Two Wheel Blogs

4.10 Saturday

Route: Horseshoe Lake to Marine Loop
Miles: 52.4
Time: 3:11
Pace: 16.5

The wind was out of the south/southwest. When you live in Edwardsville as I do, that kind of limits your option. I can ride north and east for hours without running out of road. But when I head west, I quickly hit the Mississippi River, and if I head south, the available roads are not ones I would choose to ride on.

I wanted to eat the wind early, so I headed south on the Nature Trail to Horseshoe Late. I then headed east on the Schoolhouse Trail, hitting the north edge of Collinsville in just over an hour. After I crossed over 157, the tree-lined trail cut down on the wind as I climbed up the Bluffs. Finally, the trail turned due north, and I sailed for a stretch as the wind pushed me from behind.

I then headed east on Mont Road to join the Lower Marine Loop. I knew the first half was going to be hard riding as the wind was either in my face or cutting across me at an angle. Also, it had a couple of climbs in it. But I toughed it out, trying to keep my pace up as much as possible. Finally, I was rewarded with the left turn onto Marine Road that put the wind at my back again. Riding this stretch -- from Lower Marine Road to Fruit Road -- was pure pleasure. As long as I kept the pedals spinning, I was going 21 or 22 mph. After the long slog to get there, it was a welcome relieft. And one that was over too soon. When I turned left on Fruit Road, the south wind was cutting across my body again. But that was all right. I'd had a nice run on Marine Road, and I wasn't more than 40 minutes from home at this point.

This was my first 3-hour ride of the season, and I was pleased with the modest 16.5 mph pace I managed to average. I would have liked to hit 17 mph, but I had all I could do to manage 16.5. Next time, maybe I'll be faster. Today, it was good just to be out for three hours again.

4.11 Sunday: Run

Route: The Nickel Plate Trail
Miles: 10
Time: 1:31

This one has been a long time coming. But first, a bit of history. Today was April 11, 2010:

• 2004 ~ I ran the St. Louis half marathon, my first, in 1:43.
• 2005 ~ I ran the St. Louis marathon, also my first, in 3:36.
• 2006 ~ I was unable to run due to injury.
• 2007 ~ Same as 2006.
• 2008 ~ Same as 2007. In August, I would have knee surgery.
• 2009 ~ Still rehabbing my knee, I had not yet started trying to run again.
• 2010 ~ I could have run the St. Louis half marathon (I was offered a free bib), but chose not to. I made the right choice.

Before my knee injury, one of my favorite routes was the 10-mile out-and-back on the Nickel Plate trail. It starts next to the beautiful baseball field in the historic Leclaire neighboorhood, then heads out of town, under Insterstate 55, all the way to Fruit Road. I don't know how many times I ran this route, but I always enjoyed doing so. Gradually, since I started to run again, I have been running more and more of the Nickel Plate. But I had never run all of it -- until today.

Prior to this, my longest run was an 8-miler. Since I managed to resist the temptation to jump in the St. Louis half marathon, today I decided to reward myself by going "full boat." Knowing I'd be running longer than I have so far, I tried to stay within myself and keep my pace down. I felt good on the first half, and when I marked my split at the turn, I accidentally glimpsed my time: 44.04. I'm no math whiz, but 44 minutes divided by 5 miles works out to slightly faster than 9:00/mile. I felt good about that.

I hate a slight tailwind on the way out, but not enough to make a lot of difference. Mindful that, after I cross the 8-mile mark, I'd still have two more to go, I kept my pace down. I felt pretty good, until I hit the two inclines. They're not steep enough to be called "hills," but they do rise enough that they're not level. When I do my 4- and 6-mile runs, keeping my pace up on these inclines is no problem or a slight challenge at best. Today, after covering 8 miles, I felt like I was climbing real hills on the SIUE cross country course. But I kept eyes focused down the trail, where it leveled out. And gradually, in time, I was there.

When I was first running, I would occasionally see a hawk flying overhead as I ran. I decided to take this as a good sign, and those days were generally "good runs." As I ran today, I saw a hawk, and today was "a good run." As I finished back at the ballpark, I was spent. I was very glad that I did not have another 5K to run, as I would if I had run the St. Louis half marathon. Ten miles was plenty today.

I knew I was slower on the return, but I didn't know how much. My time was 47:35, for a total time of 1:31.39 -- just a little over a 9:00/mile pace. I will always remember today as the day I did not run the St. Louis half marathon, and I'm glad I didn't. I made the right choice. Better a good 10-miler than a bad 13.1. And if, after finising the 10-miler, I'd still had a 5K to run, it would not have been pretty. If and when I run a half marathon, I want it to be a good one, one I can be proud of -- and I want to do it in under two hours. But that may be down the road. Today, I was just happy to be able run the length of the Nickel Plate again. As I said, this one has been a long time coming.