You Dropped A Bomb On Me

This was our theme song today. Gilbert scheduled a 15 mile jaunt over the middle to late portion of the Freescale course (between miles 7 and 21, more or less), with the last 5 miles "very hard." He modified that slightly this morning as we got ready to run, saying that if we didn't feel it, we didn't have to really drop the bomb on the last 5 miles. So, after carpooling up to Gateway theatres, we got together and headed out. It was spectacular weather once again, with temps hanging in the low to mid 40's throughout the run, turning just wonderful once the sun rose higher while we were stretching, but I'm getting ahead of myself with that.

I experimented this morning by waking up earlier than usual, and eating a Clif Bar along with my usual banana. Just figured it was time to test my newest nutrition strategy, aiming to get a few more last-minute calories stored on board before the long run. It worked great, by the way, so as always, I learned something new today.

Gilbert introduced me to a new guy, Lance (not Mr. Armstrong), who would run with us today. Our pace posse was comprised of most of the usual suspects: Amy, Shannon, Charlene, Jennifer, Colleen, Bob, Brian, Richard, Kurt and Lance. But it was a strange day in that regard. Rachel and Rich were both nursing aches and pains, and weren't able to join us. They were missed.

We were supposed to be running nice and easy early, and for one mile, I guess we did. But, once we got onto Braker, from there on we were running pretty quickly for a long training run. I guess the combination of the "short" distance today and the great weather, along with the very familiar course, got us in a running frame of mind. We all felt pretty comfortable, though, and even with splits quicker than usual, we just kept rolling. Various of us took hydration adjustments in the first miles, and by the time we reached the first water/Powerade stop at Shoal Creek and W. Anderson, we had grouped back together. Our group kept splitting into two pods, and I hung back with the second group. The gap would grow to 50 yards or more, but our slightly slower group would gather back up with the first group at various stoplights or the water stops. Anyway, through the first 5 miles, things were going great. Most of us took a GU, and it was time to get moving. Rudy did a great job for us all day long with the rolling water stops, too.

Splits miles 1-5: 9:40, 9:08, 9:30 (brief stop for me), 8:36 (catching back up), 8:45. Overall, a sprightly 9:07/mile. Nice.

Today, I realized just how long that straight stretch along the railroad tracks is. It seemed neverending, but of course, it did end. By now, we were mixing it up with Frank's group ahead of us, which was strange. That almost never happens on the road. Maybe at the early water stops, but not while we're running. Were we going faster, or were they taking it easier than usual? Maybe both? During this second 5 miles, we more or less formed a giant pace blob, upwards of 20 runners. Alex, Patrick, Marcy, Thon, Frank, Carrie, "the other" Amy, and others were all mixed up with us by the time we reached Rudy and the second water/GU/Powerade stop on Duval. We passed a group of three guys running slowly with the course map while we were on North Loop, and we passed a bunch of Rogue Training folks on and around Duval. We were really moving along! I passed along a couple of songs to stick in people's heads, including "Let It Whip" by Dazz Band, and "Drop The Bomb," by the Gap Band. Brian later told me that they both stuck with him for the rest of the run. Funk is just the best, isn't it?

Splits miles 6-10.4: 8:58, 8:50, 8:54, 9:02, 8:47, 0.3 miles at 8:45/mile. Overall pace had improved to 9:00/mile.

Anyway, another pretty efficient water stop with Rudy around the 10 mile mark, and it was time to "Drop the Bomb," using Gilbert's terminology. I figured I'd go with it and see how I felt, but I wasn't going after a particular pace. It was "run how you feel" time. So, I got going from the water stop pretty much behind everyone, and started to pick up the pace. As we rolled down Duval, I just kept catching people, including some folks who I was surprised to see. I guess I was just having a really good day, and most of the other people were happy finishing up with an accelerated but not super fast pace. This close to a marathon, everyone has pretty specific needs out of a given training run, so I totally respect everyone's effort and pacing decisions. Still, like I said, it was disconcerting to go by Frank, Patrick and Alex. It was almost like I was doing something wrong.

But, Charlene and Thon hooked up with me by the time we hit the UT campus, and we made up a tidy trio for the rest of the run. I've grown accustomed to bringing up the rear on the long runs the last couple of times out, so this was sort of weird for me, but I was just enjoying the ride. I knew we were going faster, but it didn't feel stupid fast. Going around the Capitol, I heard Charlene and Thon discussing their "easy" miles at 3M in the 7:30/mile range, which scared me some more. 7:30/mile is awfully quick to me on runs that long! Rolling down Congress, we found the roads blocked off to either side of Congress, which made it a lot of fun to roar down that slope towards the finish. The Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts had some sort of parade happening later. We had to dodge some of them and their carts, but it was okay with me. Thon and Charlene backed off the pace once we crossed Cesar Chavez, but I wanted to finish up things in style, and kept going at my quicker pace. I ran to the last corner of the Freescale course, and then eased the throttle back to see if I could find the finish line painted on the curb somewhere on Riverside. No such luck. However, GPS marking from the 26 mile marker that I saw showed me that the finish will be more or less where it usually is, right across from the Convention Center. What a run!

Splits, miles 11-15.3: 7:55, 7:20, 7:44, 7:00, and 0.73 miles at 7:21. A short bit (.17 miles) of jogging to cooldown followed. It was a really strong fast finish for me, and was totally unexpected. Overall pace without water stops included was 8:32/mile. With 4:30 in water stop time added, pace moved to 8:50/mile, still very quick compared to our MGP. 15.3 total miles for the day.

We moseyed over to get our stretching gear and warm clothes, and then knocked out 4 striders while we waited for Gilbert to start the balance drills. Those were as silly as usual, but I like the way they loosen up my hips and legs. The full stretching session after that was just great, hanging out in the warm sun, laughing with the peeps. Amy drove Jennifer, Kenny and me back up to Gateway to retrieve our vehicles, and the fun running day was over.

For the week, mileage was cut back to 36 miles. Next week, a couple of speedy workouts, and then basically we get to kick back for 10 days until Freescale. It's getting really close now!