How about them apples... Days like today make me feel freaking ALIVE. Not because I did any of my workouts at some incredible pace or even that I posted any PRs, but just because I CAN do them. I take way too much for granted and today as I rode home after the Tuesday evening Fleet Feet run I felt awesome. Awesome to just be alive I think.
Then again, maybe all the endorphins had just gone to my head.
I got to the the Howe Street stairs a tad late today so only had time for four warm-up flights before Jim Kodjababian showed up. Whatever, I should not complain. We hammered out 14 flights together alternating walking with running and for a change I held back just a tiny bit and it really helped. Instead of finishing the workout on rubber legs or having to walk the last couple of sections on the later runners I was able to finish each runner in reasonable shape. Bonus.
Turns out I needn't have been worried about missing that one flight... because the Fleet Feet run went right back up the Howe Street stairs! Too funny.
We were heading along on the usual route and for once the leaders were not pulling away from me like someone lit their shorts on fire. As we ran down Lakeview Blvd I suddenly see this guy hold up his hand and point up the hill. Of course I know exactly what was coming. :)
At least two thirds of the group just ran straight past the stairs but about six of us went up without so much as a pause at the bottom. The guy that pointed out the stairs (he had on a cotton t-shirt with 'USA' on the back and a cotton baseball hat turned around backwards) was first to the top but I was second! I just kept passing people as we climbed and I was not completely toast at the summit. Nice.
At the top I thought we were going to continue up and then turn left on 10th Ave but no. Back down we went. So this was just a little bonus climb. :)
By now the entire group was miles up the road but this one guy I was running with (I found out later his name is Joe Creighton) kept saying that we could catch people. I was like no way will that happened but then as we started climbing Interlaken there they were.
ASIDE - as we hit the Interlaken climb Joe turns to me and says, "You're a a trail runner, right?" When I answered in the affirmative he proclaimed that this was good because it meant that we would indeed catch people on the climb. Is there some trail-runners-are-better-climbers-than-road-runners smack talk that I have been missing out on? I obviously need to immerse myself in this running culture a little deeper.
I did okay but was pretty gassed as we crested the hill in Volunteer Park and of course it was then that Joe turns to me again and says, "I'm going to pick it up, you with me Martin?" I was barely able to gasp something about being fully maxed already and that he should feel free to take off. And boy did he. Four blocks or so later Joe was out of sight. Nice.
I rolled in solo and told Joe thanks for the company but then needed to change and get the hell out of Dodge as I was getting chilled. Mr. USA t-shirt was obviously not cold as he had finished way ahead of me and was still chatting it up with everyone. And I had started this run in TWO layers AND with a hat AND with gloves. Sheesh, I might as well hang the old-guy-with-poor-circulation sign around my neck.
The ride home was a blast. I had music, the stars were out and I was not freezing cold. Yes, my legs were tired but I just took it easy and soaked up the 'runner's high' or whatever they call it now.
The only bummer is that since it was cold I stayed inside of the Fleet Feet store as long as possible and when these guys decide to go, they don't mess around. My GPS did not find any satellites right away so the first two miles of this run got lost. Shoot.
| Sleep | 7 hours |
| Waking HR | |
| Body Weight | |
| Body Fat | |
| Breakfast | |
| Lunch | |
| Dinner | |
| Workout Food | stairs - bottle w/1.5 scoops HEED bike commute - water |
| Injuries | |
| Therapy | |
| Time of Day | stairs - 5:40 AM run - 6:00 PM |
| Workout Type | stairs - strength/intervals run - tempo |
| Weather | |
| Course | |
| Results | |
| Time | |
| Distance | stairs - 18 flights run - 6 miles |
| Pace | |
| Equipment | stairs - Brooks Launch commute - Raleigh Mojave 8.0 run - Brooks Launch |
| Clothing |
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