Wednesday, May 19, 2004
The healing waters of Monterey Bay
Last Saturday we had a "dress rehearsal" for the big event. Not only was it the longest distance we will run in training (20 miles!), but it was far enough from home that we could practice packing and getting ready for a distant event.
We ran from the town of Pacific Grove, which is next to Monterey. There's a beautiful park overlooking the beach and coast at Lover's Point. We ran along the coast, eventually making our way through the golf courses at world-famous 17-Mile Drive. As you can imagine, the scenery was fantastic! The course was a mix of roads and trails, and the softer trail surfaces really helped.
The run went very well for me. I started out at a conservative pace. Sometimes I ran alone, and sometimes I hooked up with a pack of guys who ran about my speed. It was fun running with this pack, as we formed a sort of "centipede" and ran closely together. Not only did this help break the wind, but it helped us to run at a good pace, as we wanted to stay in formation. For the last seven miles, I picked up the pace and averaged a little over 8 minutes/mile. I finished strong and actually felt better than at our 18-miler in Santa Cruz.
Afterwards, I partook of the TNT ritual of going down to the beach and wading into the cold waters of Monterey Bay. This is "nature's own ice bath", and very therapeutic after a grueling run. I soaked for 20 minutes. Coincidence or not, I wasn't sore after this run!
Speaking of dress rehearsals, one of my teammates had quite a surprise the morning of the run. As he was getting dressed he found that the shoes he packed wouldn't fit his feet! Well, it turns out it was because he had packed his wife's running shoes! I would have freaked out to find that I didn't have my shoes the morning of a big run. But, displaying calmness and presence of mind, my friend went to the starting point and found that he could borrow a pair of Coach John's shoes! They were a little big (better that than too small) but he bravely wore them and successfully complete the run. He can really say that he's run in someone else's shoes!
