At lunch I went running with Edgardo Balansay who I'm going to call 'the natural'. I originally met Edgardo cycling a few years ago and back then he could drop most people on any incline. According to him he just started running about two months ago and all I have to say is look out.
The guy is about 5' 7", 140 lb. and he wears these wafer thin, minimalist shoes with no socks that make a slap slap slap sound as he runs. His stride is the epitome of efficiency, he doesn't bounce around or swing his arms much or anything, he just scoots forward.
Did I mention that I'm 6' 2" and 180 lb.?
Today he peeled away any façade/pretense I had of being a 'runner'.
Edgardo and I left the IMA and right away I was in the red. No problem I thought, I'll relax and work myself into this run. Not. The pace just kept picking up and within 1/4 mile I was off the back! I pushed myself to regain contact and then looked at my watch to see what kind of pace we were doing.
6:15 minutes/mile
Slap slap slap...
Ouch. No wonder.
After a bit I was crying uncle and had to ask Edgardo to slow down or I was not going to be able to finish this run. :(
Slowing down meant something around 7:00 but by now even this was feeling too fast. I was hating life. Eventually we backed it down to around 7:30 but then we hit a hill (read: one block incline) and I had to freaking walk! Oh man... I had to walk one more time for about 10 seconds a bit later, it seemed I was having a terrible time trying to catch my breath. My legs were okay, I just couldn't breath so well.
As we got close to the IMA Edgardo suggested we sprint. I told him I thought I could lift the tempo some, and I did, but then I had to back it down again after just a couple of 100 m. From there I just limped home and hit the showers.
The entire time Edgardo was just chatting away and asking me all these questions like I'm some running authority or something. He asked me about training, build cycles, how to get fast, trail running, you name it. I was barely able to gasp some answers to his questions. To top it off, Edgardo asks me if I have ever heard of Partial Fasting...? Turns out this guy has been - consciously - missing breakfast AND lunch. Then he has a big dinner. So he spanked me with zero food in his system today. And the whole time all I could hear was slap slap slap.
What's interesting is that last fall I was able to cruise at the average speed we did today. I think starting so fast just killed me for the rest of the run... next time I need to start slower and hopefully speed up.
Guess who has not done any fast running/speed work.
| Sleep | 6 |
| Waking HR | |
| Body Weight | |
| Body Fat | |
| Breakfast | |
| Lunch | |
| Dinner | |
| Workout Food | commute - water run - bottle w/1 scoop HEED and 1 tablet Nuun |
| Injuries | |
| Therapy | |
| Time of Day | run - 2:30 PM |
| Workout Type | |
| Weather | run - low 60s, sunny, dry, light breeze |
| Course | run - damn flat with just two tiny hills |
| Results | |
| Time | |
| Distance | run - 8.2 miles |
| Pace | run - 7:28 |
| Equipment | run - Brooks Launch, hand held bottle commute - Raleigh Mojave 8.0 |
| Clothing | run - Brooks Infinity Short III |
Martin!
ReplyDeleteI just finished reading your "Cougar 10 | commute" (thanks for link) Looks like indeed you were not as recovered as I originally thought!
You're also a great writer! My Wife and I then read your Lake Union Lunch Run report and thoroughly lol'ed!
A few footnotes:
1) The 2 months was perhaps referring to the amount of time I've been doing the Lake Union Loop...which is actually about 2 weeks. I believe i started running a year ago.
2) Fasting - It was "Intermittent Fasting" http://www.allaboutfasting.com/intermittent-fasting.html
Its much easier for me than trying to figure out what to eat/snack on every 3 or 4 hours! Of course after a workout (ride, run, etc.), i do break the fast and have a post recovery meal/drink.
See ya!
Edgardo
@Edgardo - thanks for the kind words. I'm psyched to run with you again, next time I WILL do better. :)
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