T21 -Runing OCD - Run

Miami

Given the week's theme of hatred of children, I checked into the Clevelander in South Beach Wednesday night, a place that doesn't even allow guests under 21. Perfect. Even more perfect was the fact that I got to stay there free because I'm writing an article on them. At any rate, I took it pretty easy Wednesday night knowing I had a long run Thursday morning before a busy day of interviews, horse races, a hotel tour and a Marlins game. Only 2 of which actually happened, but whatever.

I woke up at 10 and walked over to Lee Ann Drugs on Washington and bought some Powerade for the run. I gave the bottles to the girl at the front desk at the Cleve, and she agreed to let me use the lobby as an aid station. Because I have realized I don't deal well with long courses where I"m not familiar with the distance, I decided to run from the Cleve on 10th down to South Pointe Park, turn around and run up to 15th where the boardwalk ends, and do that three times. I'd stop at the Cleve after each lap for a Powerade break, much like I do with my car on runs in Gainesville.

Run - 90 Minutes

2 Lipodrene
The sun was again brutally hot, even though it was barely 10:30 a.m. Fortunately, Miami Beach actualyl has a breeze, unlike Gainesville, so this made it somewhat more tolerable. I used the iPod, again, but for long runs I feel it's justified. Anyway, my first lap went well, though I opted to run on the sidewalk and boardwalk instead of the packed sand, as I thought it would offer more shade. It did.

And though the run was ok, I still felt a lot more labored because it was an unfamiliar course. I think when it comes to challenging running, I really can't think about distances and locations, and need to go on the same route every time, without change. I mean, by the third lap I felt comfortable, but I wasn't willing to deviate much from the course for whatever reason. It's sort of a running OCD. I have routes I know in Seattle, Sacramento, Miami and Gainesville, and will only run those in each city. I did the beach today because I felt I had no time to drive all the way to Coral Gables to do the UM loop. It made this run a lot harder, but I think the more I do it, the better it will go.

The clouds came out about half way through the second lap, making the run a lot more palatable. That daytime Miami summer sun might have made for a bit more of a challenge, but this is recovery week, right? Riiiight. I'm pretty sure the run was less than 90 minutes, as I did the first lap in 26 minutes. Even assuming I slowed up, I probably was only out there 85. I go over so much, though, I'm not concerned.

I was also glad to be taking a solid 48 hours off after this workout, allowing me to party a little bit Thursday night. The night turned out pretty interesting, but nothing training-related since I had no Friday workout planned.