Day 8: Run with Jason
6 miles, 7:24 pace (8:06, 7:25, 7;28, 7:20, 7:16, 6:48)
Finally, I got some running company today. My former next door neighbor and lifelong friend Jason Kilgore and I have been trying to get together for about a week now. His busy work schedule made it difficult, but today it finally happened.
I'm impressed with Jason's fitness. His running has been hit and miss since he's been putting in 12 hours a day at his job, but still he plowed through the run 6:00am run without much trouble, knowing he'd be working until 9pm tonight. Not bad at all for a high school football player.
I went to bed last night mentally preparing to run a some pretty cold, wet conditions (well, at least by Southern California standards), but was graced by a cool 50 degrees with the sun starting to pierce through the clouds.
My breathing is becoming more and more controlled which is a testiment to my already increased fitness. However, my back felt stiff and it spread to my hips during that final 6:48 mile. I'm realizing that my greatest difficulty in this quest isn't going to be my endurance, but improving my flexibility, so I don't tie up in the last 10K of the marathon. In other words, more emphasis on stretching and possibly a little less on running in order to achieve the goal.
Last bit worth mentioning: We had a "running celebrity" sighting on the run. During the first mile, I saw a guy running toward us and he was booking it. As he got closer, I noticed it was Jeff Nelson. Jeff is a Burbank High alum and the former 2 mile High School National Record holder. I just might have to track him down and set up a run with him one day...but on second thought, I might want to get in a couple more weeks of training before I do something foolish like that, because I know Nelson doesn't mess around!
