Sunday Long Run

I ran with the team this morning before heading back in to work. I was almost late due to the "running ritual" but managed to show up right at 7:30am.

We had a good turn-out: 20 people with 9 going for 11.5 miles. The usual suspects, Coach, Tim, Patrick, Tani, Tara, Fermin, Ron, Doug and I headed out to Happy Valley and to the foot bridge off Sunol to connect with Foothill back to Bernal and Valley.

We took it pretty easy until Foothill then picked up the pace. We switched front runners several times with no one really pushing ahead. That is, until we reached Valley. Coach and Tim were ahead a few yards and the rest of us were engaged in conversation when Coach circles a stopsign and shouts "Come on! Let's go!"

It didn't require much more than that for me to speed right past him and catch Tim at the next light. I had been good, holding a comfortable "training" pace since this was suppose to be a "training" run but with that challenge I was fool enough to go for negative splits over the last 3 miles.

Tim and I raced the last miles down Valley toward the finish. I asked him what he wanted to run and he said the 7min/mile felt comfortable. Then he called out we were running 6:55, then 6:40. I asked him each time if he wanted to hold that pace or let up but he felt comfortable and pushed on.

After we finished I stretched and waited for the rest of the crew only a minute or so behind us. I devoured the banana and choclate milk I packed and went to Safeway for 2 protein shakes. Yum!

The rest of the day was spent in my office.

Business: Loop from Valley & Santa Rita out to Happy Valley-Sunol-Foothill and coming back on Bernal to Valley for 11.5 miles in 1:31.36 @ an average 7:57min/mile pace.
Splits are as follows:
Mile  1: 9:14.29 (0:09:14.29)
Mile  2: 9:00.03 (0:18:14.32)
Mile  3: 8:12.51 (0:26:26.83)
Mile  4: 8:11.31 (0:34:38.14)
Mile  5: 8:31.45 (0:43:09.59)
Mile  6: 8:27.21 (0:51:36.80)
Mile  7: 7:56.72 (0:59:33.52)
Mile  8: 7:35.55 (1:07:08.07)
Mile  9: 7:15.50 (1:14:23.57)
Mile 10: 7:00.02 (1:21:23.59)
Mile 11: 6:55.87 (1:28:19.48)
Mile 11.5: 3:10.88 (1:31:30.36)


End-of-Week Summary:



Gut-check
Breakfast: 1 Gu, 2 bananas, 2 Odwalla choclate soy protein shakes (170cal), water.
Lunch: Ham & cheese, Gatorade, water.
Dinner: water.

Run. Eat. Sleep. Repeat.

=RUMBLE