Wish they could all be like that

Last night's run went great. I did a long loop, including the Dolly Parton hills. Turns out to be exactly 9.6 miles. I call it long, because just following the trail is shorter, about 9.15 or 9.2 or so. The Dolly Parton hills are a couple of rollers that show up on the marathon route at about 19 miles. They are pretty unpopular after that distance, when you'd prefer it to be flat.

In fact, if you look at the elevation profile online, you'll see that right after 20 miles the route tends sharply up. It looks terrible, and I'm sure after running 20 miles it will be terrible. They call it "The Wall." The problem is that right about that distance is when most people's glycogen stores are totally depleted, and they "hit the wall" there anyway. Add to that the upslope and it can apparently make for an unpleasant mile or two.

The profile looks so daunting that I made sure to run there on a training run just to see what it was like. It's not really very bad at all. Or it didn't seem bad. The scale of the map makes it look worse than it is. When I ran it I got to the 21 mile point and wondered if I'd even run the right route, it seemed so easy. Of course, I was doing it at a training pace and after only 7 miles, rather than at race pace after 20 miles. I know it will be completely different the day of the marathon. I'll probably be cursing "The Wall" along with everyone else.

Back to last night, briefly. I think that kind of run is why people like to run. Pick a comfortable but not lolly-gagging pace and just go. I finished the run in a 9:03 pace, but that was with the typical water stops and one rather extended potty break. (Listening to Spencer Moore. Actually did an mp3 download from Amazon.com of this album. It's great. Ol' Spencer may not be the guy for all tastes, but it's just him and his guitar unadorned, and for a fan of roots music, you don't get much rootier than Spencer. Highly recommended.)

I used to stop the clock during breaks like that, wanting to know just how fast I was running while I was running. I realized, though, that on race day, they don't stop the clock for anything (news flash!!) so if I wanted to have a realistic notion of how I'd do I'd have to leave it running. So I have some slow miles mixed in with the run. To offset the 9:55 and 11:05 miles last night, I had to have several well down in the 8s.

Last night I mentioned that I felt really good heading out to run. I felt good throughout most of the run. When I stopped at about 7 to potty, I noticed (oddly, I usually don't have energy or alertness or whatever to really think about it) that I felt GREAT!! I'd been going at a sub-9 minute pace for over 7 miles, which is a healthy pace for me, and I felt GREAT!! (Spencer is singing Great Speckled Bird, a classic) I actually stopped and looked around and felt my breathing and and just had to smile. Moments like that have to be why people run. Or do other similar things. You just feel so strong and alive and in touch with yourself and everything around you. It's hard for me to describe. I wish I were a better writer and could convey it.

Of course, to be completely honest, I have to say that later in the run I'd been going at about an 8:20 - 8:25 pace for a couple of miles, and felt ready for it to be over. Yes, I felt good, but I was ready to stop. It's always good to see the finish line.

One more thing, and I've got to go so I'm not late to class (doing Precinct Convention again today, so easy prep). The ankle. It felt really good throughout the run. Taking the day off was just what it needed, I guess. It twinged a little bit, and still does, but as long as I'm careful it works and feels fine. In fact, the hip was fine last night as well. Maybe I'm really getting all better for the marathon!

Gotta go to class.

Later....