles). In contrast, per the elevation profile of today's run, there are several spots with much steeper grades.

A pretty good run and I seem to have survived it well, despite the dearth of long runs in recent times. My left calf is a little sore (not sure if it is a lingering or related problem stemming from the cramp in the same location that I got during last Sunday's Monster Tri) and I've already mentioned my beat-up toes. Oh and my arm/shoulder were a little sore too this afternoon - I think it was from holding the water bottle - but the minor pain seems to have died down. So no harm, no foul.

No more running this week. Tomorrow: spin class and swimming. Thursday: spin class and weights. Friday: swimming. Saturday: TNT "Effort-based Training" Clinic and maybe some cycling with the Team. Sunday: My first Half-Marathon!