No, I'm not lazy!

But evil runner is.... (Sunday afternoon)
Evil Runner (ER) - 'You're tired, it's been a long day, take a break.'
Good Runner (GR) - 'Nah, it's only a short long run of 16 this week'
ER - 'It's hot (27C) and you'll get overheated and dehydrated'
GR - 'That's easy, I'll just drink up now before the run and carry extra gatorade and even stop back at the ranch for refueling (gotcha)'
ER - 'But there's no way you can do 8 miles at MP in this weather! Especially after running around for the Father's Day Race organization and stuff...'
GR - 'Oh...you do have a point there...I am kinda beat and with this heat...'
ER - {big grin}
GR - 'Well let's get this over with! And wipe that smile off your face!!'

The things that a runner has to put up with is just beyond belief and those of you silly enough to read this far are, well ... just as insane as I am. It's been a heck of a busy weekend and just getting caught up now with blogging way down on the list lately. I like to keep regular updates on my training and other activities but sometimes it's just too much to even read the blogs I like to follow. So this post might be a little short and sweet, especially since the big hockey game is about to start. Tonite is game 7 of the Stanley Cup playoffs and for the 1st time in a decade we have a Canadian based team poised to grab the big prize, Go Edmonton!

Back to the ORN's (obligatory running notes), on Friday the 12 miles with 4 at tempo pace went with the 4 miles in 29:17 or about 7:20 pace which was barely faster than marathon pace. The heartrate and effort were up there but there was just no 'pop' in the legs at all. Maybe it was because it was warm and sunny or maybe it's the cumulative training is starting to wear on the legs. I've also got some tightness in the achilles that bugs me early in the day but usually goes away after a few miles. Total time for the 12 miles was 1:36:00 for 7:58 overall pace. This run was followed by some mad running around gathering stuff for Sunday's road race and then a 5 hour drive to Charlottetown, PEI to collect my daughter who's decided to come home for a break and a visit.
Of course, first we had to pry her away from all the animals she has to take care of at the pet store.
Followed by a 5 hour return trip on the same day...good thing the run was early and I had the day off work, eh? Had time for a brief stop at Bro's to check out his new home under construction and of course, the Barage Version 2!

Saturday was a complete blur with an early trip to Calais and shopping for food and drink for the race. Managed to find time at midday when the sun and heat was at it's peak for an easy 6 mile run around town. This was a bit of an unusual run with a water bottle in one hand and a can of bright orange spray paint in the other. You know what the water is for but the paint? Well don't tell anyone but runners like their race routes well marked and with the help of the trusty Garmin GPS all the kilometer and mile marks soon found their way to pavement. Did the 5 mile race loop at a jog in sweltering heat and then added another mile or so to check out the kids race loop as well. The rest of the day was occupied with more race prep getting all the forms and computer stuff organized. Oh yeah, and this was the end of week 3 of 'The Plan' with a total of 67 miles in 6 runs (my weeks now run from Sunday to Saturday).

Sunday, up early to get ready for the St. Andrew's Father's Day race for which I've been co-race director for the past several years. Busy, busy, busy getting all the details right but everthing went smoothly today. First the 1.0 km (or so) kids race...
And they're off! The kids are amazing the way they run so freely, in fact they seemed airborne more than not. Of course the burst only lasted for a short period before reality set in.
The 5 mile race is off with some excellent runners in the lead. The winner was the potatoe shirt guy in the middle of the crowd with a time of 26:55 for the tough five mile loop. Race results are here and the complete set of pictures are here. Wrapped up the race and home by 1pm but then more cleanup to do and didn't get on the road till about 2:30pm after the little debate that started off this little (not so little any more but the hockey game is not going so well).

Back to Sunday's run/slogfest. Started out with hot sun and no wind for the 1st 5 miles, followed by a cooling breeze and some cloudy periods for the next five. Quick stop for more gatorade at home and then a slow 6 more around town with hot sun once again. Total of 16 miles in 2:19 for an 8:37 overall pace. Good thing I didn't try any of that marathon pace silliness because this was about all that was in the cards today. Getting the miles in but that's about it lately, just ask ER.