20k done!

I ran my 20k yesterday afternoon and today, no pain in the hips or knees = a good thing.  Of course my back is still sore from a non-running incident on Saturday.  I was filling the car with gas from a 20l gas can that I keep in the shed.  Its generator gas that has to be used so i thought i would use it before it went stale.  Well  as i was repositioning the gas can so it would empty faster into the car, i felt something "tweak" in the lower right side of my back.  I knew right away and though "oh f**k, what have i done?" Fifteen minutes later i'm on the couch with a heat pack on my back, feeling like crap because i didn't think I'd be able to run on Sunday. 

So I get up on Sunday morning and the pain is still there but i notice that its only bad if i twist it at all.  So i decide that i'm going to attempt the run and just stay close to home just in case I fall apart.  The weather was great (partly sunny +4C) and I quickly realize that i should be able to complete it as long as i don't twist. At the 13.7km mark, i made a pit stop at the house for a glass of water and a clif shot to give me a little boost for the final 6.3km.  I finished the 20k in 2:14 which was a slower pace than the 19k I ran two weeks ago.  I was aiming for a 6:40 pace and I actually ran a 6:43 pace.  almost spot on.  my planned marathon pace at this time is 6:00/km.  My total distance for the week was 45km.

I just checked back to last year at this time and I didn't even start my training (my long run exactly a year ago was 9k at a 7:01 pace) until the first week in February so I'm well ahead of the game for the 2012 Bluenose Marathon. 

Tomorrow I have a 9k easy run planned but since Stacey will be running with me, we'll likely cover 10k at a slightly faster pace. 

Yesterday was one of the few times I have actually taken a mp3 player with me on a long run.  while i would never consider it for an actual race, it did seem to help the time go by.  My music of choice yesterday was "Pornografitti" by Extreme, Matchbox 20's Greatest Hits and 2 songs from the Red Hot Chili Peppers newest disc.

Onward and Upward