I know this is long, but the end is interesting, so skip to the end if you don't want to read it all. Long run this morning. I ran out to Sunset Park, with the goal of running a 10.8 mile tempo at close to marathon goal pace. This meant that I would be running four loops of the park, with a goal time per loop of 14:24 (5:20 pace). This is more challenging than it would seem, because this park twists and turns all over the place, and there is always the possibility of wind, which can really hurt you if it is strong (but it is a loop, so you get tailwind too). I got to the park, and the wind was really bad. I was hoping that it would let up during the tempo, but no luck there. I realized how lucky I have been the last two times I have run tempo runs here as the wind those days was nothing compared to today (I think I was even complaining about the wind a little then, whereas now I realize I was just being a wuss). I also realized how much the wind can help you when it is at your back, as at times you don't really notice a tailwind when you have one and it feels like you are fighting the wind all the time, when in reality the wind is helping you almost as much as it is hurting you. I started the tempo 5.2 miles into my run (37:44 for the warm-up) and things were immediately hard as I was starting heading into the wind. When I got a tail wind I felt like I was really cruising along, but I mostly had a headwind for the first half of the loop. I got more tail wind in the second half of the loop, but still some headwind and I came around in 15:00 (ouch, 36 seconds off goal pace, 5:33 average). I pushed harder during the windy sections on the second loop and I was able to speed up a bit (14:42, 5:26 pace). I realized in part how strong the wind was on the second loop when I passed a lady on roller blades who was standing with her arms stretched out, who was letting the wind push her. At the beginning of the third loop I decided to only run 3 loops instead of 4, so I pushed this loop a little harder. I hit some of the worst stretches of wind during this loop, but I still finished a few seconds faster in 14:39 (5:25 pace). Total of 44:21 for the tempo (5:28 average), which was 14 seconds faster than the last time I ran an 8.1 mile tempo here, although I was working a lot harder this time. I decided that since I had cut my tempo short I was going to finish at the track by my house, by running a couple hard 400's just to see what I could push out of my legs after almost 20 miles. My legs felt like dead weights the entire way home from Sunset Park. I felt dead. On the bright side, the wind stopped almost completely by the time I got to the track, so I had a little luck on my side here. Once I got to the track and was about to start my first 400 (18 miles into my run) I said out loud to myself, "With how I'm feeling now, I'll be happy if I just break 70." I ran the 400 in 69 (splits of 35, 34), and I was pushing it. I felt almost maxed out, and 69 was all I could do. Knowing that I had 1 more 400 left it is possible that I could have pushed a 67 out of my legs, but definitely no faster. However, after I ran the first 400 it seemed like my legs just woke up a bit and they remembered how to run fast. I took a full recovery (3 laps) and started my last 400 at the 19 mile mark of the run. Just before I started my last 400 a little boy came to the track with his dad and started running around the track in the outside lanes. I figured it was not big deal as he was in the outside, and I was in lane 1. So I started my 400 not thinking much of it, but as I came down the back stretch I realized that the little boy had slowly moved from lane 8 all the way over to lane 2. Still, I thought it would be ok. I hit the 200m mark in 31 seconds, and I felt great considering I was over 19 miles into my run. I had already passed the little boy's dad now, and I was about to pass the boy as well, when he moved into lane one as he looked toward his dad. He saw me barreling towards him and he freaked out and immediately moved off the track. "Great" I am thinking to myself, "the kid was smart enough to get out of the way". So, I make no effort to move or slow down, however in the little boy's scared state he ran back onto the track after running off of it, and as I now had no time to react I crashed straight into him and sent him flying. I went down to the track as well, and after stopping my watch I jumped up to help the little boy who was already being picked up by his dad, screaming. I checked to make sure he was ok (a few scrapes, but nothing major) and after that I finished my 400 where I had left off, finishing in 65 seconds. So, I quite possibly destroyed a little boy's desire to ever run on the track again, and in the process ran a disappointing 400 that I was hoping I could finish in 62 seconds. I then finished my run by running to my house, and then running for a minute or two around the block to finish up the last little bit of my run mileage wise. Total time of 2:11:29 for 20 miles.
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