China Camp Long Run 10/21

My energy level and leg strength felt very good on my long run at China camp today. I started at the far east end of the park and ran Shoreline trail to Bayview to the west side, then back on Shoreline to the car. I started in the late afternoon but think that I always prefer to run earlier in the day because that is when my energy level is the highest. I couldn't complain at all because the weather today just kept getting better and better. No clouds or wind. Today would have also been a perfect day for a road ride.

Run stats: Run start 4:00 pm, run time 1:49, avg hr 141(75%), max hr 161, dist 12.3, pace avg 8:38, ascent 1000 ft, Kcal 1565, H2O consumed; 40 oz with 2 Elixr tablets, plus an additional 8 oz straight.

I am still a bit concerned about the knee pain I experience sometimes. The pain seems to surround the front of my knee but a little more bothersome below the kneecap. It usually starts to make its presence known after a lot of steep uphill running. It is possible that I have been pushing the distance and hills too quickly in preparation for this race. Very hard to hold back and because I just love running hills.

Today was a good day to stay on a trail with some climbing but nothing too steep because I wanted to rest my knees but do some significant distance. The trails at China camp are super fun and I felt myself surging though a number of sections. I tried to keep my hr in check and conserve the energy that I had during the first hour. It is hard to resist when all systems just want to go. Flying along a trail, keeping up a quick turnover, fearlessly jumping over technical obstacles is pure joy.

At the halfway point I stopped at the park entrance to fill my bottle. As soon as I took off again that knee pain flared up. I was a bit annoyed because I hadn't noticed anything yet. Luckily it went away after about 5 minutes and I never felt it again. The only other note I want to record is that I lost a bit of my momentum around the 1:35 mark. I actually stopped running and took a 30 second break before I started out at a reduced shuffle pace. I did get back into it but not with the same bounce. Next time I will try to had a little carbs into my plan. I think the electrolytes are great but still I still need some more work to dial in the right fuel plan, especially when running more than 10 miles.