Double Up on the Crazy 8 Runs

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

(Second eight mile run) ... more to follow

-- Mileage log : 8.115 miles

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Monday, May 3, 2010
Misty clouds, light rain, and steady rain; all in today's run

The weather did not look that good, right from the start, today. However, with not doing a long run for over a week, I decided I'd go out on one of my legacy training runs up Batavia Lane to Sherman Road and then up Sherman Road to the gate. This run has been my standard out, up, and back run for a couple of years. My normal training plan leveled out with the eight-miler being the base run once training had worked through 3-3's, 4-4's, 5-5's, etc. until finishing with 8 runs of 8 miles. (Usually with a day off somewhere, just to take a break). Once the 8-miler routine was completed, I'd normally modify the training routine slightly by doing 4 eight mile runs followed by increasingly longer runs for one day in the training week (10, 12, 14, etc.) until doing either 16 or 18 miles as the long run of the week. This year, with the modified alternating: running/biking plan, the runs have been somewhat different. In any case, this route became the crazy 8 run in my mind; since it seemed crazy to run 8 miles all the time; and, because the route loops through a couple of switch backs, almost feeling like running loops made up of 8's,


Today, it was cloudy with low clouds and mist when I started the run. Conditions did not improve, in fact, they deteriorated during the course of the course (of course) and steady rain was falling by the time I reached the turnaround gate. There was no decrease in the rainfall during the downhill return run either. Streams of running water flowed down the road with me as I did the three-mile downhill on the gravel road. The last mile on the blacktop was wet and shiny with the steady raindrops making small splash patterns on the roadway during the return to the ranch. When it was all said and done, I completed the run in pretty good time, actually breaking the hour-and-a-half time for the first time this year on the eight-miler!

It was nice to get back under a roof, though. And after a cool-down 10-minute spin on the indoor Nordic Cycle, I showered and put on warm sweats for a short afternoon nap!

-- Mileage log : 8.161 miles; Time 1:29:18