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Today I did my shorter Rec. Center > Stone Arch Bridge > return route (vs. crossing the river at Hennepin Ave.).
It was a bit warm and humid to want to run more than that...plus, I'm starting to taper this week. =)
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Today was it...the 20-mile run that culminates my marathon training plan. The weather was great for distance running: cool, breezy, overcast much of the time, and even some light rain near the end. And at mile 19, I also encountered Tim biking. Thanks, Tim, for the encouraging comment!
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My standard Rec. Center > Hennepin Avenue > return route. An especially nice break during an unusually hectic week at work.
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Today started nice (cooler, overcast, and breezy) but ended challenging (hot and sunny). I ran the same general loop as last week but instead of turning north at Minnehaha Park, I headed north at Lake Hiawatha and ran to 38th, then east to Minnehaha Ave., and then up to the Greenway. I also took the shorter side around Lake Calhoun.
Another note: after looking at my plan, I realized that I should have run 20 last week, and 15 today. I ran 18 last week, but made up one of the miles today.
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Due to a sore right knee, I didn't run on Tuesday. And today was busy at work, so I didn't want to leave early to run. But I didn't want to miss another day, so I ran tonight. It's the latest I've ever run - 9 p.m. It was sort of nice, especially around Lake Harriet as the sun was setting. (it had already set, actually, but there was still a glow to the western sky) My only complaint were the tiny no-see-um bugs in the air; I got a few eye- and mouthfuls while underway. Still, a nice time to run--- I may need to do this more often.
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Today was another fabulous run. Not quite as great as last week's, but nearly so.
I plotted a new route to try, a loop instead of there-and-back. I think I've converted to loops, now, for longer runs. Avoiding the repetition of seeing the same sites twice is much more pleasant.
Today's route was along the creek, up Minnehaha Ave., west down the Midtown Greenway, and back home via Lakes Calhoun and Harriet. Link to route map.
I'm happy with my pace; at this rate I could have a 4:20 marathon. It might take a bit of pushing to do this, but maybe I'll be up for it!
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This week's Thursday run was cancelled due to Grace and Sarah's spring music program at Armatage, and also due to me being at home with the girls while Katie was out of town at a medical conference.
Not exactly a true fast run--- it was quite warm and humid, so I had a hard time even keeping a 10 min./mi. pace!
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What a difference one week and 15-20 degrees can make!
Perhaps my training up to this point is finally starting to pay dividends, because this was the best long distance fun I've ever had. I felt great the entire way. And my turn-around point was, triumphantly, at Cleveland and Ford Parkway, in the heart of our old Highland Village neighborhood where we lived when Sarah was born in 1997. I still love that part of St. Paul, and it has hardly changed.
But the conditions could not be beat, either, so I'm sure it wasn't only my training that resulted in such a great run. It was 60 degrees, very breezy, and overcast. I was sweating but did not feel hot. Unlike last week when I felt like I was melting in the sun!
I sure hope it's cloudy and cool on June 16...
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Cool, nice day. One interesting thing: there were two MPD officers on motorcycles patrolling the pathway along the river from the Hennepin Bridge to the Stonearch Bridge. At one point they were going quite slow and I was keeping up with them, so it felt like a police escort. =)
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I wish I could have had this weather on Saturday! Perfect spring running weather--- quite cool and breezy but with plenty of sun. Very pleasant indeed!
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