Cake and Ice Cream

What should have been the second-quietest week of the year at work (after the week between Christmas and New Years) ended up giving me four intense days of presentations and emergencies. Now, in favorable contrast, I’m in Pennsylvania, in the middle of four peaceful days of sanctuary at my house in the woods, plus running. Being here–where the phone never rings, and the only sounds are the hum of the birds and insects and the regular crack of Husband chopping wood–is good for me. Pity I won’t be back until after the marathon.

I did manage to get in most of my scheduled miles, although not necessarily the way I’d planned for. Tuesday’s run was by far the best of the week, the kind you never want to end. 8 soothing miles through Central Park (jammed with other runners all training for the same race as I), a fantastic breeze, and the surprise of a late-summer sunset that arrives before 8 PM. Wednesday I had to scrap my plans to join the Nike Speed Workout and just got in 3 miles. Thursday morning I ran over the bridge and back for 5 miles, which I hadn’t done in ages and enjoyed despite a lingering Ambien fog.

My Pennsylvania running shook out like this: 9-mile tempo run on Saturday, and a 12-mile long run on Sunday (this being a step-down week as I move into my six toughest weeks of training). Friday night I whipped up the custard for a batch of Tea & Sympathy ice cream (Earl Grey tea leaves steeped in milk and cream, with crumbled scones folded in at the last moment of the churning process), and a scoop of this frozen delight was to be my reward for nailing the tempo run. My goal: 9 miles in 81 minutes. I hit the road strong, and held my effort level all the way to the turn-around point, where for some inexplicable reason I slowed way down and that middle half-mile took me seven minutes to run. Yikes. Refocus, still trying to get to my green road sign (Blakesleee 4M; Thornhurst 8M) in under 1 hour hour and 21 minutes.

Somewhere along the way I was passed on the right (so, on the other side of the street completely) by a man who was unbelievably fit. I know because he was running without his shirt, and he was moving at quite a clip. He reminded me of the runners I saw all around me when I went to Boston earlier this year to spectate at both marathons. His form was amazing, so fluid and relaxed. In about five minutes he was completely out of sight. I see plenty of folks on bicycles when I run 940, but this was only the second time I’d ever seen another runner, and that it would be someone so well-trained, so clearly an endurance athlete, was both totally cool and totally surprising.

Scenic views notwithstanding, I still had to run up the hills of the last two miles to complete my tempo run. I started complicated mathematical equations in my head to see if I still had a chance at coming in under 81 minutes. For example, 81 minus two 10-minute miles equals how many minutes?  (For some reason, when I’m running, even simple math becomes a nearly impossible task.) I decided to give myself the tiniest of breaks on the inclines, but cook it on the declines. This worked, and I pulled up at my finish line in 1:20:58. That evening, after dinner and after clean-up, I sat down with my scoop of homemade ice cream and focused as intently on each creamy bite as I had on each mile of my run.

This morning I couldn’t wait to run my 12, since they’d be done at long-run pace, which means no faster than 10-miute miles. These are my favorite kinds of long runs–leisurely, relaxing time spent with myself, free to let my thoughts wander. I listened to Steve on Phedippidations, thought about Ryan Hall and his 10th place finish in the Olympic Marathon, wondered what he’s doing now (does he eat ice cream?). I did some race visualizations for NYC. On my way out, I encountered two women in their early 40’s who were both sporting TNT shirts. I pulled up, crossed the street, and we all chatted for a while. They’re run-walkers, tapering for the Philly Distance Run in a couple of weeks, are basically done with their fundraising, and are also going to train for the full marathon on Philly in late November. Clearly, a different type of athlete than the guy I saw yesterday, but equally gratifying to see them out there. We said good-bye with a mutual “Go Team.” I finished my approximately 12 miles (never 100% sure of the distances out here) in 1:56:35, never having to breathe too hard or cajole myself up a hill. As I clicked off my watch, once again at my green road sign, I thought, Piece of cake. I know they all won’t be this easy, so I’m savoring this “cake” the same way I savored my ice cream.