Wednesday, March 14, 2007

17 Miles on a Foggy Night
Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Well, I can only hope that Eastern States goes as well as tonight's run did.

Only one change in plans, really... I had hoped to run both ways out of the Niskayuna Lions Park but discovered that the path was still covered with a thin layer of ice and snow (mostly ice) about a half mile east of the park. So I turned around and did the bulk of the 17 miles on the same 2 mile stretch I've run over and over again during the past month.

Ran most of the first leg in "daylight" ie. overcast and foggy. A few sprinkles early on, but that was all... the rest way wonderfully precipitation-free. Finished the first leg, 5 miles, in just over an hour... then spent close to 10 minutes figuring out clothing for the next leg, because my short-sleeved shirt/rainjacket combo was too chilly. Finally settled on a long sleeved-shirt and fleece vest, and off I went for round 2.

It got dark during the 2nd leg, but since it was cloudy it never really got so dark that I had trouble seeing the bike path. I was a little chilly on this leg, but not terribly so... just enough that I knew I'd need a jacket for the third leg. Got back to the car in just under 2 hours, for 9 miles of running.

Added my new cycling rain jacket from Performance Bicycle for the third leg... that kept me toasty, but also left me drenched (a $10 jacket isn't meant to breathe well...) so I knew I'd have to make one more change of clothes. Running was still feeling pretty good, though I could tell by the end of the 13 miles that my legs were starting to tire. Got back to the car at around the 2 hour 55 minute mark. Still maintaining a good pace!

Changed into another short-sleeved shirt and a fleece top for the final leg. Felt myself slowing up a bit as I ran, but I wasn't hurting as badly as I expected. Even during the last two miles, I was more tired than in pain... managed to end up with 17 miles and a total time of 3 hours 49 minutes... knock off 15-18 minutes for transitions between legs and that leaves me at about 3:35, which averages out to just over 12.5 minute miles. A good deal better than I was expecting!

It was really nice to run in shorts again... though it's looking like my tights will be back for next week, since it's supposed to be cold again. As I was changing clothes between legs 1 and 2, the coyotes were making a ruckuss over across the Mohawk River in the Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve. Given that I've heard them twice now, I think I'll avoid running over there after dark!

The contrasts between this week and last week were incredible... last week the snow was right up to the bench seats in the park, this week it's mostly gone. Last week was very quiet... this week the geese were making quite a racket and I heard a few other birds too.

Tonight's run gives me some hope that I'll be able to finish Eastern States running (instead of crawling) across the finish, albeit probably at a slow pace. After all, if I can run 17 miles, I can run 20, right? Now I just have to hope for good weather and a smooth day with no complications.

Time for me to drag my stiff, sore muscles out of the chair and go find the bed... morning's going to get here all too soon!

JMH
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