And miles to go before I sleep!

Week 5

This past Saturday broke warm and sunny albeit a bit windy, but easily the best morning so far for these group runs.  This time is was a 4-miler up Monument Avenue to the Boulevard and back. I was feeling the best I had felt physically for this since this endeavor began.  No calf pain, no swimming soreness, nada.  It was funny to see the patrons of the Jefferson looking out their $500/night bedroom windows to see 100 or so people screaming in unison to the cadence of our warm-ups.  I actually started dead last from the pack when we set out since I needed to help a fellow iPod user figure out how to turn on her Rhapsody music library.  I failed.

As always, I had to navigate my way through the morass of people to find a spot where I could settle into my pace.  This took until I was almost to Stuart Circle, then the wind and fun really began!  There is an ever so slight uphill grade going out toward the Boulevard.  Add a nice headwind to the mix and it took no time for intense labor-like pains to develop.  I fought the urge to stop maybe a dozen times, but maintained my plodding concentrating intensely on my iPod music and watching the ground to prevent any missteps.  I only had to stop twice for traffic, much to my chagrin.  My legs had memorized their own momentum and when stopping I had this weird sense that I was still moving.  That was ever so odd!  At least I had the "downhill" portion of the run to look forward to....

So yes, I did the whole 4 miles without stopping to walk.  I did get passed by a few women who seem to pace themselves better than I but I was still near the front of the group by the time I finished.  What was really surprising was that it was just 9 o'clock which meant I did the whole run in like 45 minutes!  That's around 11 minutes per mile which is a milestone in this ongoing saga.  About 5 minutes later our 20-something goomah showed up and then wifey five minutes after her.  Meanwhile I was sipping on water since I hadn't the spit in my mouth to actually gulp it.  I gargled a few mouthfuls to get some moisture back in my mouth while waiting and walked around in circles, not wanting to sit for fear of being stuck in that position forever.  Great news was that my calf had no pain at all rather, my hips were feeling especially used and abused.  Still, I'll take arthritic hips any day over snapped sinews.

Looks like the training regimen is doing it's job.  Our stamina is definitely improving, our weight is beginning to drop and our sleeps are totally restful.  I think this week has us training for 3.5 miles today and Wednesday with another four mile run next Saturday.  This shouldn't pose any real danger I would think.  If I did it once, I can do it again, right?  That is if the ol' bod allows it.  I'm hoping we can actual run outside so long as the weather and daylight cooperate.  Treadmills are already my nemesis and I'd much rather run somewhere with a view.  I'll update ya later this week with how that goes by swim cross-training day.  Egads, I'm starting to sound like a runner!  Oh the horrors!