12.2-Mile Run @ 9:14

Today, I ran with Ed, who's still sore from our last Sat's
12-miler, and for the first time Walt, a lean and tall
gentleman in his late 50s or early 60s. Walt liked to talk
and had the energy. This year, he had run 8 half-Ms, one
marathon, and one ultra.

We traded stories and tricks. He said that at our pace I am
race-ready. He said when running 20 to 30 miles a week to
prepare for races, frequency beats distance. I like that as
it felt natural and less grueling.

I told him about the research done on human evolution and
distance running from "Born to Run." He didn't read the book
and was impressed by persistant hunting. That's interesting,
I thought, and that book might not be deservedly popular
even among runners (Melisa didn't read it either when I
first told her about it).

We both hated the bicycling part of the triathlon. Not that
either had done it but he mentioned it when I said I swam.
The bike could easily cost over $8000 and you have to be a
good mechanic to be able to handle it! Talking takes
energy, I realized. Walt could keep on and on but I felt
better shutting up during the second half of the run.

Keeping up with Walt and Ed was tough but manageable during
the first 10 miles. We ran at sub-9 paces for the last 5
miles and Walt finally broke away at around mile 11 and
finished with a lead of about 2 to 3 minutes (my estimate).
I tried but could only sprint for less than 15 seconds in
the last half mile and, again, could really feel the lower
abdominal muscles helping pushing the air out of my lungs.

I need to eat more before 12-mile runs, I think. Iskiate is
good but either I have more of it or add something else.

I stopped to drink water twice and that helped. Walt was
over 6 feet and around 155 lbs. I think I can safely lose
another 10 lbs and run faster. My swimming and daily walking
definitely helped. Last, my reading on anatomy is starting
to help. I love this!