Now thats more like it!!

I did an intermediate length run, 6.2 miles in under 11 min pace. I know that doesn't sound fast to some of you, but for this guy it is just fine thank you very much. I still want to keep working at it so that I can get my 10K under 1 hour, but that will require a sub-10 min pace. It helped that it was about 10° cooler than what I had been running in, so maybe once fall gets here for good I will be able to start doing some faster times. This run was completely flat, a loop run from my house. It was pretty close to dark by the time I returned. I was just getting to the final turn for the one-block finishing kick to my house when a couple of dogs decided to come over and play. No barking, no aggressiveness, they just ran back and forth in front of me abd bumped into me more than once. I was trying to keep them from tripping me up. Given my proclivity for falling it wouldn't have taken much more. On a different note I am leaning towards going for a marathon. I will have to concentrate mostly on my running but I really think I want to do this. My longest run of late is about 11 miles, so I have a ways to go.

I want to be a runner but.......

I am finding that I need to make a decision as to what that means. Running is an important part of my life and I hope to be able to continue until my last day on earth. (shooting for 100 years!) There are two directions I can go. I can set goals to run races I haven't yet done, such as a full marathon or a 50K trail race. I have two half-marathons under my belt, one 25K trail race and too many to count shorter races including 15K's, 10-milers, 10K's and 5K's. To reach these longer goals would require a lot of training, at least 3 or 4 runs a week. I would need to curtail some of my other fitness activities to avoid over training. Not sure I would want to do that. My other alternative is make the decision that running a marathon or a 50K don't really need to be done. I can do my Spin classes, walk,hike, practice yoga and do a nice long run on the weekend and enjoy it all. There's also cycling which I haven't done for a couple of years. My nice Trek 1000 is up on the stand and just begging to go for a ride. So maybe it doesn't have to be all about the running. Now I know that there is a danger in choosing the second alternative. I could just be 'wimping' out and may always regret never having done a marathon. I don't think I am quite ready to make a decision yet.

Cool running along the bluffs......

north of Cayucos is such a change from running the streets of Bakersfield. The morning was cool as the fog was still in along the California Central Coast. The trail runs right along the bluffs about 50' above the beach below. I was told that it was about 4 miles to where the trail comes up to a rock pile and ends. I started out running with Ginger and Debbie. The others planned on walking on this day, except for Bill, but he didn't start running right away, but rather walked with the others. Debbie set a real nice pace for us up to two miles where they decided to turn around. I wanted to do another mile out before I turned around so I continued on. I was running so comfortably, my knee wasn't hurting and I felt like I could run forever. This trail gies you options to take cutoffs along the way that get even closer to the edge of the bluffs and dip deeply into gullies and back up. I took everyone of them just because it was fun. I got to the bottom of a hill and my GPS said three miles, so I turned around and headed back. Not sure why I didn't continue on, I just had in my mind six miles. Later, I regretted not continuing on. About 1/2 mile after I turned around Bill came by going the other direction. He looked really good. He ended up going all the way to the end of the trail so ended up with and 8 mile run, albeit he did walk probably the first couple of miles. Soon I passed the rest of the group as they were still walking north as I ran south headed for the finish line. I got to the finish and decided to turn around and keep running back until I met up with Dani and Kim. So that's what I did, ran about 1/2 mile and met up with them and walked back to the finish with them. This run really makes me wish I lived at the coast all the time so I could enjoy these kind of runs more often. More on my running future in another post.

789 ft of elevation gain and 100°........

came in to play on my 5.4 mile run. Best I could do was 1:06:27 for the 5.4 mile run, but when you consider the hills and the temperature that really wasn't so bad. I felt really strong and didn't do any walking, other than short stints while taking a drink of water. I started from the ranch gate on Stagecoach Rd. This course heads up hill right from the start. 1/2 mile to the top of Stagecoach Rd then left on to High Ridge Rd for another 1/4 mile before it finally levels out a bit. From there it is 3/4 mile of up and down sections to the end of High Ridge. Returning the 3/4 mile to Stagecoach Rd I go left where I get a steep downhill for about 1/2 mile, then rolling ups and downs along Windmill Rd to a 1/4 mile ascent to the turn-around at Thistle Rd. Then repeat the rolling ups and downs, the 1/2 mile ascent up Stagecoach Rd then downhill 1/2 mile and back to the ranch. I love running these hills. And if I want to do a longer run I have several choices that can include some of these hills as well as some beautiful narrow roads winding through the vineyards and the cattle ranches. A little slice of heaven right here in Central California

Running with a dog....

is different. You can't run as fast because you have to be aware at all times of where the dog is. Willow is really good at staying right by my side and not trying to pull or lag behind. But she stays so close to me that I have to be careful she doesn't trip me up. She is a real joy to run with though. She seems tireless, she could probably do much longer runs. I took water and offered it to her a couple of times, but she didn't want any she just wanted to keep going. Lot's of other dogs along the way greeted us as we ran by and though she turned her head and looked their way, she did not try to pull over to them. She was interested in the deer that ran across the road in a couple of places but again she stayed mostly focused on continuing her forward progress, much to my delight. Of course my time was slower than normal, but that is ok - it was all about putting in the miles and having a great time with my canine friend Willow

I think I overdid......

it a little bit today. I went out to do 11 miles and it was only 76° so I thought it would be perfect day for a long run. By the time I got to around 7 miles it had gotten quite a bit warmer and I was really getting tired. I started doing 2 min run/1 min walk and I was drinking a lot of water but it was just HARD. At about 9 miles my left knee suddenly started acting up and it became really difficult to even walk on it, so I called my wife and had her pick me up at mile 10. I wonder if I should just give up my long runs completely. I still haven't run a marathon, which is something I have always wanted to do, but maybe releasing myself from that goal would not be a bad thing. I would still run of course, I don't think I could ever give it up completely. I have a lot of thinking to do.

Yesterdays triathlon got a little messed up

I got to the gym about 8:45, my usual plan being to hit the pool about 9:00 so that I would be done with my 750 meter swim by the time Spin class started at 9:30. I have been doing this every Thursday for a few weeks so I was expecting no problem. Not so much. Someone had decided to schedule a new water aerobics class on Thursday mornings! So I get to the pool and it was full of people and no lap lanes. Really tilted my axis! So, after taking a few yoga breaths I decided to just change it up, do the Spin class first, then hit the pool and finish with the 5K run. After all, nothing says I have to do them in order. Actually had a really good time although I didn't get the overall time with transitions because I forgot to wear my Polar. I know I did the 12 mile bike in 26:32, the 750 meter swim in about 23 minutes and the 5K in 31:30. I'll take it!

I was hoping to run a little faster......

tonight, after all it was only going to be about 5 miles. As I settled into a groove I really felt like I might be able to run under 10 min miles, I really felt good. I didn't do any walking since it was a short run and I thought I was running a quick pace. It was 95° as I left the house, a bit warm but cooler than it had been. As I rounded the corner from Ming on to Westholme I picked up the pace a bit and felt like I might actually do it. Not. 57:29, 10:42 pace. Oh well, it's not about the speed, it's about doing the miles. I feel good.

I wasn't sure I felt like.....

running 10 miles today, but I told my daughter that if she was going to train to run the Route 66 Marathon in November in Tulsa, that I would try to train along with her here in California, even though I may or may not actually run a marathon myself. Today's Gos long run was scheduled at 10 miles and Lisa did her yesterday so I was up. I took off from the house about 11:45 after a really good church service. The temperature was in the mid 80's, not too bad for summer in Bakersfield. As I began to stretch out my legs I immediately realized that I was not as sore as I usually am at the beginning of a run. It generally takes me a couple of miles to work out the various pains in my butt, legs and abdomen, but today those issues didn't exist. I still maintained my plan though of run 3 minutes, walk 1 minute for the first 4 miles until I got to the bike path. I ran the 1.5 miles of the bike path at a pretty good pace until I got to Gosford Rd where I resumed my 3 & 1's. I was also breaking in a new hydration pack on this run. About half way through the run I started sucking air when I went to take a drink, then when I let the hose dangle back down it was dripping on my shirt - very annoying! Before I got too annoyed, I realized that the drinking tip was threaded onto the end of the hose. As soon as I tightened it up, problem solved. So I did my 10 miles in 1 hr, 53 minutes. Not bad, but probably could have been faster in cooler weather. At the end of it, I really didn't feel as if I had just run 10 miles. Of course, a little later, after sitting at my computer for 30 minutes it was a bit difficult getting up and moving. But couldn't let that stop me, still had gardening to do.