The elephant in the room post-Tuesday’s double for 15m would be how the legs would respond after a good night of minimal sleep. I had every intention of getting to bed by 9pm, but it just did not happen. Assorted distractions, principally packing for the return flight to NYC (which is not happening because I AM NEVER LEAVING PALO ALTO!) and answering email, etc. conspired against enjoying a big time night of slumber. If memory serves, I powered off the devices around 11:15 and probably dozed off 30 minutes later. As usual, I woke up 4:30am, well before the alarm. I refused to get up and eventually fell back asleep and started the day at more rationale hour – 5:45am.
Since I’m over-the-hill now, I fully intended a grandpa shuffle recovery run. For the first few miles it definitely felt like it. I’m nothing if not a creature of habit, so I rumbled along the Campus Drive Loop again. The only downside to the route is that it’s largely on asphalt – me no likey. For much of the run I ran along the side of the path on dirt. Unlike yesterday, I noticed many more runners during this workout, including a couple of beasts. I even got a CPTC shout out (wore an orange singlet) as someone recognized the club.
The time flew by and before I knew it, I completed the loop and came upon Stanford’s track again. Funny how I always seem to end up on the track … my future? Since this would be my last run in PA (I AM NEVER LEAVING PALO ALTO!!!!) I decided to add a few laps before heading back to the hotel. I lost count and was about to pack it in when I noticed vats of Gatorade on the path between the track and tennis stadiums. I trotted over and saw cups calling my name. So, took it upon myself to have a couple of cups of G! It was cold too!! I AM NEVER LEAVING PALO ALTO!!! I continued on and added a couple more laps when I finally shut it down and headed back to the hotel. Final results … another 8.5 miles at 8:58 pace … I started at 9:30, but eventually loosened up and got a wee bit quicker.
So between the hours of 6am on Tuesday and 6am on Wednesday, I logged 23.6 miles in 24 hours. Boom.