Bonus runs
So, I was in Las Vegas for a conference for most of this week. My last run in Austin before that was the tempo last week, and I knew I would miss the long run and more. I did not know how much time I would have, but I was determined that Thursday morning I would toe the line at the Turkey Trot back in Austin ready to run a PR. The challenge was that I expected to be in sessions about twelve hours a day and then to go hang out with one of my friends out there most of the rest of the time.
My first thought was to consider a long run Friday before I left, but I had an early meeting at work. So my next idea was to wake up early on Saturday and run as long as I could before the sessions started. That didn’t work out so well either. My connecting flight was delayed by so much Friday evening that I got in really, really late. For some reason (possibly my wandering around the airport for hours carrying all my stuff), I was really sore all over when I woke up Saturday morning. I decided to just do some core exercises and commit to running the next day.
I had never been to Las Vegas before. A couple people had recommended before I left that I should just go running up and down the strip (in the early morning, before it gets covered by a swarm of people). I stayed out pretty late Saturday night and probably walked close to ten miles (no kidding). At least I got my bearings straight.
After a brief rest, I got up at the crack of dawn Sunday and took off running. The big tower of the Stratosphere had been catching my attention the previous day, so that’s where I went first. I had purposely left my watch resting safely at home. I wanted to just enjoy these runs every chance I got. I turned south with the intention of just running until I felt like turning around. It was pretty awesome to just take in all the outrageous architecture and watch the video screens all up and down the street. It was cool outside, and my legs felt great. There are several streets where you go up stairs to a walkway to cross the street instead of waiting for the traffic to clear. I charged up those with authority, thinking about how that might come back to help me in my hilly race. I ended up running all the way past the end of the hotels and casinos and found myself at the airport. I figured that was pretty good, and then I was just blown away when I turned around to look back north. With the sun coming up, I could see the skyline with the mountains in the background, and it just seemed perfect. I took off again, having decided I’d run up to the tower again. People were starting to appear by then, and I shared greetings and a high-five or two with some other runners. I picked up some more details of the scenery on the way back up, enjoyed all the steps again, and generally felt really good. Once back at the tower, I decided that was enough for one day and turned back towards my hotel. I figure I did close to 15 miles in all. The interesting thing is I didn’t have any gels or water out there, but I didn’t miss them either. I stretched a bit and headed off to my sessions.
Something odd happened the next day. I woke up and felt like doing the same thing again. My legs felt perfect, and I had the energy, so I figured I’d go for it. I don’t usually do back-to-back runs that long, but I had enjoyed the previous one so much I wanted to experience the whole thing again. It was just as awesome as the first time. I did learn a lesson in paying attention, though, as I nearly wiped out on a bump in the road while I was watching one of the video screens. I also had to cut through one of the casinos this time because a work crew had decided to tear up a large section of the sidewalk outside it. It’s funny how their buildings are designed there to get people to keep passing by all the games. My legs felt really, really good. I even picked up the pace a couple times to give them some variation. I did some stretching and a little core afterwards, and that energized me for the day.
Now I was forming a habit. I did it again the next day. I figured if my legs were going to feel this good I should just keep treating them the same way. This time, I ran into a guy wearing a Decker shirt. I was wearing one of my Austin race shirts, too, and we stopped for a minute. He was from Austin and there on a family vacation, and he was getting a run in while his family was still resting. I told him to run down to the airport and turn around to enjoy the view if he hadn’t been down there yet. My legs felt perfect, and I did some more stretching and core when I returned. In fact, a nagging annoyance I had had for months in my left ankle had even disappeared. Maybe all I really needed was to back off on the intensity for a few days and focus on being smooth and graceful.
I’m really glad I got to do all that. I went from not even knowing if I would find time to run to having some of the best runs I’ve ever experienced. Here’s to some more of that!