I started at from the gym as I do for most of my weekday runs. I worried about the temperature as it's taken a bit of a dive this week. It was in the mid-50s last week and only the high 30s this week. I considered just using a treadmill but that didn't feel right (or fun). I walked out to the parking lot to let my Garmin 305 figure out where on the planet I was.
As soon as I had satellites I was off. I ran my regular work rectangle course around Redmond Clockwise because the first two miles in that direction are mostly downhill and fast. I had to weave around quite a few other runners out in the cold today as I headed down 148th ave toward 24th.
I popped through the first mile in 6:03 which wasn't too bad with no warm-up. The next mile has a big downhill section in the middle so I kept the pace up and rolled through mile two in 5:52. That was the first time I've been under 12 minutes for the first two miles. Unfortunately that's just where the big uphill section starts. I gained back everything that the downhill gave me. My pace slowed considerably as my lungs were starting to burn and my legs were feeling rubbery from the first two miles and Friday's 20 mile run.
Mile three climbs steadily, steep at first and then more gentle. I lost a good bit of time on the climbs yet somehow came through mile three in 8:10. I was starting to feel tired and I needed for my lungs to stop burning. I was doing a good job ignoring the stomach cramp that was telling me to knock off all this running. The next mile was gentle rollers on a gravel path. I started to get my wind back with a 7:27 mile as I approached the third corner of the rectangle and Bridle Trails state park.
I turned the corner just after starting mile five which was a slight downhill along the corridor trail. There is one steep hill here but it's short enough (~50 yds @ 10% gradient) that you can power over it and catch your breath going down the other side. I ran fast but not out of control on the wet leaves, dirt, and rocks, pulling a 6:55 mile.
I held my pace down the corridor trail and made my last right turn to the home straight along 148th ave which rises slowly up to the parking lot of the gym. I saw another runner almost 1/4 mile ahead of me which gave me something to chase after. I gained on him but the difference between our paces wasn't enough that I could catch him in the 2/3 of a mile to the gym. I cut the distance in half before he turned into the parking lot. I got up to the parking lot to cap off mile six in a hair under 7 minutes.
My time for the 6 mile route was 41:29 which is about about a minute off of my PR for the route. I wanted to stop but had another 0.66 miles to add. I kept going past the gym for another 1/3 of a mile, turned around and headed back trying to use up whatever I had left in the tank.
I hit the 6.66mi mark in 46:15 and stopped my watch. I jogged the last few yards back to the gym for a very short cool-down. Sadly with only an hour for lunch including travel, changing, and shower I don't have much time for warm-up, cool-down or stretching. I showered, changed and rewarded myself with a brownie from the snack bar at the gym on my way back to work.
Here's what the watch says and I'm not arguing.
I exported the GPS file to Everytrail where they turn my effort into an animated blue dot.
2 comments:
Wow! Nice run, man! You really kicked it.
Thanks. It was a little hilly but a good effort. I've already seen someone else faster, so I'm not too hopeful. :) How'd you do?
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