Dam to Backpocket

A school bus took us from the Marriott Hotel in Coralville to the dam in Coralville where the 7 mile race started. Parking was available at the UIHC clinic nearby. Got to ride with a few elite runners, Ben and James. My gatorade drink filled my bladder and kept me hydrated before the race. Race started at 3:00 PM and I started by following David Nelson. David is a guy my age who has run plenty of marathons in almost every state of this country. First mile: 7:37. A little bit too fast. Although the race started with a downhill, there was a pretty good hill from the bottom of the dam to the road. First killer hill -done! Not sure how many people were in front of me, but they looked way ahead of me. I just tried to maintain the pace. Mile 2, 3 and 4, exactly the same pace at 7:43 (body machine). David started to slow down and I had to run by myself. I saw James at the water park and ran with him for part of the park trail.  I was surprised he was not at the front. I passed him, and his running partner followed me. Doug Hamilton came along for the rest of the race. He wanted to quit on me a few times, but I did not let him.  I kept encouraging him not to give up --and he listened!

I am glad Doug did not give up.  There was this girl running ahead of us. We caught up with her crossing the Iowa River bridge, and then she slowed down (?). There was only about 0.7 miles left, and our legs were giving up, but we kept going. 0.7 miles of pain -- weeks of glory. Saw the finish line and sprinted. Passed Doug and another guy. Finished the race in 56:43 min (8:06 MM pace). 

Doug was very happy he never gave up. He shook my hand and thanked me. I am convinced that running is a true team sport. It really helps to have a runner next to you cheering you up, or reminding you that you can do it!

Long Distance Run

Twenty, twenty one miles, almost same thing. We met at 6:00 AM Sunday morning. Tried to get there a few minutes before and started walking to warm up the legs. We went for about six or seven miles and got back to RunningWild at seven AM. We met some other runners and went north for more miles so that we completed 21 miles at the end. My Achilles did not bother me this time. Something happened on Saturday when I was riding the bicycle for 15 miles. I felt a sudden relieve in the Achilles. My foot soles were kind of hurting after twenty miles. I was running in my old Brooks Cadence. Hopefully, I will not have these pains in the Saucony shoes.

We ran Mile 11 at sub 8:00 MM. Not sure why I was running this fast. Ben told me I don't need to go this fast during my long runs. Last week, Dan and I ran 10 miles at 9:00 MM exactly. I'd like to run my 26 miles on September 1st at 9:00 to 9:30 MM pace.

Vibram Five Fingers

Had a short conversation about VFF this morning. Learned that because runners do not wear socks with the VFF, shoes get pretty smelly. There was a new guy running in VFF with us this morning, John. We ran some Yasso's after a nice warm up run. He was challenging me and did a couple of 800's in 3:12 min. That was one of the fastest 800m I have ever ran. Interestingly, my Achilles were killing me at the beginning of the warm up. Fortunately, the pain almost went away after warming up (hint: warm up before your runs!).

I enjoyed running with others this morning, especially running next to a person who is trying his/her best. I get some extra energy from somewhere. Can't believe Kim is doing so many triathlons. Don't they get hurt? don't they need some recovery time? I guess x-training must build so many muscles makes a person pretty strong!

Cretzmeyer Track

Rode the bike to the track this morning and met Dan B and others (Kim S and Jamie I). Warmed up for a couple of laps and then did some stretching before we started running one lap intervals:

1. 400m, 1:30min
2. 400m, 1:30
3. 400m, 1:32
4. 400m, 1:32

Pretty consistent one lap intervals (that was a sub 6 MM pace). Ran most of the lap close to Dan, and then sprinted about 75 m before the finish line. Rested for a few minutes and did four more intervals:

1. 400m, 1:35min
2. 400m, 1:33
3. 400m, 1:35
4. 400m, 1:33

Again, I felt pretty good. Jamie I. gave me a good push in most of the intervals. We rested a little bit more, and then we ran two 200m intervals (close to 5 MM pace):

1. 200m, 38.5sec
2. 200m, 39.8

Rode the bike back home and still felt pretty good. Most probably the trip to Mexico gave me some pretty good rest and I was full of energy. I need to say these runners partners make all the difference. Couldn't have done any of these runs on my own. I am very thankful for being part of this running group.
I liked my chronos and wonder what they will look like in a real race?   Can I cut a few seconds off these times?