Hobble then Gobble in July?

Having not run much in the last week I decide to get an early morning run. I headed out the door just before 6AM on Friday morning. It was muggy to say the least – I think I was the dew point. My legs felt good after almost a week of rest – I did a 5 mile brick in the middle of that century plus bike ride last weekend and no running since then.

My legs felt so good that I was pushing the pace and I decided to do a rare tempo run. I ran out towards Clyde Station and got the blood flowing quickly – no warm up – just a quick run. The first mile clicked off in 7:19 and I pushed a little harder. This was not like a 5k race or anything but just a hard tempo run. I hit the 2 ½ mile turn around and held steady. This was a HARD effort. Nothing was easy about it but it felt good. No aches and pains – just a solid effort. I struggled just a little to keep the intensity high in the last mile or so – but it was maintainable – I think I could have run a mile or two more at this pace – my splits:

1. 7:19
2. 6:58
3. 7:05
4. 6:59
5. 7:05

This is about a minute off of my 5k pace. This was the same pace as the run in the Sunfish last weekend. Preparing for the weekend I rested the remainder of the day (bowling at lunch).

I met Jim at the lake at 6AM on Saturday. We were planning a bit longer bike and run leg after the swim. We jumped in the lake and it took me about 10 minutes to fall into my rhythm. The swim was not hard; however, it just was not as easy as it has been the last few weekends. I think that I might still be a little ‘under recovered’ … not sure about that phrase but I think you get the drift.

I did the approximate 2800 yards in about 55 minutes – I think I was a few minutes faster 2 weeks ago. I may have hit the corners of the lake a little better on this day and covered a little more distance – it is hard to tell in the water when you are using ‘soft’ landmarks. Anyway, with the swim out of the way we prepared our bikes for the day. John, the legend, was waiting for us and he would do the bike leg with us. John has 4 ironman’s (from all over the world) under his belt and his advice and camaraderie is always welcome.

We had decided to try and tackle as many hills as we could find. I have been reviewing the IM Louisville course for the last week and I am trying to determine just how hilly the bike course is. I found a couple sites that reference Garmin’s motion based website to determine the elevation. It would appear that IMKY is between 7500 – 8400 feet of climbing – I guess those rolling hills add up. I would be taking my gps with us to see just how Southern Mississippi’s hills will match up. We went west and did out usual loops and then headed towards Sumrall. After Sumrall John took us on the 5 counties loop and then we started to head back. This ride, even though hilly, was so much easier than the last couple of weeks – mainly due to the temperature only being in the high 80’s – 89 for the high. Two weeks ago it was 100+ and all the humidity you could ask for – this was a huge difference. I think we all enjoyed the ride and made it back to the lake. John offered to drop water along the course and wished Jim and I well for our run. The plan was for an easy 10 miles – as easy as you can get after swimming and riding hills for 78 miles.

Jim and I would do the Hobble then Gobble thanksgiving race loop x 2. We headed out and across the spillway. This run would be easy. I was going to do a ‘Galloway’ and was planning on walking a minute at every mile marker. I have never done a run like this – never – not in races or training. The first mile came up quick at about 8:30. I took my 1 minute walk and grabbed a cold (frozen) water bottle – John had left them out on the course for us. The minute ticked by slowly and I really wanted to get moving again – I was tempted to jump the gun – but I waited / walked it out.

As the run wore on it got much harder. I kept to my guns and only walked 1 minute at every mile – however – those miles were coming up slower. After 8 miles it got real hard. The 8:30’s had jumped to 9:30’s and by the time mile 10 rolled around they were in the 10:30’s. All in all I got 11 miles at a 9:39 minute per mile pace. I can live with that but I know that the pace is not sustainable. With another 15 miles to go I can see those walks getting much longer and that pace climbing higher and higher.

I jumped in the lake with an ice cold beer and just relaxed for a few minutes. Jim and I chewed the fat about what worked and what didn’t – but mainly about how much better the day went without the intense heat from the past few weeks.

Sunday was a nice and easy recovery group ride. I never turn back at Sumrall – I mean never – but I took my own advice and just let this be an easy 30 miles. Nothing to gain by pushing it – average heart rate for this Sunday ride was only 113 BPM and the max for the ride was 138 – that is so low for me – like zone 1 recovery low – I never ride done there.