100 Miles Down - 26.2 to Go

Today I am running my last of five 20 mile runs. The F.I.R.S.T program has you alternate between 20 miles, then 18, then 20, then 15, then 20 again. You have to work at that recovery in order to come back for long runs. My first line of defense is an ice bath after any run 13 miles and more. I also make sure I get protein to repair the microtears in muscles caused by running that far. This week I am cheating a bit, because it is not a full week since my long run last Saturday. But the weather is nice today, and I am going to start my run before 6 am, and meet Megan at 6:45, so she can run 10 miles or more, and get back to take her kids to school.

I woke up at 4:45 am to get my son to his off-season football conditioning. I am somewaht glad to have this obligation -first because I am proud of the dedication he puts into football, and secondly, because once you have the habit of waking up early to workout or run several days a week - it is worth keeping it, because it is hard to get back into that routine after sleeping late.

My next stop is our health club, to bring a lockbox with tickets and money for our sales for our friend Michelle's benefit. One of the other trainers is going to staff the table starting at 6 am, and I notice she is into her own workout, so that means she got here at 5 am. As of Thursday evening, we had raised $4,500, so it has been a profitable, and uplifting week, to see the support from Michelle's friends and patrons of her healthclub - Body Tech Total Fitness in Mokena.

When I get to the running path, it is still dark and cold out. I put on a lighted reflective wristband, so I can be seen by any cars when come out of the trails to cross streets. It is sort of eerie to run through woods this early in the morning. But it's not as remote as some of the other paths, because yards back up to this linear path. This is one of the rare times when I don't see a single other person on the path. I get 4 miles in, and meet Megan at about 6:45 am. My pace has already been close to 8 minutes, so I make sure we don't go out too fast so I can hit an 8:15 pace for all 20 miles. We run the hilly loop, which gives us 11.25 miles. By the time we are halfway through, the sun is warming us. We meet Scott from the Park Forest Club. He shifted the Saturday Run to today, too. I feel bad abandoning the group, because I just won an essay contest they had to publish an article in the club newsletter. I re-used one of my Blog postings about running with Pat, the Navy Vet. (I even won $100! It's a economic stimulus package for unemployed runners!) I decide to leave water out for them tomorrow, even though I'm not running with them.

Just as Megan peels off to run home, I get a call from a friend who works for the Federal Government. I sent her my resume to review, because she has experience in HR. I talk to her for a few minutes about negotiating the hiring process. I walk and stretch, and then she has to get to a meeting. So after that 5 minute break - I finish up with 4 more miles, and I'm done. The next time I run over 20 miles, I'm not stopping until Boylston Street.