20 Miles

Monday, August 15, 2016:

Part of today's run was along a
railroad track.

And no problems!  This was a hot and hilly walk/run, but very enjoyable.  I finished 20.1 miles in 5:43:00, for an overall pace of 17 minutes per mile.  But if I discount several trips into buildings for water (gas station, city hall, grade school), and time for taking some 25 photos, and a couple of chats with citizens, it gets a little better.  Suppose those delays added up to 20 minutes, then the pace would be 16 minutes/mile, good enough for a marathon, if only barely.  Hopefully the actual marathon will be a little easier than this route was today.

The right knee muttered just a little bit, but not enough to matter.

Wow I just added up the mileage for the last 7 days and it comes to 49.8 miles.  That's a lot in a week for an old man - probably too much.  Seems like I got away with it today, but I'll cool it now for a couple of days.

Sunday, August 14:

We three explored a nearby short trail that we hadn't used before.  Not the most attractive trail, but something new.  1.5 miles at a modest pace.

Saturday, August 13:

With My Sweeties. Walked 3 miles to the park, then 4 miles on the trail, and walked home with the girls again.  I did the middle 4 miles at a sub-15 pace, but the other miles were slower.  They still count, though!

Friday, August 12:

Six Useful Miles   As contrasted with miles with no destination - all training miles are useful of course.  Today, though, I strode and ran from home to the park where we run on Saturday mornings, and then back by a different route.

I hustled, so the pace was pretty good.  I felt great - no whining.

Splits: 43:11, 39:16, total 1:22:26, pace 13:58.

Thursday, August 11:

Five Inches of Rain   Last night.  In fact I was planning to do some speed training with friends on a nearby track this morning, but when I got up it was still raining so I went back to bed and slept another 2 ½ hours.  Must have needed it.

Then I went exploring again, finding five trails (still soggy) and two parks that I never knew about within a half mile of home!  Nice run, probably a bit over 6 miles in 1:38:00.  The right knee complained just a bit, but only briefly.  I try not to run downhill, as that probably isn't good for the knee, but I did a little running on the flat.

Wednesday, August 10:

Hot & Sticky   This was an exploratory run, trying to find trails between neighborhoods.  I didn't find much, but went about six miles in about 90 minutes and enjoyed myself.  VERY warm and humid, but no other problems