30K

Today's workout: 30K (18.6 miles). My legs were a little tired from the hiking and racewalking I'd already done this week, so my goal today was just to finish and not worry about the time.

I started off very conservatively out of necessity, doing 31:41 for the first 5K with HR of only 134. I think this saved my bacon at the end! It was warm - 73F (23C) to start and 83F (28C) at the end, and so going slowly was a must. Jim called me at 9.28km to see how it was going, and I told him I felt OK but that it was going to be a slow one. He was OK with that, and I think he mostly wanted for me to just finish it if possible. He did point out that he was relaxing in bed watching the Tour de France and Wimbledon. Grrr! But I'd rather have been training, even though it's tough.

About 1.5km after Jim called me, I ran into Nancy (who Jim also coaches) on the trail; she was with Cyndie, Kathy, and Shelly - all members of the Wasatch Walkers. Naturally we stopped to chat for a few minutes :). I also saw my friend Sarah twice on the trail, and saw Nancy and Cyndie again when they were finishing up. In addition, when I took at gel at 16km (also took one at 8km and 24km), I stepped off the trail next to a runner who was also taking a gel, and we chatted a bit. There were LOTS of runners, walkers, and bikers on the trail today! I had to be careful to stay to the right to avoid the bikers.

Speaking of bikers, a woman on a bike watched me carefully and then yelled out, "WOW! You're good!" I really appreciated that, and kept it in mind as I walked. It actually helped me to stay motivated despite my tired state.

Other interesting things seen on the trail today: the usual plethora of ducks, quail and other birds, and pelicans! There were two pelicans just floating along the Jordan River. I didn't know we had pelicans here, which strikes me as pretty lame since I've lived here 13 years and hadn't seen any. Guess I wasn't paying close attention. I snapped some photos w/my phone but I was not close enough so they're lousy. Here they are anyway :).

5K splits (ave HR): 31:41 (134), 32:06 (138), 32:11 (150), 32:34 (145), 32:27 (145), and 32:14 (152). Given the heat and my general tiredness, I think this is pretty good. It was not a meltdown at the end like the 25K a couple weeks ago. Yes, my legs were tired, but they still had something in them and continued moving on command. Total time: 3:13:12 for 6:26/km with average HR 144.

Garmin data here.