Long Run

Earlier this week I knew I needed to plan my "long run" before the start of my vacation. Since we are leaving early tomorrow morning to drive to the beach, I decided to take additional vacation hours after my 9-10 a.m. meeting this morning so I could get my run in. I packed my running gear last night. I left the office at 10:30 a.m., changed clothes in the car in the parking garage, ate a snack and drove to the Silver Comet Trail. I started my run at 11:35 a.m. It was 81 degrees. I started slow, wearing my 100 ounce camelbak, which adds about 8 pounds of weight.

My average pace for the 12 miles was 13:54. My fastest was the first mile at 11:57, and my slowest was the last mile at 17:46 (I walked the last half-mile). The 12 miles total was 2 hours and 46 minutes. Although this is slower than I had hoped, it wasn't too bad considering the heat. By the time I finished, it was 87 degrees.

I started slow but pace picked up after I stopped listening to podcast (1 hour into it) and focused on running. In the beginning, I walked 1 minute after completing a mile running. At the 1 hour mark, I took one Endurolyte and 2/3 oz Hammer raspberry gel and started taking 1 minute walk break for every 10 minutes of running (rather than based on mileage). At every 20 minute mark, I took a 2-minute walk break to give me enough time to take one Endurolyte and 2/3 oz Hammer raspberry gel. Although I was slow and hot, I felt pretty good until the last mile when I started taking more walk breaks. After I finished, I ate strawberries, boiled eggs and walnuts on a bench in shade at the parking lot while cooling down.

Then I picked up Kyra and we went shopping at Target for a few beach supplies. She was craving Carrabba's and it sounded good to me too, so we went there for dinner. I had planned to pack for the beach this evening, but was completely exhausted. I could barely stay awake while driving home from the restaurant. I took a shower and went to bed early instead and set the alarm clock for 6 a.m. I'll pack tomorrow...