In typical Gazelles fashion, we began the last day of 2004 by cranking out our longest training run for the Freescale Marathon. We may all be very sleepy tonight trying to celebrate New Year's Eve, but what a finish to our running year!!
After carpooling up to the head of the Freescale course, we split into pace groups, and set out on our long journey covering most of the Freescale course. We would cover the first 15 miles of the course, then cut over and join the course at about the 19 mile mark, thence finishing the course all the way to the finish at Auditorium Shores. The weather wasn't as grand as it has been, with slight overcast skies, humidity, and temps ranging from 66-70. Still, with the slight breeze and the overcast, the warmth didn't unnecessarily bother us today.
Our particular pace posse was comprised of Patrick, Jan, Henry, Varel, Greta and myself. Henry, Varel and Greta would cut the run to about 15 miles to suit their training needs, and Patrick and Jan would be my buddies for the full route today. We set out just after 6:00 am, and scurried along on the bigger streets in the first couple of miles of the course, just to get away from big traffic on this Friday morning. We were all feeling a little beaten up after the 1000m repeats yesterday, but it was mainly just minor stiffness. Nevertheless, we rolled through the industrial park that is the initial scenery at Freescale and came upon Gilbert, who was waiting at a tricky intersection with the first Powerade stop. We exchanged pleasantries and tanked up, then moved on. So far: 3.7 miles, avg pace of 9:44/mile. Right on schedule, maybe even a tiny bit quick for so early in the run. Off we went.
Our pacing was slightly erratic, but we stayed in a good group as we cruised down Shoal Creek, and then along the railroad street, then back down to Shoal Creek. This is a nice section of the course, gently downhill for the most part, but with a few uphill slides to break up the trip. I spotted a port-o-john at a house rehab project, and darted in for a hydration adjustment. The other folks in the group had previously taken care of such things at various strategically located bushes. Funny, but we don't even think twice about such things, and that's just part of this running addiction that we have. I caught up with the pack, and then we pushed up 45th Street, to Gilbert again waiting for us with Powerade (or some more exotic brand of such stuff) and his car pumping out the Sounds of Burundi. He was leaving after seeing us at this point, off to Dallas, so we exchanged New Year's greetings and wishes, and we were off. I took a GU at this stop, as did most of us. Everyone was still feeling pretty good at this point. This section was a little over 6 miles, at about 9:56/mile pace, as we had settled into the usual long run rhythm. Overall, we were at 9.7 miles, 9:52/mile pace.
We had to deal with a little more traffic than usual as we cut across 45th Street to Duval, but it wasn't too bad. Rolling down Duval to and through the UT campus, we enjoyed the absence of the UT students, still out on break. Finding our way to the half marathon mark of the course, we pushed up the steep little hill right there after the half marathon mark, up and over, then by the Capitol, and down Congress to 6th Street. This is where our gang split up. Henry, Varel and Greta headed on down Congress back to RunTex for their 14-15 mile day. Jan, Patrick and I wished them good tidings, and set out down 6th Street, now reduced to a power trio from the sextet that started the day. Overall, just over 14 miles, average pace for the day 9:45/mile. The section just past was about 4.3 miles, average pace 9:30/mile on the rolling terrain.
We went out 6th, cut down Lamar, crossed the railroad tracks, dealt with traffic on Cesar Chavez, and rejoined the marathon course there. We met up with our substitute Powerade Provider there at Congress and Cesar Chavez, for the last official fluid stop. Took another GU here, and we were out of there in a snappy 2 minutes. Our average pace as a trio was about 9:39/mile for about 2 miles here. We were gently starting to accelerate over the last part of the run. We were about 16 miles into our day, the skies stayed just overcast enough to keep the sun from baking us, and we were feeling pretty good. The conversation was interesting, and we set out to finish this thing.
We negotiated the twists and turns of the course from Congress Avenue, and made it to the Longhorn Dam in fine fashion. This was our point of departure for the end of the run. From there, approximately 3 miles from the finish, we would each decide on our pace, trying to accelerate to the finish, for mental strength on race day. We took a bit of water at the fountain there, and I took my third GU of the day. It was time to finish this long journey. The portion from Congress to the Longhorn Dam was about 2.9 miles, 9:47/mile pace, as we gathered ourselves for the last push. We were sore, but it was time to pick up the pace.
I led things out from there, feeling pretty good, and I negotiated the Riverside hills in pretty strong fashion. Except for dealing with traffic at the I-35 overpass and a stoplight or two on Riverside, I made excellent time finishing up the speedy portion of the run. I knocked the last 3 miles out at about 8:37/mile pace, which felt great. I wasn't gasping for breath or anything, I was just tired and ready to finish. After that, I crossed over and did a slower loop around Auditorium Shores for a cooldown of sorts, but even that was a mile at 9:51 pace.
Overall, my day was 22.8 miles, average pace 9:36/mile, which was a great day for me. I finished things off by doing a handful of strides with Jan after she finished, and that was a clunky experience! By the last strider, my legs started feeling more fluid again, but it was a clumsy ordeal for the most part. I did the full stretching routine afterwards, and called it a (long) day. Now, will I get a chance to take a nap this afternoon so I don't fall asleep at 9:00?
Happy New Year's, everyone! Stay safe tonight, and don't be stupid if you're out partying.
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