Half

I got up this morning, ready to do my nine mile long run. Mentally ready, that is. I was meeting Shelly and Caroline at Navy Point Park. The weather was perfect. High 50s and sunny. PERFECT. What wasn't perfect? My body. My back and knees. I went halfway with them and had to bow out. I just couldn't go any longer. We were taking it nice and slow, which was great. And running with other people is fun! I enjoyed the time.

Now my body is really mad at me. I'm taking the ice packs with me and icing my knees and back on the drive to Mobile. I'll probably ice them again tonight. I am going to see Coach Mark tomorrow to see if he has any insight and I'm going to see Cherry tomorrow in the hopes that I can get some relief. I think next week's training will be modified somewhat. I think I should rest instead of run on Tuesday, so I may take the bike out for a spin.

The worst part is, I really think I could have done the long run. Mentally. I really felt we were at a good pace and I could have done it. I really wanted to and I am a little mad at myself because I didn't. Maybe mad is not the right word. I am frustrated that my body held me back, because if my back didn't hurt, I am sure that I could have done it.

Today I did a Garmin to Garmin comparison. I wore the 405 on my left wrist and the 301 on the right. Here are the totals:

                     405              301
mile              time              time
1                   11:16           11:13
2                   11:22           11:12
3                   11:18           11:20
4                   11:28          11:10
5                0.54mi 6:14    0.6mi 6:38
total             4.54/51:38    4.60/51:36

It was interesting to hear the mile beeps at different times along the route. If I had thought about it at the time, I would have asked Caroline to check hers. One time I heard the 301 beep and the 405 still had 3/100ths to go.

Final verdict? I guess the 301 is not off in accuracy like I thought. It does have occasional blips. I remember one day it recorded my lap at 1.45 miles but the other two times I ran the same lap it recorded 1.15. So I think it can still be a good training tool and I hope Bill enjoys it out there.

Now to get ready to go to Mobile.