Long run at Los Gatos Creek Trail (15.25 miles in 2:32)

It was supposed to be a 16 miler at Los Gatos Creek Trail... I finished it but later learnt that owing to a mistake in the mile-markers, I ran more like 15.25 miles or so. Boy, those 0.75 fewer miles certainly did not make their absence felt. On the whole, this run was in the lower twenty-five percentile of my runs (meaning I felt worse than average). This is in contrast to the 13.1 mile long first half of the half-marathon in San Francisco the Sunday earlier which was a total blast and where I was feeling strong in the last few miles. As a consolation, may be the hot weather had something to do with it, but it was probably more the fact that I felt a bit hungry by mile#9.

Other salient points for me during this run:

• Good: Ran 10.30min pace in the first 5-6 miles (.30min slower than my eventual pace)
• Good: Had a chance to run with stalwarts: Pradeep and Arun between mile#8 and mile#12. It is amazing how easily they make it seem.
• Bad: Finished alone, i.e., with no company. I had told myself even earlier to not do it, but it happened somehow here.

Recovery was normal, i.e., no after-effects on Sunday. Grishu (that surprised woman behind a tired runner) insisted on the delicious Bakery Buffet at Passage to India on El Camino Real. I resisted meekly and a good 1.5 hours of sleep after the lunch, I was ready to re-start the weekend.

Key learnings:

• Keep the pace low (10.30min/mile) for the first 6 miles.
• Do the 1 min walk (after every 9 min run) starting from the first mile itself.
• Keep Gu or powerbar with yourself (I have yet to decide which one)
• Eat breakfast 1 hr before running.
• Do not run the last five miles alone. Catch somebody who is about your pace (Vignesh, Karthik, Lily, pleeez look for me...)
• Get up from bed earlier so that you have time to warm up and stretch adequately and listen to Coach Tony before the start.