I Survived the Hilly Long Run

It had been quite a while since I had run up 21st Street, and I forgot how much of a hill that was. It was sort of hilly for a long run. I did my first loop in 51 minutes and the other three loops in 47 to 48 minutes each. Twenty mile time was 3:14:30. Then I did close to three miles more, finishing in just under 3hours 41minutes.

I really expected my shin to give me problems, but I finished the run with no pain whatsoever. Of course, my legs were tired, but what do you expect? Still, I've decided not to run in OKC. I probably will go and cheer on the other runners, though.

My glutes were a bit sore on Sunday, and even some on Monday, but not enough to keep me from a good Monday lunchtime run. I did a hilly four mile tempo run (NW of downtown, through Owen Park, up the Easton hill, up Country Club Drive, and back to downtown on Fairview). Averaged about 7:45 per mile. Now my glutes are really sore. Tuesday will be an easy day.

Saturday April 11 Route

Saturday we will have our last long run before the OKC Marathon. The plan is to do several loops and to keep an even pace on each loop. No timing devices allowed except for the one at Veteran's Park. You can see the route at www.mapmyrun.com/route/us/ok/tulsa/676123933772712263

Here is a description of the 5 mile loop:
South on River Parks trail to the pedestrian bridge, Midland Valley Trail to 21st. East on 21st to St Louis. Left on St Louis and go around Swan Lake. Right on St. Louis and left on 17th Pl. 17th Pl. to Madison. Madison to 15th to Boston, and back to Veteran's Park.

Advanced half does 3 loops. That gives them their scheduled 15.

Marathoners do 4 loops. That gives them 20. The schedule says 22, so to add those extra miles, I suggest a trip to the pedestrian bridge and back.

Beginner half is scheduled for 13. That means they do 2 full loops. For the extra 3, I would suggest doing sort of the same loop, but not hitting riverside or the midland valley trail. So, they would go east on 21st to St Louis, go around Swan Lake, Right on St. Louis and left on 17th Pl. 17th Pl. to Madison. Madison to 15th to Boston, and back to Veteran's Park.

This route is a little bit hilly, but not terrible. It will be good practice for the gently rolling hills of the OKC course. Anybody who wants a flatter course can do the same 5 mile loop we did two weeks ago in the snow. I like the hills, though. Sometimes when I am running a hilly route, I think of the Psalm that says,

"I lift up my eyes to the hills-
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD ,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
(Psalm 121:1-2)

See you all Saturday!

Update: I added the elevation profile for the loop below. Total climb for each loop is about 170 feet (with the same amount of descent).

To Run or Not to Run

Saturday I had a pretty good run. Eleven miles in an hour and a half and one second. That's an 8:11 pace. Not too bad considering the hilliness of the route (thanks, Larry!). Only thing bad is that my shin hurt pretty much the whole way. Not unbearable pain, but it continued to hurt the next couple of days - enough that I have thought about not signing up for the OKC Marathon. In fact, I have been thinking about not running at all for a few weeks. Maybe I will just do some biking. Saturday is the last day to sign up for the marathon online, and I guess I will see how I do on Saturday's long run and then make my decision.

By Tuesday my shin felt pretty good. Tuesday evening I had a good time walking with my wife and two poodles on Turkey Mountain for about an hour.

Today I rode my bike for the first time since about September. Thirty four miles. Averaged 16.0 mph for the first 32 miles or so and then took it easy for the next bit back to the parking lot. I was totally wiped out after the ride. Running is so much easier than biking! My sit bones are so sore!

I won't be able to make it to the Thursday night run. I have a basketball banquet to go to.