14 Tough Miles

I had planned to miss this past Saturday's run with the Runner's World group because my wife was supposed to be going out of town this weekend, and I was to be staying home with the kids. Six inches of snow later, my wife's trip was canceled. Nevertheless, I knew that beginning a 16-mile run at 8:00 on a snowy running path would put me back home at 10:30 or 11:00. Not wanting to be gone that long and that late in the day, I decided to wait until Sunday to get my long run in when I could start a little earlier in the day (and avoid the extra driving time on the slick streets).

On Sunday, I was up at 6:30, out running by a little after 7:00. As I was getting geared up, I silently debated on how far I really wanted to run. Five miles sounded great. Seven sounded ambitious. I still had not decided as I pushed Start on my Garmin.

The neighborhood streets were very icy still, but my Yaktrax were doing a nice job of keeping my footing. As I would push off, I could feel my feet sliding a little, but overall, I had secure traction.

I ran my old neighborhood trail (slightly modified)--ended up being about 6.5 miles. Of course, the entire 6.5 miles, I was thinking about how badly I needed a long run, and as I approached my house, I simply had to look at it longingly as I continued on for a second loop.

I ended up detouring into the neighborhood directly across the street from ours at the end of the second loop, simply to get in a little more distance. Ended up being just over 14 very challenging miles. Much of the challenge for me on a run like that it is pretty lonely for quite a while. One of the most beneficial aspects of running with the Runner's World group on Saturday mornings is that I am able to endure--no, embrace--my long runs with other people who are also agonizing!

As far as gear goes, I used my new water bottle for the first time, and I was pleasantly surprised at how comfortably it rode along. I was carrying 16 oz. of Cytomax, plus my phone, and it never bothered me. Fit snug against my lower back. Only problem was that I let a strap make contact with my skin (unknowingly) for much of my run, and I ended up with a pretty good burn. I can tell that my shoes are approaching the end of their running tenure, as my knees were pretty sore both yesterday and today (after this morning's run). I've been noticing some soreness recently, but nothing really substantial until yesterday and today. I am hoping that part of it is merely due to my poor form while running in snow and ice, because I'm hoping to stretch these shoes out at least until the end of February.

Upon walking in the utility room door, I heard both kids yell "Daddy!"--a perfect way to end a run. My daughter thought it was hilarious that I had ice in my goatee when I finally made it home. It took a while to get warmed back up--lots of coffee and pancakes--but I was so glad to have stuck it out for 14 miles. Yesterday's run was very slow (today's was even slower), but it was great mental practice.

Activity Route: -- Elev. Avg: 677 ft Location: Broken Arrow, OK Elev. Gain: +0 ft Date: 01/31/10 Up/Downhill: [+570/-570] Time: 07:21 AM Difficulty: 4.6 / 5.0 Weather: Fog/Mist 24 F temp; 91% humidity 24 F heat index; winds S 5 Performance Distance: 14.02 miles Time: 2:00:54 Speed: 7.0 mph Pace: 8' 37 /mi Calories: 1651 Splits Mile Pace (min/mile) Speed (mph) Elevation Gain actual +/- avg actual +/- avg 1 8' 17 -0' 20 7.2 +0.3 +13 ft 2 8' 39 +0' 02 6.9 -0.0 -13 ft 3 8' 32 -0' 05 7.0 +0.1 +20 ft 4 8' 34 -0' 03 7.0 +0.0 -29 ft 5 8' 16 -0' 21 7.2 +0.3 -3 ft 6 8' 29 -0' 08 7.1 +0.1 +10 ft 7 8' 24 -0' 13 7.1 +0.2 -3 ft 8 8' 43 +0' 06 6.9 -0.1 +26 ft 9 8' 30 -0' 07 7.0 +0.1 +17 ft 10 8' 54 +0' 17 6.7 -0.2 -23 ft 11 8' 44 +0' 07 6.9 -0.1 -17 ft 12 8' 51 +0' 14 6.8 -0.2 -3 ft 13 8' 58 +0' 21 6.7 -0.3 +10 ft end 9' 05 +0' 28 6.6 -0.4 -3 ft Versus average of 8' 37 min/mile

Posted from bimactive.com