Feeling The Burn

So I am sitting in my house, my body itching all over due to the burn I gave myself today. I didn't even notice until I looked into the mirror a few hours after the run, and now my entire body feels like it is on fire.

How did it happen, you ask? Well, I wasn't bright enough to put sunscreen on before I left the house for my long run today. It was overcast and cold when I left, so I figured I safe to skip the sunscreen for the day. Of course, clouds do not protect you from UV rays, and now I am paying the price. Next time you see me outside in the sun, expect me to be exceedingly greasy.

Aside from the burn, my long run wasn't too bad. I initially planned to run five laps of the Nature Park, but the lack of a car forced me to run on the Marathon By The Sea route. It's probably a good thing; the course has a long lonely section in Lorneville that is physically easy but mentally taxing. If I can get used to running ten kilometers with nothing but open road and trees as my scenery, I might have a chance to get through the race unscathed.

The run started out slow, but picked up as I settled into my pace. I knew I was running a little too fast for my own good, but in true Garmin fashion, I couldn't force myself to slow down. Instead, I focused on holding the pace, and hoped it wouldn't hurt too bad when I started to seize up.

I entered the dreaded Lorneville section fifteen minutes ahead of schedule and tried to mentally break down each kilometer. It was harder than I though. The road seems to drag on forever, with nothing of note to disctract me from the task at hand. And there is no traffic to speak of; I saw three cyclists (hi Jim!) and a handful of cars during my fifty minutes in the trenches. Hopefully its a little more populated on marathon day.

I hit the turnaround, and was immediately walloped with a deceivingly strong headwind. Now my work was cut out for me. I continued at the same effort, but immediately lost five seconds on my next kilometer. Not a good sign. The next two kilometers were even slower, but I managed to stop the slide and continue at a decent pace until I left Lorneville.

Unfortunately, I was still eleven kilometers away from my house, and the combination of speed and distance was starting the catch up to me. My kilometer times bottomed out, and my form fell apart. On the plus side, my slow pace was actually my goal pace when I started the run, so as long as I could maintain my current pace until I reached the house, I wouldn't be in bad shape.

It almost didn't happen. I slowed to a near crawl with five kilometers left, and was forced to walk for about a minute shortly thereafter. Suprisingly, it did little to affect my overall pace, so I resolved to take a short walking break each kilometer. I don't usually walk during workouts, but it's a necessary evil if you're considering quiting mid-run.

Legs burning, and covered in sweat, I hit the home stretch and gingerly jogged the last 600 meters to my house, where I promptly drank every ounce of water I could find. Distance travelled: 32 Kilometers. Time: 2:51:17. Not my best run, but when you run twenty five minutes faster than you initially expect, you can't complain. One more long run to go, and I'll be as ready as I can be for Marathon By The Sea.

Now it's time to rub some aloe on my arms and chest. Expect another blog update by mid-week!

My New Friend Garmin

My wonderful wife Sarah gave me a Garmin Forerunner 310 XT as a wedding present, and I finally took it out of the package and tried it out this week. I have yet to access all of its features (it calculates pace, distance, calories burned, heart rate, and elevation gained/lost, among other things), but I can already tell that it's going to improve my workouts. How? Let me count the ways:

1) My average pace will increase - I'm a numbers guy, and as a numbers guy, I know how fast I should be able to run each kilometer, give or take a few seconds. If my easy pace becomes too easy, the Garmin will tell me immediately, which will force me to increase my efforts. Tonight's easy 5k was run much faster than usual because I was able to see when I was slowing down and adjust accordingly.

2) I will run further - I couldn't tell you how many times I dragged my feet during a 25 minute run and marked it down as a 5k. I guarantee that some of those runs were 4k at best, but I convinced myself ages ago that a five minute kilometer as about as slow as I could run, and have yet to shake that illusion. With the Garmin, a 5K run will actually be a 5k run, as the GPS will calculate the distance as I run.

3) I will run more often - I rarely write in my running diary, but I check my computer every day, and seeing an unused workout icon on my desktop will help spur me into action on lazy days. And, as a numbers junky, the pile of numbers that show up on my computer will lead to mileage goals that I'll inevitably try to hit. You might laugh, but it's true.

I'll stop before I become a spokesperson for the brand, but I have to admit the Garmin is a fun little gadget for people who like to keep track of their workouts. That being said, the only way I'll truly get better is if I am training diligently, so I will log off now and get another workout in before my behind becomes permanently attached to my computer chair.


Chuck is running Marathon By The Sea in support of the InterAction School of Performing Arts Capital Campaign. To find out how to donate, please click here.