I can't drive 55

 

Cue the Red Rocker Sammy Hagar!

  

 

But…  this past weekend over Saturday and Sunday I did run 55…  miles

 

It started Saturday morning… 

 

The training schedule called for the following:

 

Run #1 10 miles

5 @ 10 mpm and 5 @ 9:30mpm

Stairmill 7 miles

Run #2 9 miles @ 9:30 mpm

 

Now let me tell ya…  I am good at the maths

 

And I did a few quick calculations…

 

Assuming that the stairmill was at a 10mpm exertion level…  I was basically setting out to do a 4:15 marathon…  for training…  NBD

 

Riiight.

 

To say that I have been running slow would be a bit of an understatement.  At this point 9:30s = speedwork = flying

 

I went so far as to go back into my training plan and count the number of 9:30 miles (there have been no sub 9:30s planned in 2013)

 

Here's the tale (all other runs were slowerer pace):

 

2 x 6  mi on March 2^nd (a Saturday as part of a 19 mile run)

 

5 on 2/27 ( a Wednesday)

 

12 scheduled on 2/9 (a Saturday)

 

So…  I had butterflies…

 

Here's a selfie I took before I donned my pack and took off

 

 

Now I have known about Jeff Galloway…  and heard folks swear by the method…  even ran a successful first 50 miler once

 

http://allaboutpace.blogspot.com/2010/02/ironhorse-race-report-like-sidecar.html

 

a couple of weeks ago I was "coaching" a couple of my friends who are looking to do some longer stuff this year..  basically encouraging them to employ this method on their long runs…  later that day I began to wonder why I had never really tried my own advice.  Last Sunday I tried the walk run… and I liked it…  more importantly my legs liked it.  So…  I'd been doing it all week…  and now on Saturday I decided to try and do it for speed

 

I'll leave out the deets on run 1 and how I missed hooking up with Judi (c'mon not like that…  we are both married) and how all heck broke loose at work and I had to talk to my boss on the phone for 5 minutes in the middle of my run…  let's just suffice it to say that I hit run 1 on pace.  J

 

Here's a quick shot I IM'ed to illustrate to my lovely wife my location….

 

 

On to the stairmill…

 

Not much to report here… another work related call…. Oh, almost forgot…  never eat these:

 

 

I must have masticated for a half hour on the stairmill…

 

Well..  the energy blast experiment and the stairmill time came to an end and the real test began…

 

To run the 9 miles home all at a 9:30 pace…  I did the walk run thing and one mile at a time I knocked that run out…  in the heat of the day no less…

 

 

On Sunday two 3 hour runs were on the agenda…  the first was slow, abbreviated (2:45), included some time with our dog Jimmy, and ugly (the run was ugly not Jimmy)…  but…  I actually felt better when I got home than I did when I left.

 

Neat trick.

 

The second run included 6 @ 9:30 pace during the middle hour…  although I didn't really think this out too well my "speedwork" ran through the Jax Beach St Paddy's Day party…  more drunks on bikes and skateboards than you could shake a stick at….  Although I didn't nail the 9:30s I was able to run a decent pace

 

So…  added all together that's 55 baby!

 

 

The weekend would not be complete until the day of suffering or "Monday" is over…  for me that means two  6 mile runs… (oh, and the aforementioned employment situation)

 

The first of which was only 5.8 miles because I got dropped by the running group at work and cut the course in order to finish when they did…

 

Lovely

 

For the last run of the weekend… I ran home from my daughter's place of employment..  I did so mainly because I was too tired and lazy to drive and pick her up from work at 8PM…

 

It looked like this:

 

 

I felt a little better… and actually enjoyed it…  although I didn't enjoy dodging 5 PM traffic on a busy thoroughfare.

 

Well that's it…  I need a nap