3:51 - Foreshadowing?

This past Sunday, I had originally scheduled my last 20 mile long run. However, because it was Mother's Day, I was going back and forth between running it on Saturday or Sunday. Saturday morning, we celebrated my niece's 4th birthday at the Strawberry Fields in Carlsbad. My cousin, who is also running the San Diego RnR, was there, and we decided last minute to go run together that afternoon.



He has completed a few triathlons before, including an Olympic distance one in Hawaii, but has never run more than a 10K. His training for the RnR has been off and on, and most recently disrupted by a sprained ankle. But he was feeling good, and wanted to try and run 15 miles with me. We decided to go to Lake Miramar to run because it was a 5 mile loop, and it would be an easy way for him to run 15 miles, and me to get in another loop to make 20.



My plan for this long run was to run it slow and try to stay on my feet for as long as possible. I had run my last few long runs at close to marathon pace, so I figured that I should try to run this at true run long pace - MP plus 2 minutes. My cousin is trying to run his 1st marathon in 5 hours (11:00/mile+ pace) so I had no problem keeping the pace slow.



We completed the first loop in a little less than an hour, which was a bit slower than I was hoping for. When we returned to the parking area, he stopped to grab another Gatorade, and we were off again. The second loop was about the same pace, but he was now definitely feeling it in his legs.



He was debating whether or not to go one more loop, and I convinced him to at least try it. He restocked with Gatorade and I took a GU. The first mile and a half were fine and then he started to cramp. We walked a quarter mile and then tried jogging slowly for a little bit. He started to cramp again and we began walking again. He was resigned to walking the final 3 miles and I was debating whether or not to just run ahead. I didn't want to leave him behind so I ran to the next quarter mile marker and then back to him. I did this a few times before he decided that he was feeling up to jogging again. We started slow again, and this time we made it to the completion of the loop without his hamstring cramping up again.

At this point, the total elasped time for 15 miles was a whopping 3 hours and 10 minutes (12:40/mile pace). My legs were tired from being on the road for so long, but at the same time, they were itching to stretch out for a quicker paced run. So I decided to run the last lap on my own and just see how fast I could go. I had forgotten my Garmin so I didn't know what my time was until I finished the lap. I felt pretty good throughout and finished the last 5 miles in 41 minutes (8:12/mile pace).

Overall, I was glad to have spent 3 hours 51 minutes on the road, which hopefully will be the same time that it will take me to complete the RnR marathon. The run itself was okay, because so much of it was run at a slow pace. In some ways, I'm not even sure if I can call it a long run because I walked good portions of it.

Oh well, either way, I'm done with it. Now it's TAPER TIME!!!