Easter Run with Kyle

Warm Up, .97M, 7:05, 7:16 pace
9.41 miles, 1:10:11, 7:27 pace, Max HR = 164, Avg HR = 154

Happy Easter!

I stayed in Metairie last night with Dave so I could run with Kyle this morning. He ran the CCC10K yesterday as a tempo run at 36:08 for a 5:50 per mile pace. Last year he ran 35:15 for a 5:41 pace. Obviously I was in over my head to do a long run with Kyle, but he assured me he would appreciate the fact that I would act as a brake on his pace and keep him to a leisurely 7:30 pace over 1.25 hours

I knew I could do 7:30 for that long on a good day, but what I didn't know is if I could do it after my Saturday morning effort, and my Saturday afternoon consuming at least three quarts of beer. After the beer I hydrated like a mad man, took Advil, and then Dave and I hit my favorite poboy shop for a shrimp and roast beef poboy. Danny and Clyde's is good for the body.

As I mentioned in a prior post, Kyle runs cross country and track for LSU. He's an athlete in the truest word, and it was a great honor just to run alongside of him.

The run wasn't too difficult for me. For the most part I was able to keep up the conversation with Kyle, although he was able to do (and thus did) most of the talking. We ran along the grass on the levee for 80% of this run, and my body really appreciated that. I ran yesterday and today in very old shoes (500 or 600 miles). So I could tell a huge difference when hitting the blacktop after running six almost continuous miles on grass.

It came as a suprise to me that Kyle cared about running on grass. I know it's better for him, but I didn't know if a young guy like that would care. I found out that Kyle is a lot more mature than I would ever have suspected regarding his running. I knew this about his non-athletic endeavors, but I suspected a brash approach to his running given his talent and age. Instead the tables were turned, and he mentored me on several subjects that I've heard about but brashly ignore.

1) Running for time and not distance. Kyle strictly adheres to this, and runs according to feel so he will reap the maximum benefit of each workout. So his speed work is really fast, and his recovery is truly slow. I usually set out on a quest for a certain distance no matter if I slow because it's not my day.

2) Running into the wind. We hit a very strong headwind, dropping our pace significantly (even for Kyle who isn't as wide as me!). I followed my normal course and picked up my effort in order to maintain pace. Kyle explained the virtue of a constant effort on a long run rather than a constant pace.

Kyle redshirted last year and produced great results in the meets he did run. We're expecting great things out of him this year as he travels throughout the SEC and elsewhere.

.97 warmup - 7:05 (7:16 pace)
7:29, 7:24, 7:35, 7:45, 7:44, 7:20, 7:29, 7:26, 7:18, 2:34 for .39 (6:34 pace)