Got to get used to long (train) running
(Courtesy SP8254 - On a Break! @ Flickr)
Great tune by the Doobie Brothers. Played it numerous times during the timelapserunner's old band days. Never listened to the lyrics much. Heck, I don't know lyrics to any tune 'cept maybe the National Anthem. In those days, our harp man was playing guitar on that piece, so the timelapserunner played the signature solo on his keyboard. Not up to Tom Johnston specs, for sure; but still a lot of fun to play. But this weekend's long run made me remember that I "gotta keep on pushin'."
Route used for Saturday's 9-miler
A 9-miler is nothing much to veteran distance runners; but that doesn't include the timelapserunner, of course. He's new to these longer distances, with only a handful of such runs in all his days on the road. Still, each of these longer runs brings with it new experiences, some quite unexpected. The route we chose for this weekend's long run is nominally one-third of the marathon's 26.2 mile distance. The thought here is that this route could be used as our 9 mile route, our 17 mile route and our 26 mile route. Of course, this will require that we traverse the same scenery for those longer two runs. That should not be a big deal as it's some of the best scenery from the upcoming Louisiana Marathon. Additionally, the taxing nation of the repetition will make this January's race seem a bit less so. So my thinking goes at this time.
The timelapserunner must have been anticipating this run even while he slept, waking as he did at 5:17 AM, just before the alarm clock was set to buzz. Though not rested completely from the day before, there was no use in trying to close my eyes to grab another thirteen minutes of rest. So, up it was. To the floor in the dining room to stretch, then to pull all the gear together and head out.
About the density of birds
seen during our long run
(Courtesy Roger Smith @ Flicr)
There were a great many people at Milford Wampold Memorial Park when we arrived at 6AM. Both individual and groups of runners getting ready to head out. There was one particularly large group, probably sponsored by a running club, that ran past me once or twice during the first hour of my run. As slow as we were going, getting lapped was not going to be any kind of surprise. But some of the sights on our run would be nice surprises.
As we passed one corner of the lake just about dawn - a cul-de-sac of sorts - we ran up on hundreds of white egrets perched in a half dozen trees. Wow, what a site! Just resting there before the day's adventure, not quite fully awake from their night's rest. I regretted not having a camera with me, though I suspect this particular view could be had on other mornings as well. Still, the timelapserunner had never stumbled on it before.
Not far from that spot, we also noticed something we had never noticed before. There's the old joke of the man in the phone booth being asked where he was and responding with "I'm at the corner of Telephone and Telephone." Well, we had our own run-in with something like that. As I was running down East Lakeshore and about to make the little loop to the right instead of taking the shortcut past that loop, a question popped into my head, "So, if I'm on East Lakeshore, what is the name of the street that is that loop?"
Turns out, of course, that it's simply more of East Lakeshore. But then, to confirm my belief, I glanced up at the street sign. To my chuckling delight, I saw that I was at the intersection of East Lakeshore and East Lakeshore! Well, that's what the signs there say.
Tailgaters relaxing before the game
(Courtesy Kimberly Payne @ Flickr)
We saved some of the best scenery for last during this 9-mile run. Having spun past all the Lakes and City Park, we headed down Dalrymple Drive into the LSU campus. Though it was not even 8AM yet, the place was buzzing with tailgaters setting up their tents and cooking cauldrons for the day's festivities.
As I approached the Music and Dramatic Arts Building, a loud country music tune was blaring from an exceptional set of speakers out front. A security guard sat in his chair, guarding the entrance to that part of the campus. As I past the guard - who would likely be there for the next 12 or more hours, I yelled out, "I hope you like country music!" He chortled back, "Oh, they change it up every so often."
From there we headed around Tiger Stadium and back out to beach park, our car and the end of this week's long run. Sometimes when I get weary running, my head flags and stares at the ground. I'm glad I had my head up long enough during this weekend's long run to see all these glorious sights. I'd have hated to miss out on that joy. The world surrounding me that day made the run easier for sure.
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FRIDAY'S WORKOUT: Three-miler in the aftermath of Hurricane Isaac. Saw a few trees down, but nothing like the scenes after Gustav. Walked at 15:54 pace, but watch seemed weird for the first mile. Nothing to speak of, aches-and-pains-wise.
SATURDAY'S WORKOUT: Nine miles. Planned average pace of 14:50; actual average pace of 13:50, at 0:30 / 0:43 intervals with nominal running pace of 13:26. Some rolling little aches, but - again - nothing much to speak of.
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OK ... a little treat for those who've read this far. The signature harp solo has been updated for this live performance and the rendition really kicks. Enjoy!
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