Despite opening my eyes at 6AM and pretty much ready to go by 7, I dawdled as usual and finally stepped out at 8:30. I'm glad the sun wasn't so bad, and the temp stayed manageable throughout today's long run, otherwise I'd feel worse about wasting the precious hours before it heats up too bad.
I made a route with a good mix of hills, recreation trails, city streets. When I mapped this out, my eyes popped -- because it was a rather large circle, and I could already visualize all the landmarks along the way. Here's the approximate route. It looks like a polar bear.
My mind wasn't racing with thoughts today. In fact, it was blissfully blank for a good portion of it. I stopped at the local library (near mile 3) to use the washroom before hitting the trail portion, which was probably my 5 favorite miles of the day. At the halfway point, I smiled because I felt I was on my way to a good overall run, feeling like I had a lot left in me.
Not exactly. I slurped up a chocolate Clif shot with a water chaser and kept going for a few more miles, but I felt my legs starting to scream at me once I got to the end of the trail and was back on the city streets. My walking breaks turned into 1-1/2 minutes, and I wasn't covering much ground in the 10 minute sessions I was running. Muscles were tightening. The subway was right there, calling my name. But no, resist! It's just 3 subway stops back to my house. I kept going, just slower, dragging my feet at times.
On the final stretch, I dug deep and sprinted home. I glanced at my wrist. Actual mileage: 12.23 mi. Total time, including all breaks: 2:58:49. I felt like I had won something big. I even ran towards my door like I would if I was crossing the finish line, arms raised, even a little fist pump. I have just completed my longest run to date.
Downed a huge glass of blue Gatorade. Stretched. And stretched. Then stretched some more on my yoga mat on my deck. I think I'll still hurt later on. I must have been grimacing a little already, and I do feel more exhausted than I have in a while after a long run, because my neighbor asked, "So, should I call an ambulance or the coroner?"
5 comments:
Great Run! Congrats on keeping to the end! You did more than 12 miles =)
Woo hoo! good on you for toughing it out. I'm about to heat out on my 16 miler...
Wow awsome job! Tell that neighbor to throw on his or her running gear and come with you next week.
Nice run. The positive attitude from the day before (I can do 12 miles tomorrow.)made the difference. Keep it up!
you guys are too kind... but right back at ya for all your efforts this past weekend too!
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