Addicted to Exercise

The long run this weekend was a real confidence booster. We met really early and carpooled up to 183 and Spicewood Springs for the long trip back down. Often when we do this we end at RunTex, but this time we wound around a bit to end up at Barton Springs.

When we started running, I was ahead of my usual group, running by myself. There were only a few people up ahead, and I really had no plans to catch them. I just found my rhythm and went with it. About two miles in, Gilbert drove by and reminded me that I could drop back and run with the group, but I really felt like this was easier. I’ve been working to train my brain so that it constantly pumps me up while I run, and listening to the usual chatter about nagging injuries and tiredness just really doesn’t do good things for me.

The first water stop was at the end of Jollyville after a little more than three miles. I thought I might end up in a group there, but I did not. So, I just kept running. Over the next couple miles, people who were opting for shorter routes started joining in, but they were waiting for people behind me to come along, so I still just ran by myself. Every time my mind tried to take me somewhere else, I just remembered to stay in the moment and enjoy the journey. That worked well.

At the second water stop, I had caught the people in front of me, and I ran with them for maybe half a mile before I just backed off a little bit and let them go ahead. We crossed 183 and headed south on Shoal Creek, and I realized it had been quite a while since we had run this route. I was just in my zone through there, and the sun was starting to light things up. I caught up to the lead group again at the next water stop on Great Northern, but they took off much faster than I did from there.

I knew I was doing well, so I just settled back into my pace. We have run this next section so many times I was on auto-pilot, but I still kept focusing on keeping my senses alive and focused on the present. I tried to take in new details to keep my mind from wandering. I thought we were going to have more water at Hancock, but I didn’t see it. Maybe I got there too fast. I was doing fine, though. I was losing sight of the people in front of me, and I didn’t see anyone coming up behind, so on I went.

We grabbed part of the old 3M course from there and went down to 38th street. I didn’t see the people in front of me, but when I reached the water stop at Shoal Creek there they were. From there, I fell in briefly with a few people who were doing a much shorter run, and they turned off at Exposition. I went on toward Pecos for the trip down Scenic. I saw lots of people from another training group coming up the opposite way through that section, and it felt good to know I was almost finished with my run while it looked like they were just getting started. I really made a point to take in the scenery. We usually run up this section in the dark, but with the sun up I could see all the houses on the other side of the water. It really is a great place to be.

The last official water stop was on Lake Austin Blvd by the boat docs, and I was catching more people who had done shorter routes, but there was still no sign of anyone coming behind me. I cruised down Lake Austin Blvd, grabbed a really quick sip of water at MoPac, and hit the trail. I knew I was running well, and I felt great about it. It’s really amazing how relaxed I felt. I had managed to put aside all the mind chatter and just enjoy the run. I ended up back at Barton Springs to find a couple people doing strides. I did only a few of those myself, but I was happy that I could.

People started getting back, and a handful of us went down to the water for a quick cool dip before stretching. That was awesome. I joined a group of probably around half the entire crew for some stretching, knowing that there would be enough people coming in later that they could all stretch together too. After that I went to the water again to finish cooling off those muscles, and it felt really good.

At the end, I had 20.33 miles on the GPS in 2:49:14. I leave the clock running during the water stops, so my actual running speed was a little faster than the 8:20 average that time would indicate. My heart rate was under control the whole time. (If anything I should have worked harder.) So I feel great about this one. Let’s bring on some more!

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 11th, 2007 at 5:53 pm and is filed under Awesome, Long Run, Running. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.