so! i finally got it under my belt- the grand 21-miler. i usually like to get at least 2 in while training for a marathon, but because i procrastinated a bit too long, i was only able to fit one into my schedule- barely! [i actually miscalculated my schedule and have only left 2 weeks of tapering- thankfully i'm not planning on a PR this time].
the run went better than expected, despite a garmin malfunction scare at the start. after it finally beeped on, i took off on the burke gilman trail from log boom park on the north end of lake washington. shooting for a sub 8-minute mile pace somewhere between 7:50- 8:00, i was doing fine at the 10.5 mile turnaround [right past husky stadium], and figured i'd be right on the mark.
@ mile 13 or so i spotted a runner doing a 7:20 or but resisted the urge to catch up, fearing that it'd throw me too far off pace. then! outta nowhere, an old dude [looked to be about 55, balding with gray hair] flew passed me @ ~7:00 pace- wtf!? i try to stay conservative on my long runs, but i just couldn't let him out of range- i figured he was doing a shorter run [no hydration], but still- he's old! so... i followed him for a few miles @ ~7:15 pace, before he turned off [hah!], and realized he'd basically towed me to within range of the first guy. with 6 miles left, i decided to pass him, hoping to hold on until the end, wondering if i'd be able to maintain the pace. after a mile or so, i'd gained ~10th of a mile on him, but after a couple more i looked back and was shocked to see him within 10 ft.. i'm boring even myself, so i'll just finish it with- yep- i maintained the pace, and even finished with a 6:50 last mile lengthening my lead [again- i love racing people that don't know we're racing;)] to 1/8th of a mile. i shouted some thanks as he passed, and then proceeded to vomit for a few minutes while the on-lookers in the park witnessed a show i'm sure they'd rather not have.
so the jist is... it sure is nice being pushed a little every once in a while, into accomplishing something [7:36 min. pace over 21 miles] you'd forgotten you had in ya:)
all just in time for the marathon in 2 short weeks!
... patenaude
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This kind of reminds me of this 19 miler I did earlier this year...
That reminds me of the time Chris got passed by some old dude running while we were in baseball. He caught up to the guy and stayed with him as long as he could, but after a few miles he had to stop.
A few days later, he saw a picture of the same guy in the paper along with a nice article...
Apparently, he had run in something like 20 consecutive Boston Marathons.
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