Today I ran 14 miles in 1:51:21. This was an outside run and I was quite pleased with it. Running outside is very different than running on a treadmill. While running on a treadmill may be monotonous and that is a psychological challenge, you do have the treadmill going at "X" miles per hour and so it forces you to run at that speed (assuming you avoid the temptation to decrease the speed). However, running outside it is only you that is making you go that much faster. You also have the challenges of the road, different types of pavement, unevenness, and perhaps weather conditions to deal with. But I am mainly talking about making sure you are keeping the pace steady, something very easy to do on a treadmill but it requires a different mental toughness on the road. Today I was very happy that I was able to keep below an 8:00 mile pace. I know I can run that fast (which actually is not very fast at all, but a good long run training pace for me), but not letting myself run slower on these training runs can be quite challenging.
I also am feeling stronger and feel like I have finally recovered from my vacation. That is so good to feel and I need to evaluate things before I take another week long vacation. I thought that running that Saturday and the Monday would have lessened the impact, and perhaps they did and I just don't realize how much more I would have had to work had I not done those things, but taking four days off is something I cannot do without losing conditioning. Luckily I am not training for anything right now.
After a quick changes, I went out for a bike ride. My intention was to go for 26 miles, but after mile 8.66 I got a flat, my first flat on this bike. The tools I had made the job very quick to change the tire. I used the CO2 to blow up the tire. I thought the tire was full enough, but the container said to discharge fully. I did that and promptly, and literally, blew up my tire. With no other tubes or CO2 cartridges, I was forced to take out my phone and call my lovely wife. I do not like telephones as a whole, but having a cell phone in times like this is certainly nice. So I called, but there was no answer. I thought maybe she was out for her run. Knowing she would not run longer than 40 minutes, and basing that off of when I thought she went running, I waited 20 minutes to call. Still no answer. At this point I thought she may be in the shower after her workout. I waited 20 minutes and called again. Nothing. I texted, asking to call me as soon as she could. I even did something I rarely do which was to go on to Facebook and post a message for her. She basically always has her phone with her and gets instant updates from FB, so I thought I had covered all my bases and within minutes I would get a phone call. It now had been a little more than an hour since my flat. Though I was a long way from home on foot, and I was wearing cleats that I would have to take off so as not to ruin, I decided I might as well start walking. At least I would be closer to home by the time I got her call. Just sitting there would only give me time to think and probably get irritated, so I might as well walk. So I began my trek. There were many cyclists who asked if I needed help. Most of them I was just too embarrassed to tell them I blew up my own tire, though it was an innocent mistake. Some I told but they did not have the necessary components I needed for the tire change. There were no sidewalks where I was, so walking was slow. I had to wait for opportune moments to venture onto the road and try to beat the next car that was coming. There was no emergency lane most of the time. After 20 minutes and having walked almost 1.25 miles (really not a bad pace for being in your socks and having a bicycle in tow), I was in a more rural area and a man with a house on the corner saw me, and like the others, asked what the situation was. I explained it to him, explained I had called and how unusual it was for my wife to not have her phone. I could see he had a very nice pick-up in his garage, but I was not about to impose my problem on his Saturday morning. I started walking and he asked me where I live. I told him and he said he was just going to wash his truck and he would be glad to give me a ride. I gladly accepted and within minutes was home. I thanked him profusely and he, along with so many others that asked if I needed help, really helped take the sting out of the whole thing and went that much further to renewing my faith in humankind. It was not a fun time, but it was a good time spent.
Total running miles for week = 37.00
Total cycling miles for week = 24.86
