Monday, Nov 20:
5 miles, 2 degrees of incline, in 47:48, 7:58 ave. Splits> 8:07, 8:05, 8:03, 7:58, 7:53, 7:41.
Thursday, Nov 23:
Body weight strength session, book-ended by 1.4 mi of rucking total.
Thanksgiving with kind neighbors who invited me when they found out I was alone for the holiday!
Followed by a little Black Friday shopping... a family tradition.
Long run at Latta Plantation. 13.6 in 2:37:10, 11:33/mi. 702 feet of elevation gain. It's fun to use the app to see how much of the trails you can color in and cover during a run.
Sunday, Nov 26:
I rucked in a park that I haven't explored before - McDowell Nature Preserve. It got me some mileage on a day when I wasn't feeling a run, I got to break in some winter boots that I was considering using for Iceland, and I got to scope out the trails to see if it would be suitable for run training in the future.
My knee started feeling tweaked a mere one mile in, but it was still usable, so I went on anyways. I covered a comprehensive sampling of the trails. The verdict - not as runnable as Latta. The terrain reminds me a lot of the US National Whitewater Center trails. Kingfisher trail is the most scenic, as it goes along the water, and I enjoyed that the most.
4.6 miles in 2 hours (including a bathroom break) was enough for me. The 20# ruck gets heavy. Not sure if the knee issue was from the shoes themselves, vs. the shoe+ruck combination.
That was followed by some Christmas shopping. Stuff for a co-worker, something for my neighbors, and something for me. Success!
Wed, Nov 29:
5.5 on 2 degree incline treadmill in 43:42, 7:57 ave. Splits> 16:26 for 2 (8:13 ave), 8:01, 7:53, 7:37, 3:43 for 0.2.
THE RACE
Originally, I wasn't planning on doing this race, because I had planned to be at a conference. I had to cancel plans for the conference, which was disappointing, but on the bright side, I got to do the race, after all. The company that I work for sponsored the race, so we had a strong showing there. It was a smaller but excited crowd. It's cool that the company
sponsored this, to support Hope for the Warriors to help vets, and to
encourage employees to get out and go for a 5K.
The course was a lollipop, with an out, then a loop, then a back. I led from the start, pumped up about doing my first 5K in like 5 months. I followed behind the lead police car. Before the race, during the usual RD safety spiel, he mentioned that there was an active train track going across the course, and that the train company was aware we'd be out, but that there's a risk of train activity. Well, about a mile in, just as I was approaching the track, the train crossing bars started coming down. Just a little too late. The police car and I stopped, and we waited for a minute or two, as about 1/3 of the field caught back up. Oh well, it would make a good story.
Fortunately, the train only had like 1 car, so it wasn't a long wait. Well, think of it as a reset, and we were off once again. I knew that I could hold my pace, and people don't typically extreme negative split, so NBD. The course went through a pretty neighborhood. We crossed the train tracks again on our way back down the lollipop stem. I was paranoid the whole time on the approach, fearing that the bars would come down again, and fortunately, they didn't. The volunteers from JROTC were great, as were the police watching the crossings.
As I approached the finish line, I saw that they had stretched out bubble wrap (Sealed Air makes Bubble Wrap) for the finishing tape, which was awesome. Perks of coming in 1 overall!
WORKOUTS AFTER THE RACE, before Iceland
Sunday, Dec 3:
60 min of stationary biking, covering 16.9 mi, plus a 1.4 mi ruck.
Thursday, Dec 7:
5.0 in 40:45, 2 degrees of incline, 8:09 ave. Splits> 8:37, 8:24, 8:10, 7:59, 7:33.
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