Black Bear Vurps

Since my BFF was running her first 10k at the Mermaid Run San Francisco, HS and I were on our own in terms of breakfast. Normally we meet BFF and Mr. T after church for a little Mexican grub. I suggested we eat before church...that way I could come home and get my 18 mile run out of the way. HS agreed, so we got up, got ready and headed to Black Bear Diner in Manteca.

HS got chicken fried steak and eggs, no surprise there. I opted for the Southern Scramble which was a split biscuit, two sausage patties, scrambled eggs, and lots and lots of gravy. I also came with the best hash browns I have had in a long time. I could only eat half the food on my plate, but it was more than enough...and it would be hanging around longer than I wanted. (I also admit to a few BIG bites of HS's pancake!)

Yesterday's Ride

Before I get into today's long run, let me briefly review yesterday's ride. James took the group to Del Puerto Canyon Rd. This was a new ride for us and it was absolutely beautiful with hardly any cars on the road.

James and Nancy

 As you can see from the elevation chart below, the ride starts off with a gradual climb until you hit "The Wall". After that it's all down hill with a few small hills right before the end. I took it easy on "The Wall" and walked the super steep sections. I did this in an attempt to save my legs for today's run.

No shame in walkin'

I eventually made it to the top. Someday I would like to keep going, but for now I am content with this accomplishment.

Had to take a "selfie" because everyone else was already headed
down :-)

Today's Run

Earlier this week I ran an idea past Mr. T concerning my pace. Two weeks ago I did a 53 mile ride on Saturday, followed by a 15 mile run on Sunday. Felt fine. Last week I completed a duathlon on Saturday, followed by a 16 mile run on Sunday. Both of these runs were done at a pace determined by the MARCO Marathon calculator. Both times, I felt relatively good after the run. 

I contacted Mr. T to see what he thought about picking up the pace a bit. If I could do my training runs at race pace, especially following a hard workout the day before, maybe I was being a bit too conservative with my race goal time. He agreed, so we negotiated some pace times and I programmed my Garmin.

Below is a chart comparing today's run to last week's run. For the first 16 miles today, I was doing better and hitting my faster pace. Then I hit the wall...maybe it was the fact that I was passing my house for the 3rd time on this run, or maybe it was the fact that my legs were super tired, but about 1/4 a mile in to my final 2 miles, I could not run any more and started walking. I walked for at least 1/2 a mile before I convinced my legs that they could still run. I finally got moving and ran the rest of the way home. 

The 1/2 mile of walking ruined my overall pace and I finished the 18 miles with a 9 min per mile average. Boo :-( However, if I only look at the first 16, it was a good run...especially following yesterday's ride.

Next week will be a 20 miler, but I have decided not to push the pace. I am going to dial it back a bit and focus on staying healthy.

Ice bath on the pool cover