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January 02, 2006
Week No. 12
REASON NO. 15 FOR RUNNING A MARATHON
Training for a marathon has allowed me to see and experience things that I never would have been able to as a “couch potato�.
This week, my long run was along Butte Creek, following the near flood stage storm event we had on Saturday, December 31st. Lo and behold, about a mile south of Durham Dayton Highway (on the east side of the creek) there were three survey lath about mid-bank of the levee. These marked a 10 foot long, by about 6 inch wide crack that had developed in the levee. This is on the same stretch of levee that had several “boils� appear in the January 1997 flood event. Hopefully the Department of Water Resources will get serious about repairing these levees correctly, so that we do not have our own little version of New Orleans here in Durham.
Every run, every workout, is a part of life that I would have missed had I not embarked upon this fitness journey. Some of the more memorable experiences have been riding my bike around Lake Almanor, riding my bike over Brockway Summit and back again, running the Dan Beebe trail in Oroville, and running the railroad grade from Shasta Lake to Redding. Running has given me access to all corners of Bidwell Park, every square inch of the Butte Creek Levee system, as well as knowing every twist and turn in the Bidwell Park loop. I have experienced every inch of the Paradise Memorial Trail, as well as almost every road within a 10-mile radius of my house.
Training this week again was a struggle – with the last of the Christmas events, and New Years Parties, as well as the nasty weather, it made for a hectic week.
Tuesday was a 3-mile run on the hill program at the gym, followed by a 7 mile run around Durham on Wednesday. Thursday was a four-mile run in Durham.
I did my long run this week on Sunday this week, as Saturday was blown out by the weather and demands at work.
I ran from my house, east to Midway, then crossed over to Butte Creek and headed north to Durham Dayton and back. This was a recovery week, so the run was only 12.5 miles. This run felt really good, and I was able to pretty easily hold an 11-minute mile pace. I took two water bottles with me, and 4 gels. Taking a gel every 30-40 minutes seems to work out the best for me. That means I will need to carry (and consume) 10 gels on race day, along with a couple of power bars.
Posted by Dennis at January 2, 2006 07:14 AM