Mid-point
After yesterday's run, I'm halfway to the race date.
A lot of "haven't done that in a long time, if ever" types of things from yesterday. First time I've run without music/iPod in almost a year. First time I've run with somebody else since 1993 (not counting the one time Coothie and I did a quarter mile on the trail in Fairfax). First time I've run over the Steel bridge and down the Esplanade on the east bank of the river. And it all made for a very good run.
One of my neighbor's daughters occasionally runs down on the waterfront and, when she heard I was doing 8 miles on Sunday, asked if she could join in. Running with somebody was far easier than I thought it would be. Pace was nice and controlled (could carry on a conversation of sorts) and it was kind of surprising how 'fast' things went. We had to dodge a few Race For The Cure participants during the first mile, but once we got clear, it was a really pleasant run along the Willamette. It was everything a "Long Run" is supposed to be. Even managed to dodge the bands of rain that were passing through all morning (was raining on the drive down, stopped for the run, kicked in again about five minutes after we were done).
Funny sidebar: 10:30a or so when we finished. Start/stop location is right in front of the Full Sail taproom, so I brought my growler down for a refill. Minor-thoughts about "open or not open" before trying the door but, hey, open! Only there's one guy behind the counter stocking things and he's giving me a look like I just walked in on him in the bathroom. He says that they aren't open yet and he can't help, but then the manager walks in the door, sees the growler, asks if that's all I'm there for, and proceeds to fill it anyway. Score! But the card readers aren't on for another 20 minutes and I have no cash. Not Score. But wait - the manager says no problem and allows me to roll out with the growler if I just come back and pay for it 'next time'! Woooo! I mean, I totally went back that afternoon to pay (made sure to find the manager to thank him), but it was a cool gesture on his part. He didn't know me from any other guy and I'm sure there was a passing thought in his head that I was going to treat it as Free Beer.
The legs are a little sore and are snap/crackle/popping, but I'm making sure to get up every so often, move around, and to stretch in attempts minimize the Ouch Factor. Yesterday's eight miles were very "clean", so to speak, so I'm very optimistic how the next few weeks will go.
A lot of "haven't done that in a long time, if ever" types of things from yesterday. First time I've run without music/iPod in almost a year. First time I've run with somebody else since 1993 (not counting the one time Coothie and I did a quarter mile on the trail in Fairfax). First time I've run over the Steel bridge and down the Esplanade on the east bank of the river. And it all made for a very good run.
One of my neighbor's daughters occasionally runs down on the waterfront and, when she heard I was doing 8 miles on Sunday, asked if she could join in. Running with somebody was far easier than I thought it would be. Pace was nice and controlled (could carry on a conversation of sorts) and it was kind of surprising how 'fast' things went. We had to dodge a few Race For The Cure participants during the first mile, but once we got clear, it was a really pleasant run along the Willamette. It was everything a "Long Run" is supposed to be. Even managed to dodge the bands of rain that were passing through all morning (was raining on the drive down, stopped for the run, kicked in again about five minutes after we were done).
Funny sidebar: 10:30a or so when we finished. Start/stop location is right in front of the Full Sail taproom, so I brought my growler down for a refill. Minor-thoughts about "open or not open" before trying the door but, hey, open! Only there's one guy behind the counter stocking things and he's giving me a look like I just walked in on him in the bathroom. He says that they aren't open yet and he can't help, but then the manager walks in the door, sees the growler, asks if that's all I'm there for, and proceeds to fill it anyway. Score! But the card readers aren't on for another 20 minutes and I have no cash. Not Score. But wait - the manager says no problem and allows me to roll out with the growler if I just come back and pay for it 'next time'! Woooo! I mean, I totally went back that afternoon to pay (made sure to find the manager to thank him), but it was a cool gesture on his part. He didn't know me from any other guy and I'm sure there was a passing thought in his head that I was going to treat it as Free Beer.
The legs are a little sore and are snap/crackle/popping, but I'm making sure to get up every so often, move around, and to stretch in attempts minimize the Ouch Factor. Yesterday's eight miles were very "clean", so to speak, so I'm very optimistic how the next few weeks will go.