Run Update - Sunday 09/24/2006

Where: From Runtex to Hill Bonnell
When: 7am, Sunday, Sep 24
Distance: 14 miles (22.5 kms)
Time: 1hr 51mins
Company: Nedra, Silke, and Ruth
Weather: Excellent, low to mid 60’s and dry!
Comments:

I decided to run my long run on Sunday instead of Saturday this last weekend as I signed up for a Charity Dog Walk on Saturday morning. Karma got to sniff a good 20 to 30 butts, so it was well worth it. On the drive out there, I challenged him to sniff 12 butts before the walk started, and just before the gun, he got in 2 last sniffs to put him at 13, so he won the extra treat I promised him!

Our running group has a supported long run on Saturdays and Sundays, and I was quite surprised to see the number of people that ran on Sunday. I figured there would be 5 of us! The weather was perfect, and from what I gathered on my short DWEAPR run on Saturday morning, I would have been miserable on Saturday. Hot, and Humid.

The run was a 14 mile run, from the RunTex Annex to the top of Hill Bonnell. 5 miles of flat lands, a mile of rolling hills, and then a big climb up Hill Bonnell. For my loyal out-of-towner readers, it’s actually called Mount Bonnell, but a Hill is much easier to run up, so I’m changing the name. (Any mental advantage helps - Height Perspective). The hill is just under a mile long, and climbs like the graph you see on the right. It's a bitch of a climb, and definitely a nice challenge.

I felt great all run long. When we got to the bottom of Hill Bonnell, I put on my music, found a steady climbing pace and got up there feeling good. My legs weren’t burning like in past climbs, so the summer Hill repeats and my trail runs are paying off!

We ran the first 6 miles just over 8mins per mile, and on the way back, we ran into Ruth, and ran the last 6 miles with her, at aroud 7:45 pace, which is potentially my Marathon Goal Pace. (still toying with ideas)

We finished the 14 miles having run an average of 7min 51sec per mile. When we got back, surprisingly I felt REALLY good, and could have easily gone 3 or more additional miles at that pace. (At least I think I could!)