7 miles/1:11:17

I didn't run with Portland Fit on Saturday, since we were doing some erosion control around our house. I consider that work to be weight training though, since the gravel and sand we moved around added up to something in excess of a ton (even the full Imperial ton...).

So, I was a bit tired when I woke up. I needed to run fairly early so that we could get other stuff done, but there was no rapid bounce out of bed. In fact my legs were creaking a bit.

I had already figured that I was past the Helvetia tiredness after the glorious 8½ mile run on Thursday, but this run emphasised the point - it didn't take long at all to get into my stride and to just keep going up and down the hills on my route. I had chosen to run the same way I went in my last long prep run for the Shamrock run in March, where I set off from our house, ran through Hillsdale, and then on to Terwilliger.

By a staggering coincedence I would have ended up on Terwilliger even if I had run on Saturday.

I've mentioned before that I am now running faster with my shortened stride. This run confirmed the point, since I reached my previous turn around point (which I had arbitrarily decided must be three miles in because I got there in thirty minutes) much sooner than I did before - I hit the "three" mile mark in only twenty seven minutes, which is particularly good considering that I was not trying to run quickly!

It won't be another four months before I do this route again. It's very pleasant.

Later in the day Jen and I hit the Springwater Corridor on our bikes, which was rather nice too.

Good day.

However, I need to look into a different hydration solution. The Camelbak waist pack I've been using has done sterling service, although with the replacement bladder I'm using it doesn't carry enough fluid. A more serious problem is that it chafes when I wear it for very long periods, so I've had a sore spot on my lower back after both of my two longest training runs and also after today's activities. I've never had pack chafing after a bike ride before, but obviously I was well setup for it with the run.

I'll probably look into another Camelbak, but a back-mounted one which has multiple contact points to distribute the weight better, and one which has more capacity. I am concerned about using a back pack when I sweat so much (sorry, it's disgusting, but there you have it) but I'm likely to have the same problem with sore spots with any other waist pack I try so I want to give it a go.

Posted by Dunx at July 4, 2004 03:06 PM