New PR: 16.4 Miles

Finally, 26.2 is less than 10 miles away! This past weekend's run was one that I had been building up in my mind for weeks leading up to it.

The run started out from Veteran's Park, heading north up Riverside. The cold wind was right in our faces, blowing as if it didn't even realize we were there (or it just didn't care). As we turned west at 11th, I thought we would get a break from the wind. Wrong! It still kept pounding away at the right side of my body as we started the long westward trek toward the opposite side of Sand Springs. At least there was plenty of new scenery to enjoy: crashed police cars and fire trucks at the Tulsa city vehicle maintenance facility, a house that had obviously experienced a fire, but was still being lived in (the burned items had simply been dragged to the back patio), and a church that looked to be holding regular services despite the fact that its windows and back doors were boarded up.

The group I was running with was maintaining a pace around 10:00 with plenty of water breaks. This more relaxed pace was just about what I was looking for in order to see how a distance like this would feel. In two weeks though, I hope to bump it up some. (18 miles)

At the turnaround (McDonald's on Hwy 97), I knew I could not go any farther without a restroom break. This added a good 10 minutes to my "out" time; fortunately, Rob had his Garmin set to auto-pause, so I was able to get a McDonald's-free time at the end.

The run back was quiet. The wind was now working away at my left side, and the sun was starting to peek through the clouds. We were all a little quieter on the return, as soreness and tiredness were setting in. Aside from my nearly choking on a jelly bean, the return trip was without incident.

It did not hit me for a minute or so after I finished that I had just broken my previous personal (distance) record of 14.5 miles. I did however now know for sure that 26.2 could and would happen.

2-28-08
Distance: 16.4 miles
Time: ~2:40 net, ~3:05 total
Avg. Mile Pace: 9:43


3-2-08
Distance: 5 miles
Time: 41:30
Avg. Mile Pace: 8:13