This week of running will consist of the usual track work on Tuesday and Thursday. On Saturday I'm going to run Mt. Tam with Dennis. Dennis is friend that lives here in Petaluma. We met about 5 years ago when our daughters played together on a softball team. We talked about running but Dennis preferred to run in the morning, 5am kind of morning. I was more of a lunch time or evening runner. The thought of getting out of bed to go running just wasn't what I wanted to do. About 3 years ago we crossed paths on a Saturday run. Not a 5am run but a 9am run. I decided to give the morning runs a chance. I can't imagine going back to any other time to run. Dennis has converted me. The best part of these runs are the conversations we have. We have covered almost ever topic possible and including singing. We were struggling to finish up this 18 mile run and I started singing James Brown, "I Feel Good" and Dennis joined in followed closely by laughter. Thank god no one was nearby. During some of our conversations we literally lose track of where we are in relation to the number of miles we have covered. Other times we have an unofficial no talking zone. Not one word is spoken allowing each of us to zone out. A good running partner is invaluable.
Day 16 -5:00am - 9 miles at the track. This is a tempo run with 2 miles at half marathon pace, 8:30 per mile. The run goes by quickly as Dennis and I have a couple of lengthy conversations. My legs feel good and I head home for my P90X workout. I take a little break and have something to eat. I get my boys off to school and get prepared to do Plyometrics! This is an hour long abuse of your legs. Between the 9 miles and the Plyometrics workout, the 9 miles is easier.
Day 17 -8:00am - P90X, Shoulders, Arms and Ab Ripper. An hour and fifteen minutes. I really enjoy this workout including the Ab Ripper. This gives my legs a break in preparation for an 11 mile tomorrow. Body parts are still intact and I haven't had to resort to using duct tape.
Day 18 -5:00am - 11 miles at the track. It's a fairly easy run with a couple of miles at race pace. Dennis is there for 7 of the 11. I use 3 of the last 4 to run at pace. My legs felt really good. The dirt track is very beneficial in reducing the pounding. After this I head home to eat and get my boys off to school. P90X workout is suppose to be Yoga. I'm going to move it to Friday. Not enough time to do it this morning.
Day 19 -5:30am - P90X workouts, Yoga followed by Legs and Back. These both went good. My legs are a little tired and I had to modify some of the moves. All things considered I feel good. I'm really looking forward to running Mt Tam tomorrow morning.
Day 20 - 6:00am - Dennis and I head out to Mt Tam for a 2 hour run. Dennis used to run here all the time and knows his way around the mountain. It's a beautiful place to run. Plenty of hills and lakes to run around. The run goes great. Legs feel good. We cover 10 miles. I haven't done much trail running but I get why people prefer it to the road. Running through forest and around lakes helps take your mind off the hills and it is very peaceful. P90X not today.
Day 21 - 7:30am - I head out for a 3.5 hour run around the east side. I take off for the Sonoma Mountains for a little hill work. This started out as a run I've done before with Dennis. Slow start, a couple of hills to get us warmed up and then we start the climb. Except instead of Dennis I'm running with my iPhone. Music blaring in my ear I feel pretty good considering I ran 10 hilly miles the day before and now I'm targeting 20 miles. The Sonoma Mountains are a beautiful place to run. Usually you end up above the fog and it's warmer. Today it's cold, foggy and wet. The other part of these mountains is the wildlife including cows, lots of cows. Climbing this mountain is a little difficult but coming down the other side has it's own challenges. There is an area about a half mile from the end where there is a dairy farm, with lots of damn cows. Today there was the entire herd standing in the road with a bull up front. I know you don't usually see a bull on a dairy farm. I saw his sack and they were not udders. I tried clapping, whistling and yelling. Nothing worked. The bull just looked at me like, "are you kidding"? The law of physics was clearly in his favor. I had two choices, try to run through them or go back up over the hill. So I went back up over the hill. I'm not proud but I am officially boycotting dairy. As I started back up over the hill I thought about the times I ran this course with Dennis. He would never turn back. He would just continue on and they would separate like he was Moses and they were the Red Sea. Of course I don't believe that for one moment. I am convinced though he is a Dairy Cow Whisperer. I needed the "extra" hill work. In spite of all the fun I had a very productive run. I haven't run 30 miles in two days before so this was uncharted water. I feel really good after this week.
Week Three Totals - 50 miles!!! Several hours of P90X. I'm still very excited about this training program. Although I have to find a new route to avoid cows. I should have just gone out to the coast. They only have Coyotes. I was also re-introduced to two well known facts of the Running Gods. 1) if you wear running shorts and have historically had chafing problems, use glide to solve the problem. Saturday I didn't do this, I have problems. 2) what you wear under your running shorts will determine how much of a pain in the butt your post run shower will be. OUCH!!! Week 4 will be an easier week. The mileage/time required has been cut by 20%. I am flying to Houston to run the Houston Half Marathon with my son in law. It's his first half and he ask if I would come out and run with him. I'm looking forward to the reduced mileage and seeing my family.
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