4/5-4/7. Sat/Sun/Mon. Run like Pre...

Wow, what a weekend of running.  kids have spring break, and we took a long weekend at Long Beach WA.  They say its the longest beach in the United States.  it just went on and on as far as the eye could see, and it was incredibly wide.  I had plotted out a few runs on the roads to meet my plan, but once i got there and took one look at the beach, I was hooked.  I have just been reading a biograpy about Pre, and there was a picture of him training and running on the sand dunes north of Coos Bay OR.  I know I was pretty far north of where Pre ran, but i was inspired to do all my running on the beach for the 3 days.  absolutely flat and completely deserted.  it was misty and foggy, and there was no point of reference.  no landmarks, nothing but desolation and solitude as far as you could run.  i mostly ran without my ipod, just the roar of the wind and the crash of the surf and the cries of the gulls.  and my own thoughts. 

Sat.  35 minute tempo run, ended up with 4 miles.  this day was really windy.  I don't realize it, but i started out running with the wind.  I just thought I was running really easy, going fast, long strides, feeling good.  it wasn't until I turned around to run back (now into the wind) that I realized how much the wind had been assisting me.  it was hard to run back.  as opposed to a tempo run with a marked change in pace, I just tried to keep the same percieved level of difficulty while running.  i forgot to use the "lap" function on the GPS watch, maybe next tempo.

Sun.  the long run, 8 miles.  I had no idea how difficult it would be to run long, when the beach was so featureless and unending.  no landmarks, no people, nothing in sight.  you lose track of time and distance.  I kept the ocean on the right as I headed out, and on the left as I ran back, otherwise there was no way to know where i was going.  i would run past a piece of driftwood and think to myself "didn't I just run past that same piece of driftwood?".  it was disorienting, and it was a mental struggle to keep going just for the sake of going.  nothing on the horizon to run towards, except more horizon.  I used the lap function to run a 10K, and then another 1.78 miles to end up at 8 total. my 10K was a new PR, but only by a few seconds. 

Mon.  supposed to be a 3 mile recovery run, but i ended up with a new 5K PR.  the wind was mostly died down, and once I started running, i wanted to go fast.  i knew this was my last chance to run this beach, and i wanted to make it a good one to remember.  the sand was a little softer and a little harder to run in, but i ran this 5K real hard. ended up htting 5K in 24:00, a 30 sec PR.  this was the way to finish off my weekend at the beach.

I thought a lot of Pre while I was running this weekend. mostly because I am reading his biography right now, and because I had the chance to train on the dunes and the beach.  I'm so glad to have had this opportunity in my training, and I feel really good about my new 5K PR.