I'm not that Groovy Baby

Last night my family unit went out for some tasty Ethiopian food then some frozen custard with another pretty famous running family.

Mrs Speedy holding A and K!

My last few attempts of running after Ethiopian food doesn't produce the most amazing results, but hey, maybe I just ate the wrong dish that didn't give me wind beneath my wind the next day.

This morning I had a pace run on plan per Hanson Marathon Method. Warm up, 9 miles at marathon pace, cool down.  I got out around 4:20am, so I would only be able to do 12 miles and have time to stretch after my run. This at least would be what the plan called, but I was hoping to get a longer warm up and cool down in.

When I was walking around before my run, I felt surprisingly....normal.  I began to feel a slight glimmer of hope that I would be on the upswing finally of my rehab period.

Get outside, temperatures dropping, run started at 62 degrees, was 54 when I got home. 10-15+ mph wind out of the north.  The waves were angry, frothing with strength, and eating the beach.  The path just south of Fullerton was not safe until you hit the sand again.  The waves engulfed the entire path like it was a game.

I felt a little brisk, but quickly warmed up. First few steps, that glimmer of hope quickly faded as I felt giant knots in both of my calves.  Neither were in areas that I had pain/aches in over the last week. New day, new trash to deal with. First mile, they barely get better. I start thinking of a plan B for the day. Maybe I'll just do some easy miles today, and hope that therapy works out the kinks in my legs, and I can try the pace run again tomorrow. I stop to stretch, try to calm my brain down, and tell myself I'll try speeding up slowly at 1.5 miles and then make a last minute call.

Legs slowly warm up better... I'm not saying they were normal, but they didn't hit the danger zone.  Time to man up and just do it. And do it I did.

The first 4 miles of my pace portion of my run was pretty unstable. Maybe it was because the wind was at my back, but I couldn't get in my pace groove. My half mile splits were going like 6:40, 7:11, 6:20, 7:15, 6:18 and so on. I tried to settle in the zone, miss it, then think I just sped up a little, but apparently I threw on some nitro.

I couldn't find my groove baby!

On my turn around, it was an entirely different game. The wind was now my foe. At least the wind evened out my pace. The extra resistance to running was overshadowed by the change in breathing as the wind continuously punches your throat.

I had one near fall down near North Ave, I didn't see the sand spill over into the path and nearly last my footing/twisted my ankle! Yikes.

The run went well on the way back.  Took a bit more effort, but I had it in my to give.  I also saw one boss of a runner, who is very friendly, knocking out 6:45s like he was just having a fun old time! You go bro!

When I was about to get off the path, I took a moment to soak in the sky. The lake looked like it was on fire, the dark black clouds, and just a small open window of red breaking off the lake made it a magnificent view. As usually, my phone doesn't do it justice.

And for those interested in the actual stats, here are the splits:

Total time for my 9 mile pace portion, 1:02:48.

Today I also have physical therapy and my run gait analysis. I may be needing a nap by dinner time!

Happy Friday everyone!!!