Gateway Trail 14 Miles

Thursday, Aug 13:

Gateway trail, 14 miles, the "long" run of the week. Yesterday was a warm, humid one, threatening high 80's, so I started the run before 7 am, and ran the Gateway Trail because it is dry and shaded.

Also, I don’t seem to be able to run continuously for very many miles anymore, so I deliberately ran two minutes and walked one, keeping to that sequence rather carefully. It worked better than I expected, producing a very nice average pace that would result in a marathon time of about 4:26 if it could be continued that far.

Some minor pain in the right knee, at the bottom of the kneecap - nothing that bothered much, in fact I felt great after the run. Today, however, the day afterward, the right knee has pain on the very outside of the knee joint. I suspect an irritation of the illiotibial band (ITB). Two possible causes: (1) I ran all 14 miles on the right side of the crown of the trail, because the trail was fairly busy with skaters and bikers, and (2) I used a pair of Nike Pegasus shoes that I have had for several years but have probably never used for a run this long. The treatment for minor ITB problems like this is stretching. I do the ITB stretch every time I do my stretches, but perhaps I don’t do my stretches often enough. Time to get serious about them.

Splits: 10:00, 9:39, 10:29, 9:34, 9:35, 10:26, 9:55, 11:01, 10:14, 20:48 (2 mi), 20:19 (2 mi), 9:52, total 2:21:52, overall pace 10:08. Huh - I’m really quite happy about that pace, considering.

Tuesday, Aug 11, 2009:

4.2 miles on local streets, watching road construction and dodging Bobcats. This was a humid morning, so grass was wet and streets were actually a pretty good idea. I didn’t write down the time, but I was pleased when I finished so the pace must have been in the 9's. I felt good afterward.



Yesterday's breakfast: Gluten-free oatmeal with organic raisins and cranberries, blueberries, organic strawberries, organic plum, organic walnuts, organic yogurt. CUB's "Wild Harvest" organic yogurt contains corn starch and carob bean gum, but nevertheless is thin and a bit runny. Trader Joe's organic yogurt has neither of those, but does have vitamin D3 plus four specific active cultures, and is quite a bit thicker. Which would you choose? In the photo is the CUB brand - I'm using it up.