August 25, 2013

A 16-miler

Not sure why I was nervous about my long run today, and it turns out there was no reason to be--I did it!

I set the alarm for 6:20, so that I could be out the door at sunrise (6:50). I got dressed and then prepared my CamelBak, filling the water reservoir with ice and then water. I packed my pepper spray, phone, and a few ShotBloks, too.

I'd mapped out an out-and-back route that actually let me go past my parents' campsite. The boys stayed at the campsite with my parents last night, so I thought it would be fun to see them just before turning around and heading home.

According to the Hansons' book, I should be running my long runs at a 9:38/mi pace. Because I was nervous about the distance, I just told myself that I would aim for sub-10 miles, but I wouldn't look at my watch more than once per mile. I hate when I'm trying to hit a certain pace and I have to keep looking at my watch to see if I'm on target. Today, I just wanted to make this as painless as possible.

There was no procrastinating this morning; I wanted to get this done before the sun got unbearable! I started running at what felt like a comfortable pace, and just focused on getting to the campsite. The ice in the CamelBak was pretty loud as I ran, but the noise didn't bother me. When I hit a mile, I saw my pace was 9:35--almost spot-on to my goal pace today, so I was surprised that I hit that without really trying.

Every time my Garmin beeped at a mile checkpoint, I looked at my pace and then I took a drink of water--probably only about an ounce, but I didn't want to get as dehydrated as last week, so I made sure to drink often, even in the beginning. Other than that, I just let myself space out and daydream.

When I got to the campground, I was surprised at how crowded it was. Every single campsite was occupied. I wondered if I'd be able to find my parents' camper, but then I saw it. My mom was sitting outside reading, and I stopped to talk for a couple of minutes. She said the boys had just left with my dad to go fishing, so I figured I'd run down to their fishing spot to say hi before heading home. My mom wasn't exactly sure where it was, and since I'm very familiar with the trails there, I made my best guess. I was wrong.

I wanted to see the boys, but I didn't want to add any mileage to my run (16 is plenty!), so I didn't look very long. I just made my way back to the front of the park, and realized that if I went straight home, I'd arrive back home at mile 15.25, not 16. So on the way home, I made a couple of detours to add on a little mileage. If there is one thing I hate, it's running PAST my house or car, because I didn't calculate the route correctly.

I was surprised at how good I felt! Sure, my legs were feeling a little tired toward the end, but I honestly felt like I could have pulled a 20-miler today and been fine. It's funny--last week's 10-miler nearly killed me, but today's 16-miler felt great! The last mile was actually my fastest, which shows I still had some energy left in the tank. When I got back to my house, I actually did have to run past. It was at 15.97, and as anal as it sounds, I had to make my Garmin read 16. So I just ran to the neighbor's driveway and turned around. I sat outside for a couple minutes before going inside to shower.




I love seeing a calorie burn in the thousands!


The kids were still with my parents, so after I showered and had a huge protein shake for breakfast, I literally sat in the recliner and watched two full Lifetime movies. A very lazy morning! It felt awesome to sit and relax after getting my long run done. Paolo was thrilled to sit on my lap the entire time, too. ;)

I chose not to get a long run treat today, which was kind of a bummer. Yesterday, I had the munchies really badly, and said to hell with counting PointsPlus. So I'm sure I ate all of my activity PP yesterday, before I ever even earned them. I'm really hoping that I don't gain this week, but with eating out a couple of times, and then yesterday's free-for-all, I just might.


The winner of the KIND bars giveaway is lucky number 159:


Allison, please e-mail me ASAP at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com with your shipping info, so that I can pass it along to the kind people at KIND ;)


Just a reminder that tomorrow is Motivational Monday! If you have a pic of a health/fitness accomplishment that you completed this week, you can send it to me at SlimKatie (at) runsforcookies (dot) com and I may include it on tomorrow's post.

7 comments:

  1. Great job on your run! I can totally sympathize with being anal on the mileage thing. Sometimes when I am at my run group the run will come in just short and I'll do extra in the parking lot to hit what I want and have other runners look at me funny. I'm sure some sympathize but most aren't anal enough to do it in front of everyone I guess. :)

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  2. Anal reminded me of 500 days of summer:

    Tom: That was my nickname in college, Perfectly Adequate and Handsome.
    Summer Finn: They used to call me anal girl...
    Tom: *spits up drink*
    Summer Finn: I was very neat, and, organized.

    Lol

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  3. Sounds like a great run - way to go!! I also love how later, you say you had a "very lazy morning" ;)

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  4. Do you stretch or have to do other exercises to prevent injury? Have you ever had running injuries?

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  5. Wow!! So very awesome--great job!! Glad you got to enjoy a relaxing morning afterwards, too. You deserved it!

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  6. That coral color looks great on you!

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I used to publish ALL comments (even the mean ones) but I recently chose not to publish those. I always welcome constructive comments/criticism, but there is no need for unnecessary rudeness/hate. But please--I love reading what you have to say! (This comment form is super finicky, so I apologize if you're unable to comment)

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