Sixteen Miles

Activity: Run
Date: 04/05/08 08:09 AM
Distance: 16.02 miles
Time: 2:44:30
Speed: 5.8 mph
Pace: 10' 16 min/mile
Calories: 1523



Today was the Train Run with the track club. We took a train 16 miles up the coast to Solana Beach and ran back to the train station. (Check the purple line on the map above.) The run went through a few beach communities. We had kind of a cool and blustery day, and the clouds never really burned off, but the cooler weather might have been more of a help to some runners. Many runners have never run 16 miles before, so this was a landmark run for them.

This is my first run in about 13 days, and it went a little rough for me, as I didn't feel as strong as I thought I should, and my time and mile/minute reflects that, but I still ran the whole way, except for hydration stops and for traffic signals. There were a few good hills on this route, but it wasn't the hills that got to me, it was the flat parts where we ran on side walks. I suppose my mind set is a little twisted when it comes to hills. Perhaps it's wrong, but a hill is my invitation to kick things in gear and dig down hard. My quads got a good workout with those hills, and no twinges. The only twinges I felt were in my knees while running of the flat parts, but it's not debilitating.

Some of my fellow runners who are new to marathon training have improved by leaps and bounds. One lady who was always behind me finally passed me by today, and another caught up with me towards the end of the run. It's quite exciting to see everyone's progress, and the sense of satisfaction they feel. The long miles aren't so daunting any more.

I did see Anne (Run-DMZ) and her sister at water stop #3. It's kind of funny how much catching up people can do in under one minute. Sure, one minute isn't long enough, but it was still great to catch up a little.

Our group had to share the route with several others today. There were a couple other large running groups on the route today, as well as large groups of bike riders, which made for an interesting run.

After the run, as smelly and dirty as we were, my husband and I went over to Road Runner Sports to buy him new running shoes. His were beyond gone. I encouraged him to have the foot/running analysis done while we were there. No real big news on the shoes, but he learned that he should take a full size larger than he had been running in. Three pairs of shoes were suggested. We went over to the RRS outlet center, in the same area, just in a different building in the back, and he found HIS shoes for $25 on the clearance rack. I just don't get it. Every time we go running shoe shopping for him, he always finds HIS shoes on clearance for under $40. I almost always have to pay twice that, even with my discount cards. Oh, I have been lucky a couple of times with clearance shoes, but that's rare. The particular model, a Nike, is still a current model, and still selling for retail in the main store for around $90. His shoes must have been a non-worn return because they were perfect. He was pretty happy.

The great people at the track club did take pictures today, but they were not finished posting them at the time this blog entry was written. I'll post pictures later.

Yesterday's Song:
Right For Me - Justin Timberlake - Barbie2be

PEACE