Mar 14

FIT:
I set out to do 14.2 but felt decent and was already way out there on the tow path so I did 16.2. I stopped at the half-way overpass to swallow some Expresso Love Gu and wash it down with a bit of water. I used 20oz in the "feels like 44"ish heat. It was a good temp for running. I got the 7-mile chills again at about mile 7. I got a sweet 8.5 hours of sleep last night after a week with many 3-5 hour-ish nights. I had tied my left laces waaaay too tight for the mile yesterday, so it hurt to just wear my sneakers today, but when I kept the laces on that shoe loose today, it felt okay. I usually keep laces tight because my dad told me in middle school that it would be more energy-efficient for your feet to not move around much, and it may prevent ankle-turning injuries, too, if there's a snugger fit. Who knows how much good it does. I think I should keep them a bit looser than I have been doing it, though, especially when I'm running on ground that I know is pretty hole-free.

Listened to Steve Runner's profile of Eric Liddell and the podcast on Sheehan's Personal Bests today. Both excellent. Eric's my hero. Check out his story on wiki or something. The following paragraph I just yanked from http://www.virginmedia.com/sport/galleries/great-sporting-scots.php?ssid=11 doesn't do the story justice, but just to give you a crumb of the cake you should eat...

"Eric Henry Liddell was immortalised in the Oscar winning movie ‘Chariots of Fire’. During the 1924 Paris Olympics, committed Christian Eric Liddell refused to race on Sunday and was forced to withdraw from the 100 metres, his best event. Instead, Liddell raced in the 400 metres and little was expected of him. As Liddell went to the starting blocks for the race, an American masseur slipped a piece of paper in his hand with a quotation from 1 Samuel 2:30, "Those who honour me I will honour." Liddell ran with that piece of paper in his hand and not only won the race but broke the existing world record with a time of 47.6 seconds."

Listen to the podcast at steverunner.com to get a fuller picture of this great man.

Splits: 9:29 t, 12:42 b (forgot to push the splits - 22:12 at this point), 7:42 w (29:54 at this point), 15:35 d (45:30 at this point), 12:41 g (58:11 at this point), 9:33 o (1:04:45 at the turnaround), 9:26 g, 28:22 w (forgot to hit it at the d - 1:45:34 here), 2:55 x, 5:03 b (1:53:33 at this point), 4:26 h, 4:10 p, 4:10 t, 9:47 wright. Total: 2:16:08. Slower than when I ran it w/ AB and J, but that's okay. I just wanted to get the run in, since it's been two weeks since the last LR (which was the 16.2 with them).

I saw a strange squirrel-like thing with goose poop or something in its mouth today. It was so weird, so I tried to take a picture with the phone's camera. Then, it started running away, and it jumped into the water!!! ** not a squirrel**. I tried to track it in the water but failed. A couple came along and asked what I was looking at, and I described the above (I left out the poop part), and they said it must've been a muskrat. I'm looking at google images right now, and the one I saw seemed a lot skinnier and squirrel-like, but w/e. On the way back, no real lead legs like last time, although that last hill was very arduous.

I did a bit of stretching and iced my knees afterwards. I also downed an orange, a turkey sandwich, milk, and raw cake (made up entirely of raisins, walnuts, and I don't know what else). Sooo good. My knees will probably be a bit testy in the next 40 hours once the feel-good chemicals wear off.

Cumulative mileage: 163.3 + 3.5 (track) + 1 (fc) + 16.2 = 184. Don't you love how the LR's just shoot up the count?