Big Difference

What a difference a day makes. I haven't mentioned it, but I've had a bit of back pain for the last two days. On Sunday's long run I was bragging to Bessie W. about my lack of back pain. I have an old work injury that resulted in two herniated disc. The disc have always been a problem with any physical activity, until I started running. Any ways, my back has been "tight" and the pain was at it's worse this morning. I almost decided to put off this mornings run, but chose to tough it out. I did a few back stretches, took a hand-full of ibprofen, and took off for the park.
I had a great run. The back pain didn't bother me at all. The run was at a slightly faster pace. I have to be honest, this probably had to do more with the attractive blonde that was running with me. I have no idea who she is, but I enjoyed running with her. Again today, I was pushing Alison in the jogging stroller. After the first 1/3 mile mark she caught up to us, slowed her pace down and matched strides with me. Not much talking, with the exception of the typical: Nice park, great weather this morning, come here often?, etc. She dropped off after the 2-mile mark. Alison and I did an extra 1/4 mile beyond the 2 mile marker and a 1/2 mile cool down walk. I wish the unknown woman would have went further, because I wasn't going to let her out run us. But, I was glad when she stopped so I could stop sucking in my stomach. GRIN. The pace was more than a minute faster than yesterday.
Once again, I wasn't tired or sweating much at the end. I have to wonder if I'm not putting forward enough effort. Let me know your thoughts. Do any of you gauge effort by sweating and or your energy level when your done? Before you ask, I have no idea what my heart rate was.

Activity: Run (easy)
Mileage: 2.25 miles, plus 1/2 mile cool-down walk
Time: 24:20 minutes
Location: Humble City Park
How I Felt (1-10): 10

My evening run with the Striders did not go well. We were doing a simple 4.5 or 5.6 mile run (runners choice). I had good intentions of doing the longer of the two. Jessica said she was coming off a speed workout and was going out slow. For some stupid reason I thought I could hang with her. I forget that her recovery jogs are a lot faster than my fast run. I did ok for nearly 1.5 miles. After looking at my Garmin tonight, I see we were averaging 8:45-9:10 mile pace!
Near the 1-mile mark I got a severe right sided pain, just under the 12 rib. The pain forced me to take several walk breaks. The walk breaks frustrated me, because my legs felt fine. I took the easy road and decided to complete the 4.5 mile course. I finished the bulk of the first half with Bessie. Ruben came to my rescue and ran the second half with me. At the four mile point the pain FINALLY went away. In the end, I opted to hit the memorial loop and do some extra distance due to all the walking. I finished feeling good, but frustrated.
Special Congrats to a couple Striders:
Jessica ran a 10K PR last weekend, which was good enough for 1st place in her age group and 2nd female overall.
Ruben ran in Long Island, NY and had a debut marathon at a speedy 4:10! Ruben told me tonight he ran a safe and conservative race. Ruben stated he had never completed a distance longer than 20 miles before the marathon, but that didn't stop him from taking 1st place in his age group. He also thinks his chip time was good enough for a Boston Q!
Way to go Striders!

Activity: Run (easy group run)
Mileage: 5.22 miles
Time: 55:39 minutes
Location: Memorial park, down Blossom
How I felt: 5