The Friendly Factor

And a Good Morning to You

This weekend I had a friend coming down from Seattle for the day so I was up at 5:45 on Saturday morning to have some coffee and breakfast before heading out around 6:50 for my long run. I had 12 miles on the schedule and wanted to run them at a GA pace that felt comfortable. When I stepped outside it was chilly and just starting to rain, but the time I was done the temperature had fallen a few degrees and the rain was steadily coming down.

Typically when I’m out running I try to nod or wave at the other runners and cyclists I see out on the trail and I usually get a 50% return on my investment. On Saturday I received an almost 100% salutation return in the first hour of my run which surprised the hell out of me. I guess people that get up early to run on a cold rainy day are happy to see someone else out there getting their miles in. Towards the end of the run I started encountering larger groups and weekend warriors who were not as quick to provide a return greeting or salutation.

After my first mile I stopped for a quick stretch then settled into a pace in the high 7’s with a couple miles creeping down into the 7:30’s and a couple right above 8:00. The run felt good and before I knew it I was on the home stretch.

Total = 12 miles in 1:34:12 – 7:51AP

Tired Mid-Week Legs

Wednesday morning of last week I was up for my first pre-work run in a long time. I had changed my schedule around a bit and ran eight miles on Monday evening so I would only have to do four on Wednesday morning. Once I headed out I was glad I had switched the miles around this way. My legs were feeling very heavy and I never felt like I was able to loosen up; I trudged through the run and ended up with an AP of around 8:35.

Wheels on the Bike Keep on Turning

Last week I got out on my road bike for the first time since August; Jen rode with me after work on Thursday and we did 20 miles at an easy pace. It was fun to be outside riding and I was glad that Jen decided to join me.

Every Pirate Loves a Wine Party

Saturday night we went to a wine party at Emily’s place where we enjoyed some great food, friends, and wine. Since I’m not a big wine drinker I filled my glass with Captain Morgan and managed to have as good of a time as everyone else. The bottle that Jen picked out ended up winning which meant that we were going to take home six bottles of wine as the prize. Of course we decided that sharing was the better course to take and by the end of the night everyone managed to finish off all the bottles of wine. So yeah, 12 bottles of wine, 10 people drinking wine, four of which were driving and/or racing the next day, so basically six people drinking 10 bottles of wine…………let’s just say that everyone got their antioxidants and then some.

What’s on Tap

This week I’m scaling back the running to do a sort of mini-taper for the Race for the Roses Half on Sunday. I’m planning on running it as a training run with Jen but I still think taking it easy this week is a good plan; even though I’m not running it at full bore it will still be fast enough to regret trying to run it on tired legs. Tomorrow morning I will be on the trainer again but I hope to get out for a road or mtb ride on Thursday after work. Of course swimming is in the cards a few times this week as well. I’ve really been slacking on my swimming lately and the May 31st ows will be here before I know it.

Quick Recap
Run: 30 miles
Ride: 60 minutes trainer, 20 miles road
Swim: 1,100 yards
Push ups: 509

Have a great week and remember to question everything you hear on Wednesday!