Today on my Garmin training center calendar it listed "Slow 20M." That simple description makes it seem easy, just run for 20 miles at a slow pace. I completed my longest run of 19 miles last weekend, so tacking on just on more miles should have been a piece of cake right? Well, I guess it was fairly easy the first 14 or 15 miles, but after that my legs felt a little dead. I hurt the top of my left foot during the 19 mile run in the Mac forest, and I could feel it a bit during the run. It wasn't painful just there if you know what I mean; my left shoe felt tighter. After showering I noticed it was a bit swollen. The hardest part of the run, at least the most time consuming, wasn't the run at all.. it was the preparation.
There are miles of bike paths and lanes in Corvallis, however after running here for nearly a year I have followed many of the same routes for longer runs. Many of the loops consist of the bike path along Philomath Blvd connecting to 53rd and to the waterfront, the path around Bald hill, and the path up Walnut by MLK Park and then down to HP. I also run south of town down Bellfountain to Airport, and go east and west dependent on the miles required for the run. My trip to the Mac forest via Oak Creek last weekend was a first, and the hills were not my favorite for a long run. So for the 20 mile run I spent hours trying to map out a new course that was fairly flat, off of the roads as much as possible, and someplace that I hadn't ran 50 times! In the end I gave up and just extended my Philomath / Corvallis loop.
About 7 miles into the run on a part of West Hills road that I hadn't ran before, and man was coming down a gravel driveway I was about to cross. He looked at me at his right, looked to his left, and then started coming out just as I cross the front of his 1980's K car. I held both hands out as to try bring the car to a stop, warning the driver he as about to hit a pedestrian, or brace myself for a stop-get-dropped-and-rolll of the top of this guys car! He stopped and looked very annoyed that I didn't yield him the right of way! Maybe they are use to seeing runners out in the country!
Only 13 miles to go after that incident. Now I am back on my regular training routes, and heading around Bald Hill and up Walnut. My pace is fine, hydration is good, and heart rate in check. As I round from Circle to Hwy 20 (mile 14-15) I started dragging a bit. I stopped just short of the HP entrance on Hwy 20 under some trees to get some water and let my heart rate get back to recovery levels. I then pushed it in the last 4-5 miles.
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